Hayden Panettiere dead: Star of ‘Heroes,’ ‘Nashville’ was 36
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.