Summary

  • US actress Hayden Panettiere has died at the age of 36, with fellow actors describing her as an "amazing talent" and "so gifted"

  • Oscar winner Viola Davis says on social media: "I wish the world had more time with you", while US actress Selma Blair writes: "Don't be gone. Please"

  • Panettiere's death was announced by her father, Skip, late on Sunday. In a statement, he described her as "an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her"

  • He also asked for "privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss" - no cause of death has been confirmed

  • Panettiere was best known for her roles in TV shows Heroes and Nashville, and films including Bring It On: All or Nothing - here's a look at her career

  • Actors' union Sag-Aftra, of which Panettiere was a member, says "our hearts are with her daughter, family, friends & fans"

Watch: Hayden Panettiere speaks to the BBC about her career in 2010 and 2013

Live Reporting

Edited by Caitlin Doherty and Jack Burgess, with reporting by culture writer Yasmin Rufo

  1. From child actor to Scream star

    Hayden PanettiereGetty Images

    Hayden Panettiere's career spanned three decades with a string of roles in hit TV shows and films, including the Scream horror film franchise and the TV drama series Nashville.

    She was just four years old when she was cast on the popular US soap opera One Life to Live.

    Here are some pictures from different stages of her life and career:

    Actress Hayden Panettiere, who has curly blonde hair and wears a black shiny jacket, during an interview with host Jay Leno on October 3, 1996Getty Images

    On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as a seven-year-old

    Panettiere is seen with curled blonde hair and wearing a pink silk mid-length dress as she smiles on the red carpet next to Kate Hudson in 2004. The pair have their arms around each other.Getty Images

    On the red carpet with actress Kate Hudson in 2004

    Hayden Panettiere, wearing a headband and smiling, poses for a portrait with her pet dog Penny Lane during a photo shoot at La Cienega Park in Beverly Hills, CA on July 22, 2006.Getty Images

    Panettiere's big career breakthrough was in 2006

    Lesley Panettiere, daughter actress Hayden Panettiere, brother actor Jansen Panettiere and father Skip Panettiere arrive at the 20th Annual Kid's Choice Awards in California in 2007. All are dressed for the red carpet and smiling. Hayden's blonde hair is in an up do and she wears a silver glittery short-sleeved dress.Getty Images

    Panettiere with her parents and younger brother in 2007

    Hayden Panettiere pregnant at the EMMY Awards in 2014 wearing a silver dress. She is holding her baby bumpGetty Images

    Panettiere had a baby named Kaya in December 2014

  2. Hayden Panettiere: A life of struggles alongside screen success

    Ian Youngs
    Culture reporter

    ayden Panettiere during Spike TV's 2006 Video Game Awards - Arrivals at The Galen Center in Los Angeles, California, United StateGetty Images

    Hayden Panettiere lived most of her life in the spotlight - from success as a child star to lead roles in hit TV shows Heroes and Nashville - but also endured struggles that went along with the pressures of fame.

    She appeared in her first commercial when she was 11 months old. Her mother Lesley Vogel was an actress and set her daughter on the same path.

    By the age of four, Hayden was in US TV show One Life to Live, then at eight joined another soap opera, Guiding Light.

    Her natural acting ability was evident, but the burgeoning childhood career came at a cost.

    "From a very young age, I lost the chance to have a normal childhood, friends, relationships, and my privacy," Panettiere wrote in her revealing autobiography, This Is Me, which was published earlier this year.

  3. Alongside TV and film roles, Panettiere campaigned for whales and dolphins

    Hayden Panettiere in front of a board that reads: 'Save the Whales Again'WireImage via Getty Images

    Just as she was finding fame as a cheerleader in Heroes, Hayden Panettiere put herself front and centre of the campaign to "save the whale" and also protested against dolphin hunting.

    Joining a group of activists, her exploits were featured in the Oscar-winning documentary, The Cove, which depicted the practice of an annual mass slaughtering of dolphins in the bay of small Japanese town Taiji.

    On a trip to Taiji after the documentary's release, Panettiere called for an end to the dolphin hunt, but described in a blog on the Whaleman website how she was met with opposition from locals.

