Hayden Panettiere, who became a household name as a teenager for her role in Heroes and later starred in Nashville and the Scream films, has died aged 36.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” Panettiere’s father, Skip said in a statement to ABC News. “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.”
No cause of death or further information about her death has been shared.
Panettiere’s breakthrough role came with NBC’s sci-fi drama Heroes, where she played Claire Bennet, a high-school cheerleader with the power to regenerate from injuries, from 2006 to 2010.
She followed Heroes with Nashville, playing aspiring country singer Juliette Barnes from 2012 to 2018. The performance earned her two Golden Globe nominations.
Panettiere’s New York Times bestselling memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning was published in May this year, where she looked back at her childhood in Hollywood and her experiences with addiction, postpartum depression, abusive relationships, and the loss of custody of her daughter, Kaya, whom she shares with former heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
Hayden Panettiere death
- Hayden Panettiere dies, aged 36
- Hereos star's father leads tributes
- Scream co-star remembers 'sweet' actor
Hayden Panettiere gave boxer ex full custody of daughter
08:21 , Jacob Stolworthy
Hayden Panettiere said it “wasn’t fully” her decision to give her boxer ex, Wladimir Klitschko, full custody of her then-three-year-old daughter, Kaya.
The actor thought Kaya was only visiting Ukraine while she sought treatment for her addiction to alcohol and pills, when it became apparent that she would be staying there with Klitschko.
“I was gonna go work on myself and I was gonna get better, and when I got better that things could change and she could come to me and I could have my time with her, she Red Table Talk. “But that didn’t happen.”
She continued: “I thought she was going over to visit him like she always did.
“[Kaya] would go back and forth from me in Nashville and Ukraine, and then once she was over there, it was immediately ‘I want full custody of her,’ which was a shock to me.’”
She eventually signed the papers granting him full custody, calling it “the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever, ever had to do in my life”.
Hayden Panettiere's final Instagram post
08:14 , Jacob Stolworthy
Hayden Panettiere shared her final Instagram post on 27 July. It showed her playfully winking at the camera while posing happily next to her friend, podcaster Randall Slavin.
Hayden Panettiere's brother Jansen died three years ago
07:58 , Jacob Stolworthy
Hayden Panettiere says she lost half her soul when her younger brother Jansen Panettiere died, aged 28, from an enlarged heart in 2023.
“He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him,” she told People the following year. “When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul.”
The actor said she “will always be heartbroken about it”, adding: “I will never be able to get over it. No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss.”
She also said she felt more equipped to handle traumatic situations as a consequence, telling the outlet: “When something that massive has happened to you, you really learn to pick your fights and just not let the little things upset you,” she said.
“Because once something so horrific, so deep, so catastrophic happens in your life, there’s not much that can really rock you.”
Hayden Panettiere's biggest career near-miss: 'One of the harder things I experienced'
07:39 , Jacob Stolworthy
In 2000, when Hayden Panettiere was 11, she was fired from David Fincher’s home invasion thriller Panic Room. The director wanted Panettiere to cut her hair into a bob, in order to better match Jodie Foster, but her mother refused and the role went to Kristen Stewart instead.
In an interview earlier this year, she told The Independent she only found out the truth a few years ago, stating: “I was so out of the loop. And it was one of the harder things that I’ve experienced. I didn’t think it was fair. And I think a lot about what my life could have been like if I did that film. What parts could I have played? What person would I have been?”
When she met Stewart earlier this year, the pair “talked about everything that happened”, and Panettiere “felt like, finally, I was able to get it off my chest and let it go”.
Hayden Panettiere discusses her bond with daughter Kaya in final interview
07:24 , Shahana Yasmin
Jay Shetty remembers Hayden Panettiere after 'moving' interview
07:09 , Shahana Yasmin
Jay Shetty says “our friendship had just begun” after Panettiere’s death, weeks after sitting down with her for an emotional conversation on his On Purpose podcast.
“I can’t believe it. Our friendship had just begun and I was so moved by the conversation we shared earlier this year. My love and condolences to her family and fans,” he wrote in the comment section of Variety’s Instagram post on the actor’s death.
In an episode released in May, Panettiere spoke candidly to Shetty about the cost of becoming famous as a child, saying she had lost “the innocence of a normal childhood”.
“I felt like I was alone in a room full of people,” she told him.
She talked about her struggles with addiction and postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, Kaya. Speaking about the decision for Kaya to live with her father, she said: “The idea that anybody would think that I would just give away my child and be OK with it is heartbreaking.”
Beverley Mitchell and Rosie O’Donnell pay tribute to Panettiere
06:50 , Shahana Yasmin
7th Heaven’s Beverley Mitchell described Hayden Panettiere as a “bright light” as she paid tribute to the Heroes star.
“Praying the news is wrong! You are such a bright light and soooo loved!!!!” she wrote in a comment on Panettiere’s final Instagram post.
Mitchell played Lucy Camden on the family drama 7th Heaven, which ran from 1996 to 2007. She also appeared in Saw II and The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
Rosie O’Donnell shared a photo of Panettiere from the 2006 film Bring It On: All or Nothing, and wrote on Instagram: “Oh my god – heartbroken”.
Singer JoJo described the news of Panettiere's death as “devastating”, adding: "I am so sorry to hear of her passing. Oh my god.”
Selma Blair pleads ‘don’t be gone’ in emotional tribute
06:43 , Shahana Yasmin
Selma Blair left a series of emotional messages on Hayden Panettiere’s final Instagram post.
“I love you. Don’t be gone. Don’t be gone. Please. Please,” Blair wrote on Panettiere’s last Instagram post.
In a later comment, she added: “I love you whale tail my friend,” followed by another message: “I’m dying. Please be here.”
