Hayden Panettiere, a former child actress who transitioned into a successful career as an adult in television and film with such shows as Heroes, Nashville and two Scream movies, has died.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” Panettiere’s representative told ABC News 7 in Los Angeles in a statement on Sunday night. “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.”
Panettiere was 36. Her cause of death was not released.
Panettiere’s death follows the release of her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning in May, in which she details personal struggles, including postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma and domestic abuse, as well as the loss of her younger brother — fellow actor Jansen Panettiere — at age 28 in 2023.
Hayden Panettiere her battle with postpartum depression with the pregancy and parenting publication Dear Momé, saying in what was reportedly her final interview, “I’m a warrior. I’m a woman who has been through more trauma than I ever thought I’d face, but I’m resilient.”
Panettiere played Claire Bennet, a cheerleader who gained superpowers in Heroes, and in Nashville, she starred as country music singer Juliette Barnes. In 2011’s Scream 4, she played Kirby Reed, and reprised the role in 2023’s Scream VI.
As a child, Panettiere had a recurring role in the daytime drama One Life to Live, and in the films Remember the Titans and Racing Stripes. She also contributed voice roles to the movie hits A Bug’s Life (as Dot) and Dinosaur (as Suri).
Hayden Panettiere Appeared In More Than 70 Screen Roles
Born Hayden Leslie Panettiere on Aug. 21, 1989, in Palisades, N.Y., Panettiere’s screen debut was in 1994, in the recurring role of Sarah Roberts in the ABC daytime drama One Life to Live.
Panettiere appeared in 27 episodes of One Life to Live from 1994 to 1997, which was followed by a recurring turn as Lizzie Spaulding in the CBS daytime drama Guiding Light. Panettiere appeared in 47 episodes of the series from 1997 to 2000.
Amid her work on TV, Panettiere landed a role in the 1998 Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd romantic comedy drama The Object of My Affection and the 2000 football drama Remember the Titans, where she starred opposite Denzel Washington and Will Patton.
In 2001, Panettierealso played a supporting role in the Tim Allen comedy Joe Somebody, while in 2002, Panettiere starred in a recurring role of Maddie Harrington over 12 episodes in Calista Flockhart’s hit legal drama/comedy romance Ally McBeal.
From 2003 to 2004, Panettiere appeared in the guest role of Jessica in the hit ABC sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. In 2005, the actress starred in the lead role in the animal adventure comedy Racing Stripes, and in 2006, she played a supporting role opposite Michelle Trachtenberg in the coming-of-age teen comedy Ice Princess.
Panettiere’s star rose considerably as a teenager in the NBC superhero drama Heroes, where she played Claire over 73 episodes alongside the likes of Zachary Quinto, Ali Larter and Milo Ventimiglia from 2006 to 2010. In the series, Claire has the superpower of fast cell regeneration so she can heal quickly from injuries, as well as an incredibly high tolerance for pain.
From 2012 to 2018 Panettiere starred as Juliette Barnes opposite Connie Britton as Rayna James in the hit series Nashville. Panettiere appeared in all 124 episodes of the country music drama, which ran for four seasons on ABC before being cancelled. CMT picked up the series for its final two seasons.
Nashville earned Panettiere Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television in 2013 and 2014.
Panettiere’s other screen credits include the films Shanghai Kiss (2007), I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009), The Forger (2012) and the TV movie Amanda Knox (2012), in which she played the title role. She also did performance capture and the voice of Samanta for the horror video game Until Dawn in 2015 and 2024.
Panettiere’s final screen roles were in the action horror movie A Breed Apart in 2025 and the psychological thriller Sleepwalker, which was released earlier this year.
Panettiere is survived by her daughter, Kaya, whom she shared with her former fiancé, former Ukranian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.