Actress Hayden Panettiere died at age 36.
Panettiere’s representative confirmed the news to ABC late Sunday. The circumstances surrounding her death were not immediately clear.
The representative also provided ABC with the following statement from Panettiere’s father, Skip Panettiere:
It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. 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.
Mr. Panettiere asked for privacy “as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”
The actress began her career as a child. Best known for roles in “Heroes” and “Nashville,” she also starred in “Remember the Titans,” “Raising Helen,” “Ice Princess,” and “Scream 4.”
Panettiere spoke candidly about her struggles with alcoholism and postpartum depression in a recent memoir titled “This Is Me: A Reckoning.” The book’s overview reads, in part:
Behind the image was a far more complicated reality. As Hayden entered adulthood, the industry that once felt playful grew unforgiving as she learned by experience the pressure placed on young performers, the hefty price that often comes with fame, and how quickly someone else can take control of your story. She recounts being scrutinized by tabloids, watching her body and private pain become public property, and performing storylines on-screen that echoed trauma she was living through off-camera.In this memoir, Hayden shares a rare and intimate glimpse into her life behind closed doors, opening up about postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma, domestic abuse, and loss. She holds nothing back as she reflects on the moments she calls “lifequakes”― experiences that fractured her sense of self and forced her to rebuild it from the inside out. In This Is Me: A Reckoning, Hayden showcases her most vulnerable role yet. . .this is her story, on her terms.
She was given her first opioid on a movie set when she was 16 which she recalls in the clip below:
When I was about 16, one of the people that I was working with in my inner circle introduced me for the first time to what she called “happy pills.”I had no idea what they were, but when I was given one and sent on the red carpet, I was lively, totally down to answer questions, and in a chatterbox mode.
Panettiere said the incident marked the beginning of her struggles with drugs and alcohol.
During a May appearance on the Jay Shetty Podcast as part of her book tour, Panettiere spoke openly about being betrayed by a “trusted friend.”
She recalled how the woman took her by the hand and led her to a stateroom aboard a yacht, where a “very famous,” elderly — and naked — British rock star was waiting for her in bed. Panettiere said she fought him off and spent the rest of the night in hiding.
She never identified this man.
In the second post below (from the Shetty podcast), an emotional Panettiere reads from a journal entry about her abusive relationship.
Panettiere’s younger brother, Jansen, died suddenly in 2023 at the age of 28 from cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, coupled with aortic valve complications, according to the Los Angeles Times.
She had been very close to him. In her book, Panettiere describes Jansen’s death as “the heartbreak of my life.”
In the clip below, she tells Shetty, “I don’t want to live in a world where he doesn’t exist.”
Panettiere leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter named Kaya. In her memoir, she recounts the painful circumstances that led to her decision to grant full custody of her daughter to her former fiancé, boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, when the child was four.
[At the time of the book’s release, People highlighted what it called its “eight biggest bombshells.” The article can be viewed here.]
Panettiere’s career took off long before she was old enough to fully comprehend, let alone process, the pressures and perils that would accompany it. Sadly, much of her life seems to have been spent in an endless attempt to come to terms with it all.
Rest in peace Hayden.
4 p.m. update:
Audio of the 911 dispatch call reveals that Panettiere was in cardiac arrest. A paramedic is heard describing the situation as an “overdose.”
https://x.com/nypost/status/2089340552512741439?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Preliminary autopsy results released on Monday showed no signs of trauma.
TMZ reported that Narcan was found inside the apartment where Panettiere was found dead.
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