American actress Hayden Panettiere, known for her roles in the television series Heroes and Nashville, has died at the age of 36. The news of her death was announced in a statement by her representative. No official cause of death has been released by her family or representatives as of the time of publication.
A statement by her father, Skip Panettiere, read, "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."
Panettiere began her career as a child actress, appearing in television commercials and soap operas, later transitioning to film and primetime television. She is best known for two long-running television roles: Claire Bennet, the cheerleader in NBC's hit science fiction drama Heroes (2006–2010), which made her one of the most recognisable faces of American network television in the late 2000s; and Juliette Barnes, in ABC's musical drama Nashville (2012–2018), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Series in 2013.
Her recent film credits include Sleepwalker (2026), Amber Alert (2024), Scream VI (2023), with notable roles in projects like Scream 4 (2011), Shanghai (2010), Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006), Racing Stripes (2005), and Remember the Titans (2000).
In her personal life, Panettiere had been open about the challenges she had faced from child stardom through adulthood, her struggles with alcoholism as well as facing postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter Kaya in 2014. She offered a candid look into her life and her struggles through her memoir titled "This Is Me: A Reckoning", which released earlier this year.
In recent years, Panettiere had spoken in interviews about her health challenges and the personal difficulties and losses she had faced, including the passing of her brother Jansen Panettiere, who died in February 2023 at the age of 28.
Panettiere passed away days before she would have turned 37 on August 21. She is survived by her daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko.