Hayden Panettiere, who became a household name as a teenager for her role in Heroes and later starred in Nashville and multiple Scream films, has died at age 36.
Panettiere was pronounced dead at a South Carolina apartment Sunday, August 16. A cause of death has not been revealed, but an autopsy showed no signs of trauma. Toxicology reports are pending and could take up to 12 weeks, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.
A newly released incident report states that the 911 call was made by Brian Hickerson, 37, who is referred to as Panettiere’s boyfriend. He reportedly turned over a “bag of medication” belonging to Panettiere to the police, but the contents of that bag has so far been redacted. His brother Zach Hickerson was also present on the scene. The Independent has approached police for further information.
Now, police have reportedly begun probing whether there could be criminal conduct behind her death. Officers with the Greenville Police Department were seen outside of a Hickerson family home Wednesday morning in photos first obtained by Page Six. The US Drug Enforcement Administration joined the investigation into Panettiere’s death on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the case who spoke to the New York Times.
Among her most memorable roles were Sheryl Yoast in the 2000 Denzel Washington-led film Remember the Titans, high school cheerleader Claire Bennet on NBC’s sci-fi drama Heroes (2006-2010), and aspiring country singer Juliette Barnes on the hit TV series Nashville (2012-2018).
Her New York Times bestselling memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, was published in May this year, in which 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.
Key Points
- Hayden Panettiere dead: Heroes and Nashville star dies aged 36
- DEA joins investigation into Hayden Panettiere’s death
- Neighbour says she repeatedly called police over Hayden Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend
- Brian Hickerson dealt legal blow in Panettiere case days before star's death
- Wladimir Klitschko breaks silence over ex-fiancée's death
Wladimir Klitschko breaks silence over ex-fiancée's death
Tuesday 18 August 2026 14:44 , Caitlin Hornik
In an Instagram post, Wladimir Klitschko wrote: “Our family is going through a time of profound shock and grief.
“The announcement of Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply. 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.
“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.
“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.
“I ask everyone to please respect our family’s feelings and privacy during this incredibly difficult time. For now, this is all I wish to say.
“Thank you to everyone who is supporting my family and expressing their sincere condolences.
“Rest easy, Hayden. May you find eternal peace. #WeLoveYouHayden”
'I didn't get a chance to be a kid,' Panettiere said
12:30 , Lauren Morris
Speaking to People in 2022 about her career as a child star, Panettiere said: “There are happy memories, but there was also a lot of trauma.
“Crying over and over again [for a scene], what does that do to a child’s mind, when they’re praised for feeling sad?”
“I didn’t get a chance to be a kid,” she continued.
“And when I was at school, I was bullied. The lunchroom was the bane of my existence. I was only about 12 when I had an identity crisis. I just didn’t know where I fit in.”
Panettiere spoke about the pressures of growing up in Hollywood
12:00 , Lauren Morris
Panettiere was just 17 when she was cast as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC series Heroes.
She told People in 2024 about the pressures of growing up in the spotlight: “Having grown up in this industry, you’re terrified if you don’t look decent when you walk out the door.
“That started happening for me when I was 16, where you’re already at an age where you don’t feel great about your changing body — and you certainly don’t need grown men commenting on [your] insecurities.”
The Independent interviewed Hayden Panettiere in May
11:30 , Lauren Morris
In May 2026, Hayden Panettiere gave one of her final interviews to The Independent, which we have republished. In it, the Heroes and Nashville star spoke about domestic violence, her estrangement from her mother, and being fired from the movie that could have changed her life.
Hayden Panettiere's personal career highlight
11:00 , Lauren Morris
Hayden Panettiere said the 2000 film Remember the Titans was her favourite to shoot.
“This movie was my favorite movie to film, what an incredible time in my life,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2013.
In the Denzel Washington film, she played Sheryl Yoast, the daughter of assistant high school football coach Bill Yoast, played by Will Patton.
