Hayden Panettiere Was More Than Just a Cheerleader and This 6-Part Series Proved It

Published Aug 17, 2026, 1:30 PM EDT

Amanda M. Castro is a Network TV writer at Collider and a New York–based journalist whose work has appeared in Newsweek, where she is an Associate Editor, and The U.S. Sun, where she previously served as a Senior Consumer Reporter.

She specializes in network television coverage, delivering sharp, thoughtful analysis of long-running procedural hits and ambitious new dramas across broadcast TV. At Collider, Amanda explores character arcs, storytelling trends, and the cultural impact of network series that keep audiences tuning in week after week.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Amanda is bilingual and holds a degree in Communication, Film, and Media Studies from the University of New Haven.

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Hayden Panettiere became a star playing a teenager who could survive almost anything. When she played Claire Bennet in Heroes, she became the blonde cheerleader central to the “Save the cheerleader, save the world” mystery and was known for her unique ability to heal from various injuries; however, Claire was only the first of her achievements. About 20 years ago, she took on a much more complicated role in the TV series Nashville, which proved that the actress had a talent for acting.

Panettiere died on Sunday at 36, according to her family. She was found unresponsive at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not announced a cause of death, and police said there were no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.

Her death brings renewed attention to a career that was far more varied than the role that initially made her famous. Heroes introduced Panettiere to millions of viewers, but Nashville showed that she could command a complicated adult drama and, perhaps more importantly, make a character who should have been insufferable impossible to stop watching.

'Nashville' Put Hayden Panettiere in a Very Different Spotlight

Image via ABC

Created by Thelma & Louise screenwriter Callie Khouri, Nashville premiered on ABC in 2012 as a country-music drama with considerably more on its mind than who could hit the highest note. The series centered on Rayna Jaymes (Connie Britton), an established country superstar whose career was losing momentum, and Juliette Barnes (Panettiere), a younger, pop-oriented singer who was quickly becoming the industry’s next big thing.

This premise set the stage for their rivalry. In sharing the limelight with Juliette, an up-and-coming artist, Rayna faced pressure to collaborate with the one who was about to take over her position. Nashville had, in this way, many stories to tell about music, ambitions, family, politics, addiction, love life, and show business itself. In fact, this was a soap-opera-like show that remained self-assured. The premiere season scored 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and 85% on Metacritic, earning Panettiere a Golden Globe nominationin both 2013 and 2014.

As for the music, Panettiere performed Juliette’s songs herself. Eleven of her recordings from the series charted on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, making Juliette feel like an actual recording artist rather than an actress standing in for one. Panettiere had to sell Juliette from the stage as convincingly as she sold her in the show’s dramatic scenes.

Juliette Barnes Was Hayden Panettiere at Her Best

Image via ABC

The genius of Juliette Barnes is that she could have been unbearable. She was youthful, well-known, stunning, and accustomed to achieving what she desired. She tended to be manipulative, proud, and unkind, especially when she perceived a threat. Her conflict with Rayna effectively cast her as the enemy, yet Panettiere refused to portray her as a villain.

Instead, she managed to discover the personality behind the mask. Juliette’s troubled relationship with her mother, her doubts, and her desire to control everything gave Panettiere the opportunity to both brag and show vulnerability. At one moment, she would be amusingly mean; at another, she would make the audience feel pain as they watched Juliette suffer emotionally. A Guardian review expressed a similar view, stating that Panettiere was able to make people sympathize with Juliette even when she did wrong things.

Claire Bennet had established Panettiere as a star, but Juliette Barnes demonstrated her range. The role also gave her material that demanded more than the bright, likable energy associated with her earlier work. Panettiere could play Juliette big when Nashville wanted the melodrama and pull everything inward when the character’s personal life collapsed. One contemporary review praised her ability to move through the entire emotional spectrum, from flirtatious and carefree to completely devastated. That’s exactly what made Juliette work: Panettiere understood that the character’s biggest weapon was the hurt underneath her character's anger.

'Nashville' Proved Hayden Panettiere Was More Than a TV Star

Image via ABC

There was an unavoidable challenge in casting Panettiere as Juliette. She was already strongly associated with Heroes, where Claire appeared in more episodes than any other character. As a result, Panettiere had become synonymous with a teenage superhero, and that kind of role could easily become a career trap, but Nashville was the escape hatch. Panettiere was playing someone older, messier, and considerably less heroic. Juliette didn’t have to save the world; she had to save her career, protect herself, navigate a dysfunctional family, and figure out what kind of artist she wanted to become, which required a completely different performance. It also proved she could hold her own opposite Britton, one of television’s most formidable dramatic performers. The two actresses gave Nashville its central tension, but Panettiere’s Juliette eventually became compelling enough to exist outside that rivalry.

Panettiere was candid in her speeches related to her struggles like addiction, postpartum depression, and depression, which included taking treatment during her film Nashville. She wrote in her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, that she had fought against letting tragedy shape her life.

There is something especially sad about looking back at Juliette Barnes now. Panettiere spent six seasons playing a woman constantly trying to claw her way through the next chapter of her life, even when she made a mess of the one she was in. Panettiere understood that instinct better than most, and her performance gave Juliette the kind of humanity that outlasts the melodrama.

Claire Bennet may always be the character who introduced Hayden Panettiere to the world, but Juliette Barnes was the character who showed the world what she could actually do.