    Panettiere stands next to other activists with local Japanese officials behind herPeter Carette Archive via Getty Images

    Panettiere's activism against dolphin hunting in Japan was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary, The Cove

    "The majority of people living there don’t know about the dolphin hunts and would never condone them if they did. And for the few who do eat dolphin meat, there is a serious human health concern. Dolphin meat is highly toxic and isn’t safe for people to eat," the actress explained at the time.

    Panettiere also led a rally on Capitol Hill in Washington DC against commercial whaling when she was still a teenager, arguing: "Dolphins and whales are some of the most contaminated animals on the planet, and like canaries in a coal mine they are telling us that something is seriously wrong with our oceans.”

  4. A rebellious teen, a cheerleader and an FBI agent: How Panettiere's roles evolved

    We've been looking through Hayden Panettiere's filmography as the morning's unfolded - here are some images from the films and TV shows she was most known for.

    Panettiere on the left next to a woman who carries a small girl and has her arm around a young boyAlamy

    In romantic comedy Raising Helen (2004), Panettiere (L) starred alongside Kate Hudson as Audrey, a rebellious teenager and the niece of Hudson's character Helen

    Pictured: (l-r) Ali Larter as Niki Sanders, Sendhil Ramamurthy as Mohinder Suresh, Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet, Greg Grunberg as Matt Parkman, Masi Oka as Hiro Nakamura, Milo Ventimiglia as Peter Petrelli in a promo picture for HerosNBC Universal via Getty Images

    Appearing as cheerleader Claire Benet in Heroes (2006-10), the show became one of Hayden Panettiere (C)'s best-known roles. Here, she's pictured sitting down alongside her fellow cast members for a season one promotion image

    HAYDEN PANETTIERE, CINDY CHIU, on set of BRING IT ON: ALL OR NOTHING, 2006.Alamy

    Panettiere (centre) also enjoyed a lead role in Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006), which also featured Beyonce's sister Solange Knowles, and profiled a cheerleading squad

    from left: Jasmin Savoy Brown, Hayden Panettiere, 2023 sit on a benchAlamy

    Panettiere reprised her role in the Scream horror franchise in 2023 when her character Kirby Reed returned as an FBI agent hunting down the Ghostface killer

  5. Bethany Joy Lenz says she is 'crushed' by death of her friend

    Hayden Panettiere and Bethany Joy Lenz during Olympus Fashion Week Fall 2005, Front Row at The Plaza, Bryant Park in New York CityGetty Images

    Bethany Joy Lenz, a long-time friend of Panettiere, says she is "crushed" by the news of her death.

    Writing on Instagram, Lenz, who appeared in Grey’s Anatomy and Dexter, says she cannot "understand how this is real. Everything seemed to be turning around".

    "She was coming BACK to life, wasn’t she? It’s too young and there’s still so much more life."

    Lenz adds that she "always felt such joy seeing her when we were lucky enough to cross paths", adding that Panettiere "understood scenes and nuance and human struggle like no child I’d ever seen on camera",

    "Hayden, you are surround by love. I’m sorry for every moment I didn’t reach out or check in. This can’t be real."

  6. 'My story will empower others': Panettiere previously spoke out about domestic abuse

    Yasmin Rufo
    Culture reporter

    Panettiere began dating actor Brian Hickerson in 2018.

    Their relationship later became the subject of a domestic violence case, with Hickerson pleading no contest to two felony counts of injuring Panettiere and being sentenced to 45 days in jail.

    In 2020, Panettiere publicly addressed the allegations, saying she wanted to speak out "with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve".

    She added: "I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again."

    Alan Jackson, her attorney, said in a statement at the time: "After suffering for years as the victim of psychological, emotional and severe physical abuse, Hayden Panettiere has begun the process of taking back her life."

    She later described the relationship in her memoir, published earlier this year, explaining how the abuse contributed to her struggles with alcohol. She wrote that drinking allowed her to escape from painful realities, including "Brian's abuse, Kaya's absence, and a career I'd chosen to hide from".

    She entered an eight-month treatment programme in 2020 and later said that getting sober allowed her to regain clarity and rebuild her life.

  7. Actress Hayden Panettiere has died aged 36 - what you need to know

    Panettiere in NashvilleDisney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

    Hayden Panettiere has died aged 36. Here is a quick recap of what we know - and what we don't - about her death:

    • Confirming reports, her father Skip Panettiere described his daughter as "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 on-screen" - we've got his full statement below
    • No cause of death has been confirmed and her family has called for privacy "to process this unimaginable loss"
    • Panettiere started out as a child actor, before finding acclaim in roles in TV series including Heroes and Nashville
    • She also starred on the big screen in the Scream horror films - and found an enduring fanbase for playing Britney Allen in Bring It On: All or Nothing as a teenager
    • Our culture reporter writes there have been struggles behind the actress's success, and a recently released memoir detailed her struggles with addiction throughout her twenties and the death of her younger brother, Jansen, in 2023
    • Tributes have been paid online since the news was confirmed. Fellow US actress Selma Blair said on Instagram. "I love you. Don't be gone. Please." Meanwhile, Oscar winner Viola Davis called Panettiere am "amazing talent" and said she was an "old, wise soul with such a deep heart"

    We'll continue to bring you more reaction as it comes in.

  8. 'I have a lot more life to live' Panettiere said in May podcast interview

    Hayden Panettiere attends amfAR Gala Los Angeles 2022 at Pacific Design Center on November 03, 2022Getty Images

    In one of the final interviews before her death, Hayden Panettiere said she felt like she had "a lot more life to live".

    Speaking to the Jay Shetty Podcast in May, Panettiere said: "I finally feel like I have shaken off all of this darkness and this negativity and that means I've closed one door and another door is open."

    She added she could "feel all the.. exciting possibilities. I feel like I have a lot more life to live."

    The comments came at the end of a wide-ranging two-hour interview in which Panettiere discussed suffering from post-partum depression, the experience of having a stalker and her relationship with Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

    On the birth of her daughter in 2014, Panettiere said she knew something was "terribly wrong" immediately following her birth.

    She said she turned to alcohol to cope with the "stress and anxiety" of post-partum depression, which over time only "made things worse".

  9. An 'effortless appeal' and 'common touch', says TV critic

    Scott Bryan, TV critic and broadcaster

    TV critic and broadcaster Scott Bryan says Panettiere's death will come as a "shock" to fans.

    He says that many will remember her as Claire in the hit series Heroes, adding she had an "effortless appeal" in the range of roles she played.

    "She really had a common touch about her. I think she was incredibly relatable in all of the roles she was able to play; she made it look easy. When it comes to acting, that is a very hard thing to do”.

    He says the outpour of reactions to her death show that she had "a real connection with many people”.

    "It felt like everybody knew her from one thing or another,” he adds.

  10. Alongside TV and film roles, Panettiere featured in several video games

    Tom Richardson
    BBC Newsbeat

    Screenshot of Until Dawn PlayStation gamePlayStation

    Hayden Panettiere was best known for her work in TV and film, but she also won over millions of fans via some beloved roles in video games.

    The star voiced Kairi in 2002's Kingdom Hearts - a collaboration between Disney and developer Square Enix.

    The game, which blended the Japanese game-maker's role-playing style with the worlds and characters of the Magic Kingdom, was a surprise hit.

    Panettiere returned for its sequel, released three years later.

    She also appeared as the protagonist of 2015's "playable horror movie" Until Dawn. Panettiere turned in a fully motion-captured performance for the PlayStation 4 sleeper hit, made by UK-based studio Supermassive games.

    Panettiere's performance as "final girl" Sam was widely praised, and one of the game's writers, Graham Reznick, said it was "hard to overstate how important [she] was to the success of Until Dawn".

    "Being able to play a character not just with her voice but her actual likeness - made a huge difference," he writes in a post on Bluesky.

  11. More than a decade of on-screen experience by her mid-teens

    Yasmin Rufo
    Culture reporter

    Hayden Panettiere, girlfriend of Ukrainian heavyweight boxing world champion Vladimir Klitschko, reacts to Klitschko's victory over his Italian-born challenger Francesco Pianeta at the SAP arena in Mannheim, Germany, May 4, 2013.Reuters

    Hayden Panettiere pictured in Germany in 2013

    Hayden Panettiere began working in entertainment as a baby. She started modelling at eight-months-old and appeared in her first commercial for a Playskool toy train at 11 months.

    By the age of four, she had landed her first major acting role, playing Sarah Roberts on the US soap opera One Life to Live.