“That's just pure me that look. That is like from, oh my gosh - I mean, I was 10 years old. I had such cute boys around me, I was surrounded by the cutest boys. Kate Bosworth was like my big sister, was close to everyone,” she continued.
“I mean, you have no idea how many times in my life I have wished and prayed - if I had wished to go back to any time in my life, it would be going back to Remember the Titans.”
Tim Allen pays tribute to on-screen daughter Panettiere: 'She is a wonder'
10:30 , Lauren Morris
Toy Story star Tim Allen has paid tribute to Hayden Panettiere, who played his daughter in the 2001 comedy-drama Joe Somebody. The film follows an ordinary man who learns to fight after an altercation with a co-worker.
Posting to X, Allen wrote: “I am shocked and so sad as the passing of Hayden Panettiere. She played my daughter in the movie Joe Somebody.
“The fondest memories of that movie were moments around her. She is a wonder and my prayers are with her family.”
Hayden Panettiere campaigned against dolphin captivity in final project
09:31 , Lauren Morris
In one of her final projects, the Heroes star teamed up with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to protest the conditions dolphins and other mammals live in at marine parks.
“Imagine spending your entire life in a bath tub. That’s what it’s like for dolphins and whales in tiny tanks at marine amusement parks. We can end this. You and me,” she said in a video, while posing in a bath tub.
“Together we can end this cruelty.”
Panettiere was a fierce advocate for animal rights throughout her life – confronting dolphin hunters at 18 in Japan, protesting against the Georgia Aquarium importing 18 wild-caught beluga whales from Russia, and appealing to President Vladimir Putin to release almost 100 belugas and orcas set to be transferred to marine parks.
Hayden Panettiere said she was ‘riddled with guilt’ after brother Jansen’s death
09:30 , Shahana Yasmin
Hayden Panettiere spoke openly about the guilt she carried after the sudden death of her younger brother Jansen, who died aged 28 in 2023 from a heart condition.
In an interview with E! News in May, Panettiere said she was still struggling with the loss three years later. “It’s all the time,” she said of her grief. “It just evolves, especially with a sibling and being the older sibling. You’re just riddled with guilt that you didn’t do your job.”
“I miss him all the time. I didn’t think I would have to do life without him, but I’m grateful that I had the time I had with him,” she added.
Hayden Panettiere said she struggled to fit into ‘two different worlds’ as a child star
09:15 , Shahana Yasmin
Hayden Panettiere had opened up about the difficulty of growing up in Hollywood, saying she felt caught between the adult world of the entertainment industry and the ordinary childhood she wanted.
“It was like I was trying to fit into two different worlds — one was a very adult world, which was the industry, and one was the world of just being a normal kid — and struggled with both in different ways,” Panettiere told BuzzFeed in May, after the release of her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning.
“But I desperately wanted to fit in. That’s what I wanted more than anything,” she said, explaining that she wanted “friends that were my age”, to go to school like a “normal kid” and play sports.
Panettiere said she was also dealing with paparazzi and a loss of freedom while working on Heroes. “Outside of work, I was dealing with paparazzi for the first time and my freedom being taken away, basically overnight,” she said. “The cast of Heroes really kept me grounded at a very pivotal time in my life.”
The heartbreaking family struggles that shaped Hayden Panettiere’s life off screen
09:00 , Shahana Yasmin
The Heroes and Nashville star, who has tragically died aged 36, was bracingly honest about her experiences of familial estrangement, losing custody of her daughter and the depression that followed the sudden death of her younger brother, writes Katie Rosseinsky:
The heartbreaking family struggles that shaped Hayden Panettiere’s life off screen
Nashville’s music community pays tribute to Hayden Panettiere after her death
08:46 , Shahana Yasmin
Tributes have come from the country music world following Hayden Panettiere’s death, with The Chicks, Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus, and Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe among those remembering the actor.
