Hayden

HAYDEN Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson has been spotted for the first time since her shocking death.

Brian, 37, looked solemn as he stepped out on Wednesday in a hat, sunglasses and hoodie in his native Greenville, South Carolina – close to where his on-off girlfriend Hayden died on Sunday at just 36.

Brian has been keeping a low profile in recent days, and has not made a public statement since her death.

Brian and his brother Zach were at the Greenville rental apartment when Hayden was discovered unresponsive in a “possible overdose” on Sunday afternoon.

In a police report obtained by The U.S. Sun, cops said Zach walked into the apartment after 1 pm to find Hayden unconscious on a chair in the living room.

Brian was apparently asleep in another room at the time of the horrific discovery.

One of the brothers called 911, and an emergency medical team rushed to the scene.

While police said Zach was extremely emotional as the first responders attempted to save her life, Brian apparently did not shed a tear until Hayden was officially declared dead an hour later.

Brian told cops Hayden regularly took a “bag of medication,” and a long list of redacted prescription names were included in the police report.

Now, the tragedy’s fall-out is unfolding for Brian and his family.

Police arrived to Brian’s grandmother’s home on Wednesday morning.

“Greenville Police officers responded to a call for a welfare check at a home belonging to Brian Hickerson’s family on Wednesday morning,” police told The U.S. Sun in a statement.

“The call is unrelated to the Hayden Panettiere death investigation and did not require an incident report.”

But TMZ reported earlier on Wednesday that a criminal investigation has been launched into the death.

According to the outlet, the investigation was triggered because Hayden’s death was “unexpected.”

Hayden and Brian have a long, tumultuous history since first meeting in 2018.

In May 2019, Brian was arrested for domestic violence.

According to the LAPD, cops were called to Hayden’s Los Angeles home after a heated altercation on May 2 at 2:30 am.

“Right off the bat, I noticed that she had bruising on her eyelids, a swollen face. She did have marks on her neck, the left side. When I continued to talk to her she removed the sweater that she had on. I saw bruising on both her arms,” the responding officer said.

The case was ultimately dismissed.

But on Valentine’s Day 2020, Brian was arrested again for domestic violence while the pair was vacationing in Wyoming.

Hayden told officers he threw her and then punched her in the face.

Soon after this arrest, Hayden released a statement to fans.

“I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” she said.

“I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again. I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life.”

Brian ultimately was sentenced to 45 days in jail.

Despite her harsh words, the couple was spotted back together again in 2021, with Hayden insisting she “forgave” him.

Three months before her death, Hayden said she was happy and healthy, and it was reported Brian was in her rear-view mirror.

A source told TMZ the pair was secretly together during this time.

HAYDEN Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend was by her side when the star died – and showed police a “bag of medication”.

Brian Hickerson did not become visibly emotional until EMS declared the 36-year-old actress dead, according to a heavily redacted report released by Greenville Police.

He was at the rented Airbnb apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, where the beloved Nashville and Heroes star was found “unresponsive” on Sunday, according to police bodycam footage that is yet to be released to the public.

Brian showed officers the medication that Hayden was taking at the time of her death, NBC News reported.

His brother, Zach, also witnessed her death, and was “very emotional” as emergency medical services professionals were “working on Hayden.”

Responding officer Matthew Bryan said he first spoke with Zach at the scene.

TOXIC ROMANCE

Hayden Panettiere’s dark relationship with Brian Hickerson before her death

FINAL HOURS

Hayden Panettiere investigation ‘ongoing’ as autopsy shows ‘no signs of trauma’

According to TMZ, Zach actually first discovered Hayden sitting in a chair in the living room when he entered the home on Sunday afternoon.

Brian had been asleep in a separate room at the time, the outlet reported.

Hayden, who struggled with opioid and alcohol addiction, was described by the 911 dispatchers as suffering from a cardiac arrest and suspected overdose.

Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses, was discovered 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.

An autopsy was completed on Monday, and officials said that “no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.”

First responders initiated cardiac life support measures when they arrived at the scene, but resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful, the statement added.

Hayden’s relationship with Brian was highly volatile, spanning from 2018 until her death, and involved multiple domestic violence arrests, jail time and a rumoured secret reconciliation recently.

The pair began dating in 2018, sparking controversy almost immediately.