    She went on to appear in commercials and television throughout her childhood, including a long-running role as Lizzie Spaulding in Guiding Light.

    Panettiere also began building a film career, voicing Dot in the Disney Pixar film A Bug's Life and appearing in Remember the Titans at the age of 10, playing the daughter of Denzel Washington's character's coach.

    Her work as a child actor earned her a Young Artist Award for Remember the Titans, while her work on A Bug's Life also earned her a Grammy nomination.

    By her mid-teens, Panettiere had already built up more than a decade of experience in front of the camera.

  12. 'I wish the world had more time with you' - actress Viola Davis latest to pay tribute

    Viola Davies and Hayden Panettiere posing for the camera as the premeir of The Architect in 2006Getty Images

    Davis and Panettiere starred alongside each other in both 2006's The Architect and 2016's Custody

    Oscar winner Viola Davis has paid tribute to her former co-star Hayden Panettiere following the death of the actress.

    "What an amazing talent you were... so gifted," Davis wrote on Instagram, describing Panettiere as an "old, wise soul with such a deep heart".

    "I wish the world had more time with you because I had a burning curiosity about who you were becoming. I saw this beautiful Phoenix rising from the ashes," adds Davis, who starred alongside Panettiere in The Architect in 2006 and Custody from 2016.

    "Your tests became your testimony, and your testimony became your legacy. You will be remembered. Rest well, Hayden," she adds.

  13. Hayden Panettiere's heartbreak after brother's death three years ago

    Maddie Lake
    Live reporter

    Hayden and Jansen PanettiereGetty Images

    Hayden and Jansen Panettiere pictured together in 2019

    In 2023, grief struck Panettiere when her brother Jansen died aged 28 from an enlarged heart.

    “He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him,” she told People magazine the following year. “When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul.”

    The actor said she “will always be heartbroken about it”, adding: “I will never be able to get over it. No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss.”

    The grief she said also affected her physically. "I just ballooned out," she told People.

    "It didn't matter what I did, what I ate. I know stress and cortisol running through your body can do that. Now I think my body was protecting itself, shielding itself from the world."

    In a tribute she posted to him in 2025, she said she prayed that he was in "a beautiful place", adding, "I'll see you again".

  14. 'Save the cheerleader, save the world'

    Yasmin Rufo
    Culture reporter

    Hayden Panettiere as Claire BennetGetty Images

    Hayden Panettiere became a household name after playing cheerleader Claire Bennet in the hit sci-fi series Heroes, which ran from 2006 to 2010 and told the story of ordinary people who have superhuman abilities. She starred on the series for four seasons.

    Her character had the ability to heal herself, and the show's famous tagline was "save the cheerleader, save the world”.

    Panettiere also dated her co-star Milo Ventimiglia during filming.

  15. US TV presenter Rosie O'Donnell shares 'heartbreak' as fans pay tribute

    Rosie O'Donnell pictured in New York City on 24 July 2026Getty Images

    Rosie O'Donnell pictured in New York City last month

    More reaction has been coming in expressing shock and sadness at Hayden Panettiere's death.

    American TV host Rosie O’Donnell has shared a picture of Panettiere on Instagram with the caption: "Oh my god – heartbroken."

    Meanwhile, fans have also been sharing messages under Panettiere's final Instagram post.

    "This one hurts BAD," Gabrielle Egan, known as bbyegan, posted. "Just watched Bring It On with my daughter the other night and told her how iconic Hayden was... she was obsessed... RIP sweet girl."

    Keturah Maree writes: "So devastated. I remember as a kid how much you captivated my screen, from Bring It On to Ice Princess always one of my faves."

  16. Archive BBC footage shows Hayden Panettiere speaking about her career

    The actress speaks about her role in Nashville and passion for singing, in BBC archive footage from the early 2010s.

    "I started very very young, but I did have a really amazing childhood, and kind of got the best of both worlds," she tells BBC Breakfast in October 2010.

    Watch Hayden Pannetiere talking about her life and career in this short video clip:

  17. The struggles behind Panettiere's success

    Yasmin Rufo
    Culture reporter

    Earlier this year, Hayden Panettiere released her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, reflecting on the struggles of growing up as a child actor and her experiences with addiction, abuse and motherhood.