The Chicks, who appeared as themselves on Nashville in 2013, wrote: “Hayden was a beautiful chick, inside and out. Funny, talented, honest, and brave… with a heart of gold. (She could work an iFan like nobody else.) Gone too soon, but never forgotten. Rest in peace, sweet Hayden.”
DeMarcus, who worked with Panettiere several times during his appearances on Nashville, wrote on Instagram: “I had the privilege of working with her several times during her years here in Nashville, this is absolutely heartbreaking.. prayers for the family.”
The Bluebird Cafe, the Nashville music venue that featured prominently on Nashville, where Panettiere’s character Juliette Barnes performed, wrote: “Rest in Peace, Hayden Panettiere. She was a spark; funny, incredibly talented, beautiful. Nashville brought her to us at The Bluebird, and she became part of our family through that.”
Hayden Panettiere’s friend shares her final text: ‘That was you in a nutshell’
08:30 , Shahana Yasmin
Musician Clayton Johnson has shared the final text Hayden Panettiere sent him, as he paid tribute to the actor.
Johnson, who shared a video of himself singing with Panettiere, wrote on Instagram: “More than anything, I hope you’re at peace now and reunited with Jansen.” Panettiere’s younger brother, Jansen, died aged 28 in 2023 from an undiagnosed heart condition.
Johnson said the last message Panettiere sent him, a few weeks after their last phone call, was: “Honestly, people think it’s a joke to ask for world peace, but that would be me.”
“That was you in a nutshell,” he wrote. “I’m grateful I got to know you, and I’ll always be grateful for the memories. Fly high, Hayden.”
Heroes star Masi Oka says Hayden Panettiere was ‘way wiser beyond her years’
08:15 , Shahana Yasmin
Heroes star Masi Oka paid tribute to Hayden Panettiere, describing his former co-star as someone with a “beautiful spirit” and “immense talent”.
Absolutely heartbroken to hear about Hayden. I had the privilege of working closely with her, and I’ll always remember her for her beautiful spirit, immense talent, and the joyful energy she brought to everything she did and the people around her. She was way wiser beyond her…
— Masi Oka (@MasiOka) August 17, 2026
Oka, who played Hiro Nakamura on the NBC series alongside Panettiere’s Claire Bennet, wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Absolutely heartbroken to hear about Hayden. I had the privilege of working closely with her, and I’ll always remember her for her beautiful spirit, immense talent, and the joyful energy she brought to everything she did and the people around her.”
“She was way wiser beyond her years and now gone too soon,” he added.
I interviewed Hayden Panettiere twice – and both times left me incredibly sad
08:00 , Shahana Yasmin
I interviewed Hayden Panettiere twice – and both times left me incredibly sad
Mischa Barton says Hayden Panettiere’s death is ‘profoundly heartbreaking’
07:45 , Shahana Yasmin
Mischa Barton has paid tribute to Hayden Panettiere, her co-star in the psychological thriller Sleepwalker, after the actor’s death on Sunday.
“I am heartbroken by the news of Hayden’s passing,” Barton said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Hayden spoke candidly about her struggles with depression, something no one deserves to endure.”
Barton added: “Her passing at such a young age, with so much life still ahead of her, is profoundly heartbreaking.”
The pair appeared together in Sleepwalker, which was released in January and marked Panettiere’s final film role.
Hayden Panettiere spoke of ‘exciting possibilities’ months before her death
07:30 , Shahana Yasmin
Hayden Panettiere spoke about leaving behind the “darkness” of her past and looking forward to a new chapter in one of her final interviews, recorded with Jay Shetty in May.
“I finally feel like I have shaken off all of this darkness and this negativity,” Panettiere said on the On Purpose podcast. “I’ve closed one door and another door is opened … I can feel all the exciting possibilities. I feel like I have a lot more life to live.”
She also spoke candidly about her relationship with her daughter, Kaya, saying: “I have an incredible relationship with her. I go travel as much as I can. I see her. I do spend a lot of time on FaceTime with her, but we talk about really deep things.”