Her family and friends were “deeply concerned,” a source told Radar Online in November 2018.

“They do not approve. They are hoping that this is something that she is going to evolve from,” the source said.

The two stayed together, and things went from bad to worse.

Brian was arrested twice – once in 2019 and then in 2020 – for domestic violence.

In May 2019, Brian was arrested for domestic violence after an incident at the actress’ Hollywood home.

Soon after the second incident, Hayden released a statement to her fans about his past arrests.

“I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” she said.

“I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again.

“I’m grateful for my support system, which helped me find the courage to regain my voice and my life.”

Hayden and Brian kept a low profile during the final years of her life. He was spotted attending her brother Jansen’s funeral by her side in 2023.

He was also seen helping her through a Los Angeles airport while she hobbled on crutches in March of this year.

When the actress released her memoir earlier this year, it was reported that they had split long ago.

But according to TMZ, the couple was fully together and hiding the romance.

“Hayden’s team felt Brian was bad for business,” a source told the outlet.

HAYDEN Panettiere’s estranged mother has broken her silence after the actress’s sudden death at 36.

The Nashville star was found dead in a South Carolina apartment on Sunday afternoon from a suspected overdose.

Lesley Vogel spoke out about her daughter’s death and Hayden’s rekindled relationship with her ex, Brian Hickerson, who was reportedly at the scene when she died.

“This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death, and that was Brian Hickerson,” Lesley told NBC News on Tuesday.

“I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments, and I think young people who grow up in the entertainment industry — it is a struggle, and it’s a very challenging industry, and it’s not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path,” she added.

Lesley also told the outlet, “I think it becomes very difficult to be true to yourself, and I think Hayden sadly lost her way, and I wish it were different. I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes.”

“I just feel that she’s with her brother and they’re at peace,” she said, speaking of Hayden’s younger brother Jansen, who died at 28 in February 2023 from an enlarged heart and aortic valve complications.

Hayden confirmed in May that she had not been in contact with her mother for some time.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have a relationship right now,” the Heroes star told Us Weekly while promoting the release of her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.

“But that doesn’t mean that I don’t leave the door open for the opportunity to present itself one day. It’s hard for me to say, but I’ve chosen to be brutally honest.”

Hayden also discussed her difficult relationship with her mother during a sit-down with Jay Shetty on his podcast.

“Everything was business,” the former child star said earlier this year.

“I became the confidant and the assistant and the therapist and the shoulder to cry on and everything but her child.

“I said to her, ’I don’t want us to work together anymore. I just want you to be my mom.’

“I remember being hopeful. But I also wasn’t expecting the reaction that I got, which was, ‘You owe me.’ And that’s all she said. And she walked out.”

Lesley previously addressed the estrangement, claiming it was her choice to distance herself from her daughter.

“After 20 years of trauma, I took the advice of professionals and chose the no-contact route,” Lesley told Page Six after the release of Hayden’s memoir.

“As many parents of entertainment children [know], we are all too familiar with the painful observation of watching the self-destructive paths they sometimes choose.

“No parent hopes for this scenario; we want our children to be the best of themselves and live a peaceful, joyful life!”

Hayden had been spending more time with her off-again, on-again boyfriend, Brian, who was reportedly staying with her at the time of her death.

According to TMZ, the couple were back together but hiding their romance since Hayden’s team found their relationship “bad for business.”

Hayden had opened up about their previous split in her memoir and her other struggles, like addiction, grieving her brother’s unexpected death, as well as her severe postpartum depression.

The Remember the Titans star’s mental health battles led to her giving custody of her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, to her ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko.

Hayden reportedly planned to reunite with Kaya, who lives with her father in Ukraine, before her tragic death.

The hours since actor Hayden Panettiere’s unexpected death over the weekend have proved to be a “time of profound shock and grief” for her ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko and their daughter, the Ukrainian boxing star said on social media.

Klitschko, a multiple-time heavyweight world champion, on Monday evening mourned the “Heroes” star and his former partner in an emotional tribute shared to Instagram. The former pro athlete posted a family photo of himself, Panettiere and their daughter Kaya (whose face is censored by a bright orange dot) all smiles against a cloudy sky. Klitschko wrote that news of the actor’s death “saddens me deeply” and echoed a recurring sentiment expressed in a majority of tributes to Panettiere: “She left this world far too soon.”

“Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya,” Klitschko said. “She built an incredible career through immense talent, while also facing the darker sides of a very demanding industry. Nothing will erase the times we shared or the place she had in our lives.”

Panettiere, whose career spanned TV, film and video games, died Sunday at age 36, her father announced in a statement. A cause of death was not revealed, but an autopsy Monday found no signs of trauma that would have been a contributing factor. She was found unresponsive at an apartment complex in Greenville, S.C., shortly before 2 p.m. Eastern time after an acquaintance called 911, police said in a statement. Police said a preliminary investigation had not indicated any signs of foul play.

Panettiere and the boxer were in an on-and-off relationship from 2009 to 2018 and were engaged in 2013. The “Nashville” and “Ice Princess” star welcomed their daughter in 2014 but relinquished full custody to Klitschko in 2018. In her past, Panettiere had been outspoken about her struggles with postpartum depression. She previously refuted speculation that she just gave up her child.

“It was the hardest thing I could do,” she said during a 2022 appearance on “Red Table Talk.” “But the best thing for my daughter was to make sure she was OK, take care of myself and make sure I could be a good mom to her. And sometimes that means letting go.”

Klitschko said in his post that he will carry on Panettiere’s legacy at home, while making a promise to Kaya: “I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was.” He concluded his post by sending his condolences to Panettiere’s loved ones and fans. He also asked followers to respect his family’s privacy as they mourn the loss.

He added: “Young and talented people like Hayden should not leave this world so soon.”

Klitschko joins Panettiere’s co-stars and Hollywood peers in paying tribute to her life and career on social media. “Heroes” star Masi Oka said Panettiere was “wiser beyond her years and now gone too soon” while “Nashville” co-star Connie Britton recalled Pannettiere was “bursting with brilliance” during their time on the ABC series.

To Viola Davis, “Custody” co-star Panettiere was a “beautiful Phoenix rising from the ashes.”

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

FINAL HOURS

Hayden Panettiere investigation ‘ongoing’ as autopsy shows ‘no signs of trauma’

DAD’S PAIN

Hayden Panettiere planned to visit daughter after revealing ‘incredible bond’

“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.

HER reality star romance with Joey Essex failed to flourish — but Love Island’s Jessy Potts is now smitten with the son of a controversial Real Housewife.

The villa beauty, 27, is dating Innis Jenkins, 26, whose mum multimillionaire mum Diana, 52, appeared in the Beverly Hills version of the franchise.

Jessy has shared a number of loved-up pics with Innis from their holiday in Sorrento, Italy, without sharing his name.

She also posed with a beaming smile beside Innis and Diana on the businesswoman’s Instagram account, before it was swiftly deleted overnight.

The Sun has contacted a rep for Jessy for comment.

Entrepreneur Diana, who is worth an estimated $300m, made headlines for the wrong reasons earlier this year when she was wrongly linked to a shocking story in the late actress Hayden Panettierre‘s memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.

The troubled Nashville star, who was found unresponsive at a residence in  in South Carolina from a suspected overdose aged 36, described how a British socialite put her in a bed with a naked British singer-songwriter in his 30s when she was 18. She also discussed the incident on Jay Shetty’s hit On Purpose podcast in May.

Reading the passage on the podcast, Hayden said: “She physically put me in the bed next to this undressed man who was very famous… My hair stood on end, and I became ferocious. I was like, ‘This is not happening.’

“I had nowhere to hide. I bolted, and I hid wherever I could think of to hide on a boat. There was no jumping off and swimming away… and I realised that there was nobody who was going to be empathetic to my situation, that this was nothing new to them.”

Though Hayden didn’t name the socialite, rumours began spreading online that it was Diana, leading the Real Housewife to vehemently deny any involvement.

In a statement to TMZ, her rep said: “Diana has had to deal with false online rumors before, and sadly this is just another example of that.

“So let me be 100 per cent clear about this: It most certainly is not Diana, and anyone who claims it is her will be sued.”

Diana’s connection to Hayden goes back at least 16 years when the Sarajevo-born businesswoman released a coffee table book called Room 23 that featured provocative and intimate shots depicting Beverly Hills life and featured an array of stars including Lindsay Lohan and George Clooney.

At the time of her involvement, Hayden was 20 and riding high in superhero drama Heroes.

Hayden wrote of their friendship in her book, stating: “It was a weird friendship for sure, but as I stretched into my newfound adulthood, I had to see which relationships suited me, on my own terms. At that moment, Diana seemed like she could give me everything I needed.”

Innis grew up in LA and attended a posh private school. He is said to be an entrepreneur but keeps a low profile publicly with no posts on his own social media page.

He has made cameo appearances in the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills over the years but was very much a background figure.

His dad is Brit banker Roger Jenkins, who divorced Diana in 2011.

In the early noughties he was said to be the highest paid banker in London, coining in a reported £40m a year.

He was dragged to the Old Bailey in 2019 for a high-profile fraud case dating back to the 2008 financial crisis and his involvement in Barclays’ emergency £11bn capital raise to avoid being nationalised.

Roger was one of three men acquitted in 2020. He is now reportedly worth close to $100m.

Before dating Jessy, Innis had a relationship with Ava Dash, the daughter of Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash.

Jessy appeared in the Love Island villa in series 11 as a bombshell. She hit it off with Towie star Joey Essex, who had started the series as one of the original villa boys, turning his head away from ex-girlfriend Grace Jackson who was also in the villa.

The pair narrowly missed the series final, and their relationship was short-lived in the outside world.

Opening up on Love Island All Stars, Jessy said: “It only lasted about a couple of months afterwards. It was just, we’re definitely different people, so when you leave here and it’s like, ‘Oh, s***!’

“He’d done TV before, so he already had a lot of people who had opinions about him anyway. And it just wasn’t, it wasn’t for me.”

WLADIMIR Klitschko has broken his silence following the sudden death of his ex-fiancé Hayden Panettiere.

The beloved US actress, who was nominated for two Golden Globes, died on Sunday, her heartbroken family confirmed.

In a moving tribute posted on Instagram, Wladimir, 50, said: “Our family is going through a time of profound shock and grief.

“The announcement of Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply.”

The retired Ukrainian boxing champion had a daughter with Hayden during their nine year on-and-off relationship.

HAYDEN TRAGEDY

Hayden Panettiere, 36, died after suspected overdose, 911 audio suggests

LAST WORDS

‘A lot more life left to live’: Hayden Panettiere’s tragic final interview

He added: “She left this world far too soon. Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya.

“To our daughter Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was.

“I extend my deepest condolences to Hayden’s parents, her friends, and her fans, who are also grieving today.

“Young and talented people like Hayden should not leave this world so soon.”

Wladimir met Hayden in 2009 and the pair – who had a 14-year age gap – were later engaged in 2013 but split up in before tying the knot.

Hayden had publicly spoken about her difficulties with mental health and addiction, but had been sober since 2020 after spending weeks in rehab.

A serious bout of postpartum depression led to her giving up custody of her daughter, Kaya, 11, in 2018.

In an interview with parenting outlet Mome published in July, Hayden described the heart-breaking decision.

She said: “It wasn’t a decision I made lightly, nor was it a decision I even wanted to make.

“I was going through a really challenging time in my life… I knew I needed to be able to put her first so that I could get the help I needed and be the mum she needed me to be.”

The mother-of-one, who would have turned 37 on Friday, had complained of back pain in the months before her death, sources told TMZ.

Confirming the tragic news, her dad Skip Panettiere 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.”

Police were reportedly responding to an “incident” involving the actress when they found her, with investigations still ongoing.

Hayden had recently been dating Brian Hickerson in an on-again, off-again relationship.

US media reported both Hayden and Brian, had flown out of Los Angeles on Saturday.

The pair were together from 2018 to 2020 when Hickerson was arrested, convicted and jailed for domestic violence against the actress.

He served only one day of a 45-day jail term and the couple reconnected in 2021.

At the time, Brian said: “We have a long history together, and the first step in my recovery as an abuser is making amends.”

Hayden, born in New York, first hit the screens as an 11-month-old child when her mum took her to star in several TV commercials.

Her first acting gig came when she was four-years-old on the American soap opera One Life to Live.

The diminutive actress would stay in the TV and film industry for her entire life.

Her film debut came at the age of nine, as the narrator and voice of Princess Dot in the 1998 animated Pixar flick A Bug’s Life.

