Hayden Panettiere, an actress who launched her career as a child and who later starred in “Heroes” and “Nashville,” has died, her representative confirmed to ABC News. She was 36 years old.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” her father, Skip Panettiere, said in a statement. “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 asked for privacy “as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”
Further details surrounding Panettiere’s death were not immediately available.
Beginning as a child star, with a long career in both TV and film, Panettiere is remembered for her roles as Claire Bennet on the hit series “Heroes” and as Juliette Barnes on the musical drama “Nashville.”
She also starred in “Remember the Titans,” “Raising Helen,” “Ice Princess” and “Scream 4.”
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.
She is the mother to one child, her daughter Kaya Klitschko, whom she had in 2014 with her ex-fiancé, heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.
In an interview with “Good Morning America” in 2022, Panetierre opened up about grappling with alcoholism and postpartum depression.
“I didn’t know where the alcoholism was ending and the postpartum was beginning,” Panetierre said. “And I ran myself pretty ragged.”
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.”
Panettiere’s death comes less than a week before she would have turned 37 years old on Friday.