Hayden Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson was with her when she died. Their history is complicated
07:15 , Shahana Yasmin
When Hayden Panettiere died this Sunday, the 36-year-old Heroes and Nashville star was in South Carolina with an on-and-off boyfriend she’d once described as her “abuser.”
Panettiere first started dating Brian Hickerson, an aspiring actor and real estate agent, in 2018. At the time, she had recently broken up with heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, who is the father of her daughter, Kaya.
In the early days of their courtship, Panettiere and Hickerson were photographed by paparazzi in Los Angeles attending film screenings and eating brunch with friends.
However, by the following year their relationship had taken a dark turn.
Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend was there when she died. Their history is complicated
Hayden Panettiere's father’s statement in full
07:00 , Caitlin Hornik
Alan “Skip” Panettiere issued the following statement to ABC News regarding the death of his daughter, Hayden Panettiere.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” the statement said.
“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 then asked for privacy “as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”
Hayden Panettiere learned years later why she was replaced in Panic Room
06:45 , Shahana Yasmin
Hayden Panettiere was originally cast as Sarah Altman in David Fincher’s 2002 thriller Panic Room, but was replaced by Kristen Stewart after Jodie Foster took over the role of Sarah’s mother from Nicole Kidman.
Panettiere wrote in This Is Me: A Reckoning that she was initially told the filmmakers wanted someone who looked more like Foster. Years later, she learned from a former manager that her mother, Lesley Vogel, had refused Fincher’s request to cut her daughter’s hair to resemble Foster.
“The director spoke to Mom about cutting my hair so I would look more like Jodie Foster, who’s always rocked a great bob,” Panettiere wrote. “Mom said no. It was a deal-breaker.”
“I was so out of the loop,” Panettiere recalled in an interview with The Independent in May. “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?”
Panettiere said the experience contributed to her decision to end Vogel’s role as her manager. She wrote: “All I wanted was to discover what it was like to have a ‘normal’ mother-daughter relationship.”
Neutrogena stock tumbles as fans vow to boycott after Hayden Panettiere death
06:30 , Shahana Yasmin
Neutrogena stock tumbles as fans vow to boycott after Hayden Panettiere death
‘She was a sensitive soul’: Nashville star Jonathan Jackson pays tribute to Hayden Panettiere
06:15 , Shahana Yasmin
Nashville star Jonathan Jackson has paid tribute to Hayden Panettiere, remembering the bond they formed while playing married couple Avery Barkley and Juliette Barnes on the country music drama.
Jackson, who worked with Panettiere throughout the series, shared a gallery of photos from the show on Instagram, writing: “We both grew up in the industry, although she started even younger than me, but we shared that. A silent knowing of how intense the struggles can be.”
He described Panettiere as “incredibly funny and witty” and “amazingly gifted”, adding: “She was an absolute joy to work with. Focused, spontaneous and brilliant. The most important thing between friends and coworkers is trust, and we had this.”
Jackson said his wife Elisa and he “both love and cherish her deeply, like our own sister”, adding: “My prayer for her every day we worked together was that she would know how loved she is, and that she would find the peace that she was looking for.”
Hayden Panettiere's cause of death remains unclear
06:01 , Caitlin Hornik
Police in Greenville, South Carolina, said officers “responded to a report of an unresponsive female” at around 1:50 pm ET on Sunday (August 16). She was pronounced dead at the scene.
A cause of death has not been revealed, but an autopsy showed no signs of trauma. An investigation is ongoing.
Hayden Panettiere’s old injuries left her in severe pain before her death
05:45 , Shahana Yasmin
Hayden Panettiere was still dealing with severe physical pain in the months before her death, more than two decades after an on-set accident while filming Racing Stripes.
While filming the 2005 movie at 14, Panettiere was thrown from a zebra and suffered a concussion, whiplash, and injuries to her neck. In her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, she wrote: “I kept my mouth shut and endured the pain in my back and neck. Over 20 years later, these injuries still bother me.”