She was nominated for a Young Artist Award and a Grammy Award on the back of the film’s box office success, which made her the fifth-youngest Grammy nominee ever.

Away from Hollywood, Hayden is best known for her leading roles on TV.

She starred in 73 episodes of Emmy-award winning Heroes between 2006 to 2010 as cheerleader Claire Bennet.

Hayden later earned two Golden Globe nominations as Juliette Barnes on Nashville where she featured in 128 episodes from 2012 to 2018.

Hayden also lent her voice to video games including hit series Until Dawn.

Her sudden death comes months after her candid autobiography, This Is Me: A Reckoning, detailed her experiences with postpartum depression, drug addiction and recovery.

In her final interview while promoting the book, Hayden declared she had “a lot more life to live”.

The tell-all book had recently become a New York Times bestseller.

Hayden Panettiere spent much of her life in front of a camera, beginning her acting career before she was even a year old, starring in commercials. At the tender age of 4, she landed her big break with a recurring role on the ABC soap opera “One Life to Live,” which led to a role on another soap opera, CBS’ “Guiding Light.” Over the years, she performed in a number of films and TV series, landing notable roles that made her a staple of network television. In addition to her onscreen work, she did voice acting for animated films like “A Bug’s Life” and “Dinosaur,” as well as the video game franchises “Kingdom Hearts” and “Until Dawn.”

The actor, who died Sunday at 36, was a versatile performer whose no-nonsense attitude and vocal range added depth to roles. Here is a guide to some of her notable work.

‘Remember the Titans’

Disney’s 2000 sports drama was based on the real story of Herman Boone, a Black football coach who was installed as head coach at the desegregated T.C. Williams High School in Arlington, Va., and led the team to a perfect season and state championship. In the film, Panettiere plays Sheryl Yoast, the young daughter of coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton), whose job Boone is given by the school district to placate Black community members as racial tensions rise. Panettiere’s Sheryl makes an impression right away, with a fiery speech directed at an official who comes to tell Yoast that Boone will now be head football coach of T.C. Williams. “You can’t just walk in here and take my daddy’s job away,” she cries as she stomps away, but not before kicking said official in the back of the leg. Later, she understands the implications of the decision, even if it comes at the cost of her father’s selection into the high school football hall of fame, preferring to put the team and their teamwork first: “Bunch of old rednecks … Let’s knock ‘em dead at state, coach.” (Watch on Hulu and Disney+.) — Maira Garcia

‘Ice Princess’

In Disney’s 2005 film, Panettiere was a little too good at playing the popular mean girl. She was even better at playing the popular mean girl who lets her icy walls melt away to welcome in the new girl. As talented figure skater Gennifer Harwood, Panettiere faithfully portrayed the evolution of friendships — especially for young women — in highly competitive sports and the tension between young athletes and their well-intended, but overbearing parents. While Panettiere could stand on her own talents, her performance was even more memorable for the dynamic she shared with screen partner Michelle Trachtenberg. The latter played Casey, a student with Ivy League ambitions whose interest in physics brings her to the figure skating world. Trachtenberg died in 2025 at 39. (Watch on Disney+.) — Alexandra Del Rosario

‘Heroes’

Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) with her father Noah (Jack Coleman), also known as H.R.G., in NBC’s “Heroes.”

(Chris Haston / NBC)

This superhero series was a hit from the moment it debuted in 2006. An international cast fueled a show that featured people gifted with superpowers around the world that had a mysteriously ominous connection. At its heart was Panettiere’s Claire Bennet. An unbreakable high school cheerleader, she embraced the role of hero, facing pushback from a shadowy government group, serial killers and a twisted family dynamic. Panettiere became the face of NBC’s freshman ensemble success story, and despite an industry work stoppage and dwindling fan support afterward, the show’s viral campaign — “Save the cheerleader, save the world” — centered her, and her character’s courage, on a bona fide fandom-generating ride that ended way too soon in 2010, after four seasons. (Watch on Netflix and Tubi.) — Jevon Phillips

‘Scream’ franchise

Hayden Panettiere at the premiere of “Scream VI” in New York City in 2023.

(Nina Westervelt / Variety via Getty Images)

The actor joined the hit horror franchise in 2011’s “Scream 4” as Kirby Reed, a Woodsboro High student who is a horror film buff. One of that film’s memorable scenes featured Kirby in a tense trivia telephone showdown with the Ghostface killer, rushing through the titles of several slasher films while attempting to save one of her friends.

