Hayden Panettiere, Star of ‘Heroes’ and ‘Nashville,’ Dies at 36

Hayden Panettiere, known to audiences for her roles on Heroes and Nashville, has died at 36.

Her father, Skip Panettiere, confirmed her death in a statement released Sunday night.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” he said. “She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her, and to the millions who watched her onscreen. We ask for privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”

Panettiere was found unresponsive Sunday afternoon at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, where she had been temporarily staying. According to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, first responders and EMS arrived to find her in cardiac arrest and attempted advanced cardiac life support. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:32 p.m.

The Greenville Police Department, working alongside the coroner’s office, said its preliminary investigation “has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.” An acquaintance placed the 911 call. An autopsy was completed Monday, and the coroner’s office said in a statement that “no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death,” adding that the official cause and manner of death “remain pending further investigation and the completion of additional studies.” The investigation remains active.

Dispatch audio reviewed by TMZ and People captured responding officials discussing an overdose around the time of Panettiere’s death, though that detail has not been confirmed by the coroner’s office, and officials have not released further information about who she was with or the circumstances leading up to the 911 call.

Panettiere is survived by her daughter, Kaya, born in 2014 during her relationship with Ukrainian heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, whom she was involved with from 2009 to 2011 and again from 2013 to 2018. Her younger brother, actor Jansen Panettiere, died in February 2023 of aortic valve complications. He was 28.

Panettiere began acting before she was a year old, appearing in a Playskool commercial, and spent her childhood on soap operas including One Life to Live and Guiding Light before roles in Malcolm in the Middle, A Bug’s Life, and Remember the Titans, which she later called her favorite film to work on. She broke through in 2006 as Claire Bennet, the indestructible cheerleader at the center of NBC’s Heroes, a role she played across four seasons. She found further success as Juliette Barnes on ABC’s Nashville from 2012 to 2018, and more recently returned to horror as Kirby Reed in Scream 4 and Scream VI. Other credits included I Love You, Beth Cooper, Ice Princess, Message in a Bottle, and the title role in the 2011 Lifetime film Amanda Knox.

Her work earned nominations at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Television Awards, Teen Choice Awards, and People’s Choice Awards for Nashville, along with Teen Choice nominations for Heroes and a Young Artist Award for Remember the Titans.

This past May, Panettiere published a memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, in which she wrote candidly about growing up as a child star, her struggles with addiction and postpartum depression, and her decision to give up custody of her daughter in 2018. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter around the book’s release, she described trying to balance honesty with protecting the people in her life. “I felt very strongly about my ability to tell my stories and make them entertaining enough to put in a book, without having to drag people through the mud,” she said. “I just had to speak my truth, and it’s mine alone.”

Tributes came quickly from former collaborators. Viola Davis, who co-starred with Panettiere in 2016’s Custody, wrote that she wished “the world had more time with you,” adding, “I saw this beautiful Phoenix rising from the ashes.” Nashville guest star Brit Shaw called the news a shock, saying Panettiere “had this way of making you feel at home.”

This is a developing story and will be updated as new information becomes available.

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, help is available through the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.

Joanthan P. Moustakas

Jonathan P. Moustakas founded The Cinema Group in 2020 during the challenges of the pandemic, after losing the vital ability to find community in theaters and escape through the captivating magic of cinema. Feeling profoundly cut off from the vibrant film community he cherished, he sought to create a welcoming home for dedicated cinema fans while providing engaging, daily curated content that resonates with their passions. Years later, The Cinema Group has blossomed from a small collective of loyal fans into a thriving brand that reaches millions of audiences every month across a diverse array of platforms and mediums.

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