Earlier this year, she described waking up with “nothing but pins and needles from my waist down” and being unable to bend her toes or lift her foot. “I was sitting there going, ‘Oh, my gosh, am I going to be paralysed for the rest of my life?’” she told Women’s Health.
Her friend and hairstylist Erick Orellana later told Page Six that the actor “suffered earlier this year with her back”, adding: “At one point, it was even hard for her to move her legs.”
Hayden Panettiere had planned to spend 37th birthday with daughter Kaya
05:30 , Shahana Yasmin
Hayden Panettiere had been planning to spend the week of her 37th birthday with her 11-year-old daughter Kaya in Germany.
“She was planning on spending the week of her birthday visiting her daughter in Germany,” a source close to the actor told Page Six. “She was so excited to see her and was telling everyone how much she was looking forward to spending time with her.”
Panettiere would have turned 37 on 21 August, five days after her death.
Her hairstylist and close friend Erick Orellana had previously told Page Six that Panettiere had been “talking about how she wanted to take a vacation, and that she wanted to go and see her daughter”.
Panettiere shared Kaya with former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko. Although Klitschko was granted custody in 2018 while Panettiere sought treatment for addiction and postpartum depression, she continued to speak about her close relationship with her daughter.
Hayden Panettiere’s Heroes father says she was ‘hunted’ by paparazzi as a teenager
05:15 , Shahana Yasmin
Heroes star Jack Coleman has said he is “heartbroken” at the news of Hayden Panettiere’s death, and called out the predatory paparazzi he said “hunted” her.
Coleman, who played Claire Bennet’s father Noah on the NBC series, said Panettiere introduced herself by shouting “daddy” and embracing him when they first met for the pilot 20 years ago. She later called him “daddio”, while he nicknamed her “Haydini” because “she was a magician”.
He recalled the “prodigious talent” of Panettiere, who was 16 when Heroes premiered, and remembered how she was able to cry at the same time during an early scene take after take. “It’s not technique,” she told him. “I feel it and the tears just happen to come at that moment.”
“She was hunted. Everywhere she went, there were photographers with 300 millimeter lenses,” he wrote. “Once, when she came to our house, paparazzi hid in the bushes behind our yard and drove onto neighbours’ lawns. They were predatory. No one, especially a teenager, should be targeted that way.”
“She was blessed and cursed,” Coleman wrote. “She was vulnerable. She felt everything.” He ended by writing: “I only wish you had been given that same protection.”
Hayden Panettiere's TV history
05:01 , Caitlin Hornik
After getting her start on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, Hayden Panettiere went on to act in a number of TV shows, eventually starring in hit shows Heroes and Nashville. Below is a list of TV shows she appeared on, according to her IMDb page:
- Aliens in the Family
- Unhappily Ever After
- One Life to Live
- Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke
- Touched by an Angel
- Guiding Light
- Ally McBeal
- Fillmore!
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
- Malcolm in the Middle
- Commander in Chief
- Skater Boys
- Robot Chicken
- Heroes
- American Dad!
- Heroes Reborn
- Nashville
Christy Carlson Romano says ‘early fame is like CTE’ after Hayden Panettiere’s death
04:45 , Shahana Yasmin
Even Stevens star Christy Carlson Romano has called for greater protections for child actors following Hayden Panettiere’s death.
“Early fame is like CTE. Not as a diagnosis. As a way of thinking about repeated impact,” Romano wrote in an essay for Elle, comparing the effects of childhood fame to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease caused by repeated head injuries.
“Is it any wonder so many of us struggle with addiction? The industry gives us the wound and then acts surprised when we reach for something to treat it,” she wrote.
Romano, who also began working as a child actor, said young performers face “stress, scrutiny, rejection, adult pressure, and the collapse of privacy” before they are equipped to deal with them. “We need to stop calling the truth bitterness,” she wrote.