Although Kirby was seemingly killed off, she returned as an FBI agent in 2023‘s “Scream VI” when the franchise continued with younger characters and moved its setting to New York. “Scream” fans cheered during an early screening when Panettiere’s character appeared — she and Courtney Cox were one of the few “Scream” veterans to return for the new film.

Panettiere’s hair was longer and her role was expanded in the new “Scream.” Kirby explained that she had survived the Ghostface attack: “I was technically dead for four minutes. When I was revived, I got mad … I wanted the monsters to be afraid of me.”

Kirby also engaged in another trivia back-and-forth with Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown) where they agreed on the best “Nightmare on Elm Street” (“the original”) and that “Psycho 2” was “underrated,” but disagreed on the best “Friday the 13th” sequel. Although she is investigating a new set of Ghostface killings, Kirby later becomes a prime suspect. (Watch all on Paramount+.) — Greg Braxton

‘Nashville’

In ABC’s “Nashville,” Juliette Barnes’ storyline was infused with personal struggles similar to Panettiere’s.

(Katherine Bomboy-Thornton / ABC)

Panettiere was noticeably more mature when she became a co-lead role in ABC’s “Nashville” as Juliette Barnes, a crossover singer with more than a few similarities to Taylor Swift. The music-flavored drama, which premiered in 2012, starred Connie Britton as country star Rayna Jaymes, whose career was on the downturn at the same time Barnes was climbing the charts.

The actor injects her “Nashville” character with a mix of sexiness, snark and edge as Barnes becomes rivals with Jaymes. When the two first meet in a dressing room during the pilot, Jaymes is gracious while Barnes is condescending.

Panettiere said in an interview that she was tense during that scene. particularly since it was the first time the two actors had met. She said she apologized to Britton repeatedly saying, “‘I am so sorry!’ Because it was our first experience together, and I didn’t want to step on toes. Sometimes it gets real, very real, you know?”

While filming the series, Panetierre gave birth to her daughter in 2014. She detailed her struggles with postpartum depression in interviews, saying the condition was “scary and needed to be talked about.” In the series, Barnes also suffered from postpartum depression during the show’s third and fourth seasons. (Watch on Pluto TV and Netflix.) — G.B.

‘Kingdom Hearts’

Square Enix’s beloved video game series was my personal introduction to Panettiere and her acting abilities. In the first two installments, Panettiere voiced the kind island kid turned princess Kairi for the games’ English dub. Before protagonist Sora’s (voiced by a young Haley Joel Osment) world descends into darkness, Panettiere’s Kairi is playful and tender early in “Kingdom Hearts 1.” In the slightly more complicated “Kingdom Hearts 2” Panettiere’s older Kairi is contemplative, defiant and desperate to help all her friends. Kairi’s scenes are often accompanied by the powerful score from composer Yoko Shimomura, amplifying the emotion that has driven the games’ fanbase for more than two decades.

“Don’t ever forget. Wherever you go, I’m always with you,” Panettiere’s Kairi says in a memorable cut scene. — A.D.R.

Actor Hayden Panettiere, the child actor who rose to stardom in television and also spoke with raw frankness about her struggles with fame and mental health, died Sunday, according to her family. She was 36.

Panettiere’s father, Skip, announced the actor’s death in a statement shared with The Times on Sunday.

“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,” his statement said.

No other details were released.

She starred on “Nashville” (2012-18) and, before that, “Heroes” (2006-10). Her early work included roles in the 1990s on the soaps “One Life to Live” and “Guiding Light.” She was a model and a singer, having released several singles.

Panettiere also starred in the “Scream” horror movie franchise as well as in hits “I Love You, Beth Cooper” and “Remember the Titans.”

She first gained major attention with “Heroes,” where she played a cheerleader with superpowers. On “Nashville,” she played a troubled country music star, doing her own singing and performing on tour.

Panettiere has been candid about her struggles while living so much of her life in the public eye.

Panettiere gave birth to her daughter, with boxing champ Wladimir Klitschko, in 2014 and battled postpartum depression. She gave up custody of the child in 2018, a decision she called “heartbreaking.”

