Hayden Panettiere, an actress recognized for her roles in the television series Heroes and Nashville, has died at the age of 36. Her father, Skip Panettiere, confirmed her death on Sunday in South Carolina, requesting privacy for the family during this time. According to police in Greenville, emergency services responded to a report of an unresponsive female and pronounced her dead at the scene. Authorities have stated that there are no indications of foul play, and the cause of death has not yet been disclosed.
Panettiere began her acting career as a child, appearing in Disney films such as Remember the Titans and A Bug’s Life. She gained fame for her role as cheerleader Claire Bennet in NBC’s Heroes and later starred as country singer Juliette Barnes in ABC’s Nashville.
In recent years, Panettiere had been open about her struggles with postpartum depression and addiction following the birth of her daughter, Kaya, in 2014. She made the decision to give up custody of her daughter in 2018. Panettiere continued to discuss her recovery in public, including in her memoir released this year, titled This Is Me: A Reckoning, where she reflected on her experiences with fame, motherhood, and mental health.
She also experienced personal loss with the death of her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 28. Panettiere would have celebrated her 37th birthday on Friday.