By Actress Hayden Panettiere has died, her representative confirmed to AfrikTimes. She was 36 years old.
“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,” her father, Skip Panettiere, said in a statement shared by her representative with AfrikTimes.
Her father asked for privacy “as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”
The circumstances surrounding her death are unknown. ABC was the first to report the news.
Actress Hayden Panettiere.
Beginning as a child star, with a long career in both TV and film, Panettiere is known for her role in the late-aughts television series “Heroes,” in which she played self-healing cheerleader Claire Bennet, and “Nashville,” in which she played young country music star Juliette Barnes.
She was also featured in 2011’s “Scream 4” as Kirby Reed, returning to the horror franchise years later in the sixth installment, and had notable roles in the films “I Love You Beth Cooper” and “Remember the Titans.”
Panettiere has been candid about her struggles from child stardom through adulthood. She released a memoir this May titled “This Is Me: A Reckoning.”
In the memoir, she shares “a rare and intimate glimpse into her life behind closed doors, opening up about postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma, domestic abuse, and loss,” according to a synopsis for her book.
“I could relate to a lot of those storylines like the alcoholism and postpartum depression. They hit close to home,” she told People Magazine in 2022. Panettiere told the magazine that, at one point, she was hospitalized with jaundice and doctors told her that her liver was “going to give out.”
“I didn’t know where the alcoholism was ending and the postpartum was beginning,” Panetierre said. “And I ran myself pretty ragged.”
Actress Hayden Panettiere arrives at the 21st Annual Critics’ Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California January 17, 2016.
She said the years that followed her role on “Nashville” had “been difficult.” She said, “The years before were very difficult for me, too. And I just needed a break.”
Panetierre went on to reprise her role as Kirby Reed in the “Scream” franchise, which was released in March 2023.
Her brother, Jansen Panettiere, died suddenly in February 2023 from cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) coupled with aortic valve complications, his family said in a statement at the time. He was 28.
Hayden Panettiere spoke openly about her grief, saying in an interview with People two years after his death, “I will always be heartbroken about it.”
“I will never be able to get over it,” she told the outlet. “No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss.”
Hayden Panettiere attends the premiere of ‘Scream VI’ in New York City, U.S., March 6, 2023.
She is the mother to one child, her daughter Kaya Klitschko, whom she had in 2014 with her ex-fiancé, a Ukrainian former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Panettiere’s death comes less than a week before she would have turned 37 years old on Friday.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