In May, the actor published a memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” in which she opened up about her alcoholism and depression after the birth of her daughter.

In interviews about the book, she reflected on the scrutiny and cruelty she faced as a young actor.

“It blows my mind that people could be so cruel,” she told the New York Times. “Looking back as an adult and a mother of a daughter, it’s hard to believe that grown adults were OK with ripping you apart at such a tender age. At any age, really.

“I just can’t believe I made it through alive,” she added.

Panettiere started in movies at the age of 9 when she voiced Princess Dot in the 1998 Pixar movie “A Bug’s Life.” Two years later, she made a splash in the role of a young football-obsessed fan and daughter of assistant coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton) in the biographical drama “Remember the Titans.” The actor told “ET” in 2023, “If I had a wish to go back to any time in my life, it would be going back to ‘Remember the Titans.’ … There were so many stars made from this movie.”

Panettiere was passionate about animals and began advocating for whale conservation in her teens. She came out as bisexual earlier this year, telling Us Magazine that she was sad to have waited until age 36 to do so.

She spoke up about her experience with domestic abuse after a public altercation in Los Angeles in 2022 involving a then-boyfriend. Brian Hickerson was on probation at the time following multiple domestic violence charges that dated back to 2018.

In 2025, her brother, Jansen Panettiere, died suddenly of complications from a heart problem. He had struggled with substance abuse and she got him into treatment, she told Us Magazine.

At the height of her fame on “Heroes,” she was regularly followed by the paparazzi and was the focus of much tabloid attention. Looking back on that time recently, she told a podcaster: “It was just sheer terror.”

In the statement on Sunday, Panettiere’s father said the family asked for privacy “as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

THE tragic last post of Hayden Panettiere paid tribute to “good times and good friends” just weeks before she passed away aged 36.

The Heroes and Nashville actress died on Sunday, her father said this morning.

Hayden’s final Instagram post was made on July 27, only 21 days ago, as she smiled alongside photographer pal Randall Slavin.

The carefree and happy snap shows the pair smiling at each other as Panettiere winks playfully at the camera.

In a caption accompanying the snap, which appears to be from a busy event, the Scream star wrote: “Good times and good friends.”

The post has 40,000 likes from Hayden’s one million followers.

Responding to his friend’s death, Slavin, 56, shared the photo on his own Instagram page.

He wrote alongside the black-and-white snap: “Peace be with you, H”.

Other fans flocked to her social media pages to leave their own tributes.
One said: “Rip to the most beautiful soul ever.”

Another wrote: “This just brought me intense sadness.

“I’ve followed your work since I was a little girl, and have been following you for years because you seem like such a wonderful person who deserves so much better in life.”

Sources told TMZ that the mother-of-one had complained of back pain in the months before her death on Sunday.

Hayden’s father, Skip, confirmed the tragic news.

In a statement, 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 onscreen.”

He asked for privacy “as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss”.

The star’s family did not give a cause or location of death, however TMZ reported both Panettiere and boyfriend Brian Hickerson had flown out of Los Angeles on Saturday.

The website also reported that police responded to an “incident” and that an investigation is ongoing.

Newport were four points adrift of safety in the fourth tier when Fuchs was named as Dave Hughes’ successor in November last year.

The Austrian guided Newport to survival in League Two, but left the club on the eve of their return for pre-season ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

The arrival of Mullins means it is the third successive summer that there has been a managerial change at Rodney Parade.

He is also the fourth permanent boss appointed by owner Huw Jenkins since his January 2024 takeover of the club, following Nelson Jardim, Hughes and Fuchs in the hot seat.

Former England Under-21 international Mullins – who also played for Reading, Birmingham City and Notts County – moved into coaching within Watford’s youth system in 2016.

Having managed the Hornets’ under-23s, he twice took temporary charge of Watford’s senior team, following the exits of Quique Sánchez Flores and Nigel Pearson from Vicarage Road.

Mullins joined Colchester United as an assistant in 2020 and – following a stint as interim boss – took permanent charge of the U’s in May 2021, but was sacked less than a year later.

He went on to have a brief stint in charge of the Turks and Caicos Islands national team in 2023 before joining Fulham as under-21 boss later that year.

In his first campaign in charge, Mullins led the young Cottagers to Premier League Cup glory with a 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s in the final.