    She wrote of the relentless nature of growing up in the entertainment industry and told the BBC's US partner CBS News that her mother was taking an "eight-month-old baby into audition rooms".

    "It went from there and progressed into 50 commercials by the time I was five... It just never stopped," she said.

    Her memoir also includes her struggles with mental health, addiction throughout her twenties and the loss of her younger brother, Jansen.

    : Actress Hayden Panettiere (L) and boxer Wladimir Klitschko attends the Earth Day celebration and screening of Avatar benefitting the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on April 22, 2010 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaGetty Images

    Panettiere and boxer Wladimir Klitschko share a daughter, born in 2014

    After the birth of her daughter, Kaya, in 2014, Panettiere revealed that she had entered treatment for postpartum depression.

    In 2018 she gave full custody of her daughter to her former partner, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

    She said: “I was struggling with mental health and anxiety and the postpartum and having to act my way through it and just feeling like I completely lost myself.”

    Speaking to podcaster Jay Shetty after the release of her memoir in May, Panettiere said it was "heartbreaking" that people believed she had simply given up her child, saying that this was "couldn't be further from the truth".

  18. From A Bug's Life to the Scream films

    Adam Goldsmith
    Live reporter

    Panettiere sits next to Jay Leno on the Tonight ShowNBC via Getty Images

    Hayden Panettiere, pictured here in 1996 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, began her career as a child star, voicing Dot in animated movie A Bug's Life

    Hayden Panettiere starring as Claire Benet in Heroes as she runs past tyres that are on fireNBC via Getty Images

    Between 2006 and 2010, Panettiere starred as cheerleader Claire Benet in superhero TV drama Heroes, which told the story of ordinary people who discover they have superhuman abilities

    PanettiereGetty Images

    Panettiere's performance as Juliette Barnes in musical drama series Nashville won her acclaim between 2012 and 2018

    Panettiere stands in front of Scream VI poster in black blazer on red carpetGetty Images

    Panettiere featured in two instalments of the popular Scream franchise, playing survivor Kirby Reed in Scream 4 before reappearing as an FBI agent in Scream VI

  19. The role that earned Hayden Panettiere two Golden Globe nominations

    Yasmin Rufo
    Culture reporter

    Walt Disney Television via Getty Images's "Nashville" stars Hayden Panettiere as Juliette Barnes.Get

    Hayden Panettiere played Juliette Barnes in the TV series Nashville

    Panettiere took on one of her most acclaimed roles as Juliette Barnes in the musical drama Nashville, which premiered in 2012.

    She played a young, ambitious country-pop singer trying to establish herself in the competitive Nashville music scene and starred alongside Connie Britton.

    Her performance earned her two consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress, in 2013 and 2014.

    The actress performed the songs herself for the series and her music became a significant part of the show's success, with 11 songs she recorded for Nashville appearing on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. These included Telescope, Love Like Mine and Undermine.

  20. Heroes, Nashville, Scream: Panettiere's best-known roles

    Krystyna Gajda
    Live reporter

    Hayden Panettiere at the premiere of Scream VI in New York City, 6 March 2023Reuters

    Hayden Panettiere at the premiere of Scream VI in New York City, 6 March 2023

    Starting life as an actor from a young age, Hayden Pannetiere went on to have a varied career across both TV and cinema. Here's a look at some of the highlights:

    • One Life to Live - aged just four years old, Panettiere is cast on the popular US soap opera
    • A Bug's Life - she makes her film debut as a nine-year-old, voicing a young ant called Dot, in Pixar's film released in 1998
    • Remember the Titans - in 2000, she stars alongside Denzel Washington in the US biographical sports drama
    • Heroes - from 2006 to 2010, she finds wider fame in the sci-fi series Heroes, playing Claire Bennet, a cheerleader with healing powers
    • She progresses her film career with comedy-drama film Raising Helen (2004) and Bring It On: All Or Nothing (2006) and the romantic comedy, I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)
    • Nashville - Panettiere goes on to star as up-and-coming country singer Juliette Barnes for six series of the TV drama, which runs from 2012 to 2018. She earns two Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress, and 11 entries on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts
    • Scream films - she appears as Kirby Reed in Scream 4, released in 2011, and Scream VI, the sixth instalment of the franchise, in 2023