Neighbour says she repeatedly called police over Hayden Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend
04:30 , Shahana Yasmin
A former neighbour of Hayden Panettiere has described repeated disturbances involving her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson, saying she called 911 “at least half a dozen times”.
Mia Terrazzas told Inside Edition that she noticed signs of domestic violence and claimed Panettiere appeared frightened during one incident. “I saw her leaving on a gurney. Brian was right next to her, and I asked her if she was okay” she said.
Terrazzas claimed it “looked to me that she had suffered some type of trauma that looked to be battering”.
She also alleged that homeowners’ association notices were posted warning residents to call 911 if Hickerson was seen at the property, although she said they were removed about a week later.
Panettiere detailed years of physical abuse by Hickerson in her memoir, writing that he had tried to smash her head into a wall and “bust up her face so badly I don’t leave the house for weeks”.
Hickerson pleaded no contest in April 2021 to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend and was sentenced to 45 days in county jail, four years’ probation, 52 domestic-violence classes and a five-year protective order. He ultimately served 13 days in jail.
Brian Hickerson dealt legal blow in Panettiere case days before star's death
04:15 , Caitlin Hornik
Brian Hickerson, Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend, was denied a request to expunge and downgrade his previous felony charges to misdemeanors days before the Heroes star’s death.
The charges stemmed from several alleged incidents involving Panettiere between May 2019 and January 2020.
Following his July 2020 arrest, Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend. He was hit with an eight-count criminal indictment in April 2021.
Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in jail in 2021, along with four years of probation, 52 mandatory domestic violence classes, and a five-year restraining order.
Page Six reported that Hickerson’s request was denied during an August 13 court hearing, despite arguing that the terms of his probation had been met. Hickerson previously made the same request in July 2025, which was also denied.
Hickerson was with Panettiere at the time of her death.
DEA joins investigation into Hayden Panettiere’s death
04:01 , Shahana Yasmin
The US Drug Enforcement Administration has joined the investigation into Hayden Panettiere’s death, according to a person familiar with the case who spoke to the New York Times.
Panettiere, 36, was found in cardiac arrest at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday and could not be revived.
A person with knowledge of the investigation told the Times that an apparent drug overdose led to the cardiac arrest, although her official cause of death has not been determined.
The DEA’s involvement comes after police found Panettiere’s former boyfriend Brian Hickerson at the apartment and he showed officers a bag containing medication she had been taking. The details of those medications were redacted from the police report.
Police have said there were no signs of foul play, while toxicology results are still pending.
03:16 , Panettiere still struggled with decades-old injuriesCaitlin Hornik
In her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, Panettiere recalled being thrown from a zebra while filming the 2005 movie, Racing Stripes.
Just 14 years old at the time, Panettiere suffered damage to two vertebrae in her neck, a concussion and severe whiplash.
“I kept my mouth shut and endured the pain in my back and neck,” she wrote in her memoir.
“Over 20 years later, these injuries still bother me.”
Cops spotted at Hickerson family home days after Panettiere's death
02:41 , Caitlin Hornik
Police have been spotted at a Hickerson family residence about five miles from where Panettiere died Sunday.
Her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach were both with her when she died.
Now, Page Six reported Wednesday that cops were seen outside a home belonging to the Hickerson brothers’ grandmother.
A pair of officers were seen around 8:20 a.m. ET knocking on front and side doors of the residence. They returned about 90 minutes later to “conduct a welfare check,” the outlet reported.
However, it was not clear who the intended target of the welfare check was.
The Independent has contacted the Greenville Police Department for more information.
Filmmaker recalls Panettiere's on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson being on movie set
02:09 , Caitlin Hornik
Filmmaker Griff Furst worked with Panettiere on A Breed Apart, which was released in theaters in May 2025.
In an Instagram video shared August 17, Furst recalled Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson being on set.
“I had met Hayden about 10 years before that and I knew that she was insanely talented, so when she signed on to do this picture that we were shooting, I was psyched. I really wanted to work with her. So I’m on set, and I get word from the movie’s security team who picked her up from the airport that something was off,” Furst said in the video.
