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Monday, August 17, 2026

In pictures: Hayden Panettiere's life and career, from child actor to Scream star

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US actress Hayden Panettiere, best known for her roles in TV series Heroes and Nashville, has died at the age of 36.

Her father Skip described her as an "incredible light and a force of nature" in a statement announcing her passing.

Panettiere's career spanned three decades with a string of roles in other hit TV shows and films, including the Scream horror film franchise and romantic comedy Raising Helen.

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.Image source, Getty Images

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Panettiere with her parents and younger brother in 2007

Born in August 1989, Panettiere was raised in Palisades, New York, by parents Lesley Vogel, an actress and producer, and Skip, a former firefighter.

She had one brother, Jansen Panettiere, who died aged 28 in 2023.

Beginning her career as a child actor, Hayden Panettiere was just four years old when she was cast on the popular US soap opera One Life to Live.

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

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

Panettiere pictured smiling at 11-years-old at a film premiere. She has curly dark blonde hair and wears a vinyl dark red jacket with a crused velvet blue top.Image source, Getty Images

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At a film premiere in 2000

Her credits from the late 1990s and early 2000s also included roles in the animated film A Bug's Life, as well as TV shows Ally McBeal and Malcolm in the Middle.

She starred alongside Kate Hudson in the 2004 film Raising Helen and was beloved by a generation of fans for playing Britney Allen in teen cheerleading movie Bring It On: All or Nothing in 2006.

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.Image source, Getty Images

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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.Image source, Getty Images

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Panettiere's big career breakthrough was in 2006

Hayden Panettiere during Teen Vogue Young Hollywood Party on the red carpet signing autographs. She is wearing a red dress and smiling at the cameraImage source, Getty Images

Hayden Panettiere wearing a long pale pink ball gown attends the "Charles James: Beyond Fashion" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2014 in New York CityImage source, Getty Images

Her big breakthrough came the same year, when she was cast as another cheerleader - this time with the power of rapid cellular regeneration - in the highly popular sci-fi series Heroes.

The show ran until 2010 and earned a number of awards and nominations, including Emmys and Golden Globes.

Hayden Panettiere as Claire Bennet in Heroes wearing a cheerleading outfitImage source, Getty Images

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Panettiere played Claire Bennet, a cheerleader with healing powers, in Heroes

Panettiere, with straight long blonde hair and a neutral expression, wearing a blue and navy cheerleader's kit, is seen stood in the centre of the season 2 cast of Heroes in a promotional picture for the show.Image source, Getty Images

Charles Esten and Hayden Panettiere at a press event with a "Nashville" poster behind themImage source, Getty Images

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Panettiere pictured with Charles Esten, her co-star in Nashville, which won her further acclaim between 2012 and 2018

A split screen of Hayden Panettiere, on the right in a sheepskin coat with fur lining waving to the cameras in New York in 2023 and on the left in a grey blazer and baggy cream trousers  in New York in 2024sImage source, Getty Images

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Pictured in 2023 and 2024, Panettiere had recently opened up about the struggles behind her success

Panettiere also starred as up-and-coming country singer Juliette Barnes for six series of TV drama Nashville, which ran from 2012 to 2018.

She earned two Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress, and 11 entries on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.

She also appeared in the Scream film franchise, appearing as Kirby Reed in Scream 4, released in 2011, and Scream VI in 2023.

Hayden Panettiere, wearing a red mid-length dress and her hair in an up do, grins as she is kissed on the cheeky by co-star Emma Roberts at a Scream 4 premiere after party.Image source, Getty Images

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Pictured with actress Emma Roberts in 2011

Panettiere began dating Ukrainian former professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko in the late 2000s. They had a daughter, Kaya, in 2014, before splitting in 2018.

Panettiere had said she had entered a treatment facility to help with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter.

"It's something a lot of women experience," she told US talk show Live With Kelly And Michael in 2015.

Wladimir Klitschko in a grey suit, white shirt and black tie is pictured smiling with his arm around Panettiere, who is smiling and has long blonde hair and wears a silver and white halterneck dress at an Emmy Awards reception in 2013.Image source, Getty Images

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Panettiere and Klitschko had a daughter in 2014

Earlier this year, she released a memoir titled This Is Me: A Reckoning, recounting the struggles of growing up as a child actor and her experiences with addiction, abuse and later recovery.

In May, Panettiere spoke to the BBC's US partner CBS News about her mother taking her as 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 recalled.

Hayden Panettiere, seen on May 19, smiling and posing while doing a peace sign with her fingers on a New York City street. Her blonde hair is tied in a bun and she wears a black blazer, with a black top, black trousers and black boots.Image source, Getty Images

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Pictured in New York City in May this year as she launched her memoir

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