Hayden Panettiere Dies at 36

Hayden Panettiere, who moved from child star to prime-time fixture over two decades in Hollywood, has died at 36, her representative confirmed to ABC News. Her father, Skip Panettiere, said in a statement that the family is experiencing "profound sadness" and asked for privacy "as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss." No additional details about the circumstances of her death have been released.

Panettiere, who started acting in a toy commercial at 11 months old, broke through on TV in 2006 as cheerleader Claire Bennet on NBC's Heroes. She then spent six seasons playing country singer Juliette Barnes on ABC's Nashville. Her film work included roles in Remember the Titans, Raising Helen, Ice Princess, and multiple Scream movies. She spoke openly in recent years about the pressures of growing up in the industry and her personal struggles, including addiction and postpartum depression, themes she explored in a memoir published in May, This Is Me: A Reckoning.

Panettiere's younger brother, Jansen, died in 2023 at age 28 of aortic valve complications, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The actress is survived by a daughter, Kaya, born in 2014 during Panettiere's relationship with Ukrainian champion heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko. In her memoir, she says she gave full custody of the girl to Klitschko, the AP reports. Their relationship ended in 2018.