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Hollywood star, Hayden Panettiere, is dead. The actress, who launched her career as a child, died aged 36, her representative confirmed.
Panettiere, who starred in “Heroes” and “Nashville,” died in South Carolina, and an investigation into her death is ongoing.
Her bereaved family has asked for privacy as they take time out to process the “unimaginable loss.”
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” her father, Skip Panettiere, said in a statement to ABC News on Sunday. “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.”
Beginning her career as a child star, Panettiere went on to build a successful career in both television and film. She is best known for playing Claire Bennet on the hit series Heroes and Juliette Barnes on the musical drama Nashville.
She also appeared in Remember the Titans, Raising Helen, Ice Princess and Scream 4.
Throughout her career, Panettiere has been open about her struggles from childhood stardom into adulthood. In May, she released a memoir titled This Is Me: A Reckoning.
According to the book’s synopsis, she offers “a rare and intimate glimpse into her life behind closed doors, opening up about postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma, domestic abuse, and loss.”
Panettiere is the mother of one child, a daughter, Kaya Klitschko, whom she welcomed in 2014 with her former fiancé, heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.
In a 2022 interview with Good Morning America, Panettiere also spoke openly about her struggles 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.”
Panettiere said the years following her time on Nashville were challenging.
“The years before were very difficult for me, too. And I just needed a break,” she said.
She later returned to the big screen, reprising her role as Kirby Reed in the Scream franchise, which was released in March 2023.
That same year, Panettiere suffered a personal tragedy when her brother, Jansen Panettiere, died suddenly in February 2023. His family said at the time that the 28-year-old died from cardiomegaly, or an enlarged heart, along with complications related to the aortic valve.
Speaking about her loss in an interview with People two years later, Hayden Panettiere said, “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 would have turned 37 years old on Friday.
