Hayden Panettiere, Heroes and Nashville actress, dies at age 36
The American actress, known for Heroes, Nashville and the Scream films, was confirmed dead by her representative on August 17. No cause of death has been disclosed.
Death confirmed
American actress Hayden Panettiere, known for her roles in the television series Heroes and Nashville, has died at the age of 36. ABC News was the first outlet to report the death on August 17, citing her representative. TMZ, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter, reported that Panettiere died on Sunday, August 16. No cause of death or further details have been disclosed.
The statement confirming her death was attributed differently across outlets. The Independent and HotNews named her father, Skip Panettiere, as the source of the statement to ABC News. Reuters and Le Soir cited her representative. The Romanian outlet Ziare.com reported that a representative confirmed the death to PEOPLE, while her father spoke to CNN.
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.
Career spanning childhood to adulthood
Panettiere began her acting career as a child and worked steadily in film and television throughout her life. Her breakthrough role came as Claire Bennet, a high-school cheerleader with the power to regenerate from injuries, in NBC's sci-fi drama Heroes, which ran from 2006 to 2010. She followed Heroes with the musical drama Nashville, playing aspiring country singer Juliette Barnes from 2012 to 2018. The performance earned her two Golden Globe nominations.
Her film credits included Scream 4 (2011), in which she played Kirby Reed, a role she reprised years later in Scream VI. She also appeared in Remember the Titans, Raising Helen, and I Love You, Beth Cooper. In Germany, ZEIT ONLINE noted, she was known not only for her roles but also through her relationship with Wladimir Klitschko and their shared daughter.
Memoir and final weeks
On May 19, Panettiere published her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, which reached number 4 on the New York Times bestseller list. On May 27, she celebrated the milestone on Instagram, thanking her supporters for what she called a "crazy journey." The memoir covered her childhood as a professional actress and her struggles with alcoholism, depression, postpartum depression, abusive relationships, and the intense pressures of growing up in the entertainment industry. Le Soir noted that the book also addressed her recovery. The New York Times reported that the preceding decade had been marked by depression, substance abuse, the loss of custody of her daughter, and stays in rehabilitation centers.
In the months before her death, Panettiere was active on social media, sharing photos and videos from her promotional tour for the memoir. Her last Instagram post came on July 27, a photograph of her smiling alongside photographer Randall Slavin, captioned "Good times and good friends."
- Memoir 'This Is Me: A Reckoning' published
- Celebrated memoir reaching #4 on NYT bestseller list on Instagram
- Last Instagram post, photo with photographer Randall Slavin
- Death, per TMZ sources; ABC News first to report
Personal life
Panettiere had a daughter, Kaya, with her former fiancé, the Ukrainian former heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko. The loss of custody of Kaya was among the personal struggles Panettiere addressed in her memoir. The relationship with Klitschko and their daughter had been part of the broader tabloid narrative surrounding Panettiere in both American and European media.