“I didn’t think much about it, and so I left set and I walked over to greet her and her boyfriend Brian. He opened the door. Hayden was incredibly sweet and gracious and excited to work, but she was not okay,” he continued.
“I’m not going to get into the details of why that was, but having worked on over 100 movies and seeing just about everything, it was pretty clear that she wasn’t okay and the energy in her room was pretty dark.”
Hayden Panettiere: 'I think a lot about what my life could have been like if I did that film'
01:39 , Caitlin Hornik
A few years ago, during a conversation with her former agent, Hayden Panettiere discovered the truth about a situation that had always nagged at her. In 2000, when she was an 11-year-old child actor Panettiere was fired from David Fincher’s home invasion thriller Panic Room after Nicole Kidman left the project, due to an injury. Or so she was told.
In fact, Fincher had wanted Panettiere to stay on with Jodie Foster, who was replacing Kidman. But he’d asked her mother if Panettiere could cut her hair into a bob, in order to better match Foster. Panettiere’s mother refused.
“I was so out of the loop,” Panettiere recalled in an interview with The Independent in May. “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?”
She met Panic Room’s eventual child star, Kristen Stewart, at a friend’s birthday party days before the interview. “We talked about everything that happened, and she was so kind. I felt like, finally, I was able to get it off my chest and let it go.”
Hayden Panettiere's history with on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson
01:12 , Caitlin Hornik
When Hayden Panettiere died on Sunday, the 36-year-old Heroes and Nashville star was in South Carolina with an on-and-off boyfriend she’d once described as her “abuser.”
Here is what we know about Hickerson:
Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend was there when she died. Their history is complicated
Panettiere was estranged from her mother, actor Lesley Vogel
Thursday 20 August 2026 00:52 , Caitlin Hornik
Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, was the young actor’s manager from the time she was an infant.
When Panettiere was 19, she asked her mom to step aside as her manager.
“I said to her, ‘I don’t want us to work together anymore. I just want you to be my mom,’” she told podcaster Jay Shetty earlier this year.
Vogel reportedly responded by telling Panettiere: “You owe me.”
Panettiere said that she believed her mother wanted money and not a relationship.
“The fact that she didn’t care to have a relationship with me was a tough pill to swallow,” the Nashville star said.
The mother and daughter were estranged at the time of Panettiere’s death.
Hayden Panettiere's history of postpartum depression
Thursday 20 August 2026 00:31 , Caitlin Hornik
Hayden Panettiere spoke candidly about how she wishes she had known about the risk of postpartum depression after giving birth to her daughter, Kaya.
In an interview with E! News’ The Rundown, Panettiere shared how turning to alcohol to deal with postpartum depression made “everything worse”.
“I wish I knew about postpartum depression. I wish I knew to look out for it. I just thought there was something seriously wrong with me, so I thought, ‘Fireball will fix this – duh!’ and it didn’t. It does for a moment, but then it makes everything worse.”
The actor said she did not learn about postpartum depression before her pregnancy, which made the experience even more isolating.
“I wish somebody told me it’s OK if you birth your child and you’re not immediately like, ‘Oh my god, I love you more than anything in the entire world!’”
The heartbreaking family struggles that shaped Hayden Panettiere’s life off screen
Thursday 20 August 2026 00:03 , Caitlin Hornik
The Heroes and Nashville star, who has tragically died aged 36, was bracingly honest about her experiences of familial estrangement, losing custody of her daughter and the depression that followed the sudden death of her younger brother, writes Katie Rosseinsky:
The heartbreaking family struggles that shaped Hayden Panettiere’s life off screen
Screen actor's union mourns Panettiere
Wednesday 19 August 2026 23:39 , Caitlin Hornik
SAG-AFTRA, the screen actor’s union, shared a tribute to Panettiere on social media.
