HAYDEN Panettiere’s Nashville mum said the star’s “inner demons were too much to bear” as she broke her silence with a poignant tribute.
The beloved Heroes and Nashville actress was found “unresponsive” at a luxury Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday.
Sylvia Jefferies, 57, who featured as Jolene Barnes, the mum of Hayden’s character Juliette, said her heart was “shattered” by the news.
In a post shared on social media she wrote: “I’ve had to take the day to let the idea that Hayden is not with us, wash over me.
It comes as…
- Tributes have been paid by Hollywood celebrities including Cruel Intentions actress Selma Blair and Sister Sister star Tia Mowry
- In a heartbreaking final interview Hayden opened up about her struggles but declared: ‘I have a lot more life left to live’
- Hayden’s tragic final post shows the actress smiling with close pal as she hailed ‘good times and good friends’
- The star told fans to ‘be brave’in her last public appearance while promoting her new memoir
“At times, Hayden was not easy to be around. I remember calling her a downright tornado. But she was our tornado.
“The sun that appears, the light mist that begins, the rain that gets heavier, the swirling of everything around her, and then the gentle tapering rain returns, along with the calm and sun and light in her eyes, and the giggle in her voice.
“She had an incredibly bright future ahead of her, although her inner demons were at times too much to bear.”
Hayden, who struggled with opioid and alcohol addiction, was described by 911 dispatchers as suffering from a cardiac arrest and suspected overdose.
Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses, was found on the mattress of the apartment where she was staying, TMZ reported.
Authorities have not determined that an overdose caused Hayden’s death, and the coroner’s findings remain pending.
Sylvia’s moving tribute was posted alongside pictures of the pair on set as well as messages from Hayden that addressed her as “mama”.
She said the pair reconnected after she read Panettiere’s memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning and had “plans to see each other”.
“I was so proud of her for sharing the real Hayden, something that had to be excruciatingly painful for such a gentle soul”, Sylvia added.
The book, released in May 2026, chronicled her battles with addiction and mental health, as well as abuse, family loss and her long road to recovery.
“You are engaged in a cycle of growth until the moment you take your last breath”, she wrote, in a passage that has a haunting new meaning after her death.
Hayden was travelling with on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson over the weekend, US media has been reporting.
The pair had been spotted flying out of Los Angeles on Saturday.
They had a tumultuous relationship from 2018 to 2020 before Hickerson was arrested, convicted and jailed for domestic abuse against the actress.
He served only one day of a 45-day jail term and the couple reconnected in 2021 before reportedly getting into another physical spat at a bar in West Hollywood.
In March earlier this year the pair were snapped on their way through LAX.
Hayden reportedly kept some of her friends “in the dark” about reconnecting with Hickerson before her sudden death.
“If Brian was back in her life, then it was something she was hiding because she wasn’t speaking about it with many of her friends,” a source told Page Six.
“If you’ve gone through some dark times with people, and spoken about it, then there can be shame if you get back together with that same person,” the insider said.
The star’s heartbroken dad Skip Panettiere was the first to confirm the heartbreaking news.
He said: “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 on screen.”
Hayden’s devastating death means Skip’s two children have both died within three years of each other, after Hayden’s brother Jansen died at the age of 28 from “an enlarged heart” in 2023.