Panettiere’s final post, shared on 27 July, showed her smiling alongside her friend, photographer and director Randall Slavin.
Slavin later reposted the black-and-white image to his Instagram Stories, writing: “Peace be with you, H.”
Scream VI star Melissa Barrera pays tribute to Hayden Panettiere
06:34 , Shahana Yasmin
Melissa Barrera, who played Sam Carpenter in Scream VI, shared a tribute on her Instagram Stories after news of Panettiere’s death, writing: “Rest in peace sweet Hayden.”
The pair starred together in the 2023 slasher, with Panettiere returning as Kirby Reed, the character she first played in 2011’s Scream 4. Panettiere’s return to the franchise came after a four-year break from acting.
Panettiere had previously defended Barrera after she was dropped from Scream 7, describing the decision as “very unfair and upsetting”. Panettiere said she had contacted Barrera after her firing and called her “a badass as a human being and as an actress”.
SAG-AFTRA mourns Hayden Panettiere after actor’s death
06:16 , Shahana Yasmin
Actors’ union SAG-AFTRA has paid tribute to Hayden Panettiere after her death.
“We mourn the sudden passing of Hayden Panettiere,” the union said in a statement. “A child actor, Hayden's long career in TV & film included memorable roles in Heroes, Nashville and more. Our hearts are with her daughter, family, friends & fans.”
We mourn the sudden passing of Hayden Panettiere. A child actor, Hayden's long career in TV & film included memorable roles in 'Heroes,' 'Nashville' & more. Our hearts are with her daughter, family, friends & fans. #RIP. 🕊️ #SagAftraMember since 1994 https://t.co/oJSF7ch1hX
— SAG-AFTRA (@sagaftra) August 17, 2026
Panettiere had been a SAG-AFTRA member since 1994. She began appearing in commercials at just 11 months old, making her debut in an advert for a Playskool toy train. At four, she landed her first regular acting role as Sarah Roberts on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, a role she played for four years.
Fans pay tribute to Hayden Panettiere after her death at 36
05:57 , Shahana Yasmin
Fans have been sharing their heartbreak over the actor’s death, with some remembering her alongside her late Ice Princess co-star Michelle Trachtenberg.
“First Michelle Trachtenberg now Hayden Panettiere,” one fan wrote. “I’m so sad, I can’t believe this, my ice princesses both gone.”
first michelle trachtenberg now hayden panettiere i’m so sad i can’t believe this my ice princesses both gone pic.twitter.com/Zksy7a1Dds
— Renée✨ (@bbydrewblue) August 17, 2026
Trachtenberg, best known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, died aged 39 in February 2025. She and Panettiere starred in the 2005 Disney film Ice Princess, with Trachtenberg playing aspiring figure skater Casey Carlyle and Panettiere playing her skating rival, Gen Harwood.
“Just saw the news and I’m so sad, rest in peace Hayden Panettiere. And thank you for giving us one of the best and most funniest characters in the Scream franchise,” wrote another fan.
Truly heartbreaking. 💔 Hayden Panettiere was only 36 and leaves behind memorable work across Heroes, Nashville, and the Scream franchise. Gone far too soon. 🕊️ pic.twitter.com/d9KgrfbG7f
— Hatter🎩🟥🟩 (@HatterOnChain) August 17, 2026
Hayden Panettiere’s memoir revealed the pressures of being a child star
05:46 , Shahana Yasmin
Hayden Panettiere released her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning earlier this year, where she shared that her mother once used superglue to attach a lost baby tooth to a dental flipper.
Panettiere, who began appearing in commercials at just 11 months old, recalled losing a front tooth when she was eight and said her mother Lesley Vogel squeezed “a dab of superglue” on the fake tooth to secure it to her mouth.
“Partly in horror and partly out of respect for the MacGyver-like skills I had no idea she possessed, I stepped back to give Mom some room,” she wrote. "A little voice in my head told me that if the superglue wasn’t dry, I was going to live with this flipper for all eternity. I closed my mouth and licked my top teeth. Then I opened my mouth and smiled.”
She wrote that she had ended her professional relationship with her mother as a teenager. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a relationship right now,” she told Us Weekly in May. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t leave the door open for the opportunity to present itself one day.”
Horror convention Scaradise pays tribute to Hayden Panettiere
05:32 , Shahana Yasmin
The horror and pop-culture convention Scaradise has paid tribute to Hayden Panettiere after her death, describing her as “so sweet and kind”.
“We are incredibly sad to hear about the passing of Hayden Panettiere. Hayden joined us at our February show and quickly became one of our favorite people. She was so sweet & kind. She brought joy to everyone she met. We are so grateful to have shared that time with her,” the statement read.
“Our thoughts are with her family, friends, and everyone who loved her during this incredibly difficult time.”
Scaradise, held at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa from 27 February to 1 March, featured Panettiere alongside several of her Scream co-stars, including Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, and David Arquette.
Hayden Panettiere’s father pays tribute to ‘incredible light’ after her death
05:31 , Shahana Yasmin
Hayden Panettiere’s father Skip has asked for privacy as the family mourns the actor’s death at 36.
Confirming her death in a statement to ABC News, he described his daughter as “an incredible light and a force of nature” who brought “immeasurable love and joy” to those who knew her and the millions who watched her onscreen.
He asked for privacy ‘as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.’”
No cause of death has been announced, and further details surrounding her death have not been released.
Hayden Panettiere dead: Heroes and Nashville star dies aged 36
05:06 , Shahana Yasmin
Hayden Panettiere, best known for her roles in Heroes, Nashville, and the Scream franchise, has died aged 36.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” Panettiere’s father, Skip said in a statement to ABC News. “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.”
No cause of death was announced.