“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”
Hayden Panettiere said she had 'a lot of life left to live'
Wednesday 19 August 2026 23:08 , Caitlin Hornik
In one of her last interviews with podcaster Jay Shetty in the months before her death, Hayden Panettiere spoke about her future with hope.
PETA praises dedicated animal advocate Hayden Panettiere: 'She was the real deal'
Wednesday 19 August 2026 22:42 , Caitlin Hornik
Hayden Panettiere might have been known primarily for her acting, but she was also an avid animal activist, having “paddled into blood-stained waters of Taiji, Japan, to stare down dolphin hunters during their annual massacre” – a moment captured in the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove.
She also “never stopped denouncing marine parks like SeaWorld, calling their confinement of complex, far-ranging marine mammals in concrete tanks ‘disgusting’”.
PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange wrote: “Hayden Panettiere became a household name playing a hero on TV, but to animals, she was the real deal. The world has lost a kind soul and the animals a fierce ally, and everyone at PETA holds her memory close.”
Hayden Panettiere's younger brother died in 2023
Wednesday 19 August 2026 22:18 , Caitlin Hornik
Hayden Panettiere’s younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, died in February 2023 at the age of 28 due to complications with his heart.
Jansen had an undiagnosed enlarged heart, as well as aortic valve complications.
His sudden death was extremely painful for Hayden, who told People in 2024: He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him.”
“When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul,” she said.
Holly Robinson Peete weighs in on Lesley Vogel's statement after daughter's death
Wednesday 19 August 2026 22:06 , Caitlin Hornik
Actor Holly Robinson Peete weighed in on Panettiere’s mother Lesley Vogel’s comments about her daughter’s death.
Sharing an article link to Gayle King’s comments on the same topic, Peete wrote on X: “She’s not wrong. We know this young lady clearly had so many issues, but if you’re not gonna take accountability for the fact that you put her in the business that eventually messed her up then nothing you say has any integrity.
“She didn’t even say ‘I will miss my daughter’ or ‘I loved my daughter the best way I could.’ Has she even mentioned the word daughter? . There were so many things she could have said to show us that she was a caring, mother…
“And now both of her children are gone. It is all so tragic. rip Hayden”
She’s not wrong. We know this young lady clearly had so many issues, but if you’re not gonna take accountability for the fact that you put her in the business that eventually messed her up then nothing you say has any integrity.
— Holly Robinson Peete 💃🏾♍️ (@hollyrpeete) August 19, 2026
She didn’t even say “ I will miss my daughter” or… https://t.co/W1q1L0vq4Y
Gayle King responds to Panettiere's mom's comments
Wednesday 19 August 2026 21:54 , Caitlin Hornik
Gayle King responded to comments made by Hayden Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, following the death of her daughter.
“You know, guys, you read this and all I can think is, ‘Thanks, Mom, for nothing,’” King said during Wednesday’s CBS Mornings broadcast.
King acknowledged that Panettiere spoke about her “complicated relationship with her mom,” noting that “you hear stuff like that and you realize it was still very much [a work] in progress.”
“It makes me so sad of the opportunity that you have after your daughter’s death that that’s what you choose to leave us with,” King said.
King said earlier this week that Panettiere was “clearly still struggling” in their interview three months before her death.
Carsen Holaday reports:
Gayle King says Hayden Panettiere was ‘clearly still struggling’ in last interview
Panettiere's estranged mother Lesley Vogel speaks out about her daughter's death
Wednesday 19 August 2026 21:26 , Caitlin Hornik
Lesley Vogel took aim at Brian Hickerson in her first public comments since the death of her estranged daughter, Hayden Panettiere, telling NBC News:
“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.”
She added: “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.
“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.”
She concluded: “I just feel that she’s with her brother and they’re at peace.” Panettiere’s younger brother Jansen died unexpectedly in 2023 at the age of 28.
Hayden Panettiere dead: Heroes and Nashville star dies aged 36
Monday 17 August 2026 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.
