Tributes for actress Hayden Panettiere have continued to pour in following her death aged 36.
A representative for the US star – best known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville – confirmed her death on Monday, saying her family would remember her as an ‘incredible light’ who brought ‘immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her’.
Her friends and colleagues in Hollywood have also described her as ‘astonishing’ while sharing memories of working with Panettiere, who had been acting since she was a baby, landing her first major role aged four on US soap opera One Life to Live.
Panettiere’s next big parts were in 2000 sports movie Remember the Titans, opposite Denzel Washington, and voicing the character of Dot in Pixar’s A Bug’s Life.
She then found mainstream fame as cheerleader Claire Bennet in the smash-hit TV show Heroes, before joining TV series Nashville as aspiring country singer Juliette Barnes for six seasons, which earned her two Golden Globe nominations.
Sendhil Ramamurthy was one of the first of her Heroes co-stars to pay tribute, calling her loss ‘such a rough one’.
He shared how the first time they met was at the final screen test for the popular show, admitting he was so nervous he was ‘sweating through his shirt’ before he even started.
‘I went straight to the bathroom to compose myself and then went to sign in, expecting to find a bunch of fellow nervous-as-hell actors,’ he wrote. ‘Instead I found Hayden belting show tunes in the waiting room. Not a nerve in sight.
‘I had to leave immediately. I spent the rest of the time in the hallway sweating. Hayden was already a pro. I was nearly twice her age and she had 3x as much experience. I learned a lot from her.’
Ramamurthy, who played geneticist Mohinder Suresh on the show, said Panettiere would stand up for background actors, knew every crew member by name and was ‘so generous with her time’.
He shared a snap of them together the day after the Golden Globes, explaining: ‘I wasn’t feeling well. Hayd kept going on and on at me about drinking fluids and made sure I had plenty of Gatorade. That’s how I will remember her: a kind, joyful, professional, shi*talker, who even at a young age, understood the importance of hydration.
‘Sending love to her family, friends, and my fellow cast mates, RIP Hayd. You will be missed ❤️’
Sex and the City icon Kim Cattrall, who starred alongside her and the late Michelle Trachtenberg in Ice Princess, shared a picture of them together and wrote: ‘Rest in peace sweet Hayden. Gone far too soon 💔’.
Oscar winner Viola Davis – who featured alongside Panettiere in the 2016 courtroom drama film Custody – shared a tribute to her former co-star on Instagram.
‘What an amazing talent you were….so gifted. Julius and I loved working with you….an old, wise soul with such a deep heart,’ the Fences and Woman King actress wrote.