Hayden Panettiere death latest: Police release statement after Heroes and Nashville star dies aged 36

Actor found fame as Claire Bennet in Heroes and earned two Golden Globe nominations for her role in Nashville

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Hayden Panettiere, who became a household name as a teenager for her role in Heroes and later starred in Nashville and the Scream films, has died aged 36.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” Panettiere’s father, Skip said in a statement to ABC News. “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.”

No cause of death or further information about her death has been shared.

Panettiere’s breakthrough role came with NBC’s sci-fi drama Heroes, where she played Claire Bennet, a high-school cheerleader with the power to regenerate from injuries, from 2006 to 2010.

She followed Heroes with Nashville, playing aspiring country singer Juliette Barnes from 2012 to 2018. The performance earned her two Golden Globe nominations.

Panettiere’s New York Times bestselling memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning was published in May this year, where she looked back at her childhood in Hollywood and her experiences with addiction, postpartum depression, abusive relationships, and the loss of custody of her daughter, Kaya, whom she shares with former heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

Actors’ union SAG-AFTRA has paid tribute to Hayden Panettiere after her death.

“We mourn the sudden passing of Hayden Panettiere,” the union said in a statement. “A child actor, Hayden's long career in TV & film included memorable roles in Heroes, Nashville and more. Our hearts are with her daughter, family, friends & fans.”

Panettiere had been a SAG-AFTRA member since 1994. She began appearing in commercials at just 11 months old, making her debut in an advert for a Playskool toy train. At four, she landed her first regular acting role as Sarah Roberts on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, a role she played for four years.

Fans have been sharing their heartbreak over the actor’s death, with some remembering her alongside her Ice Princess costar late Michelle Trachtenberg.

“First Michelle Trachtenberg now Hayden Panettiere,” one fan wrote. “I’m so sad, I can’t believe this, my ice princesses both gone.”

Trachtenberg, best known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl, died aged 39 in February 2025. She and Panettiere starred in the 2005 Disney film Ice Princess, with Trachtenberg playing aspiring figure skater Casey Carlyle and Panettiere playing her skating rival, Gen Harwood.

“Just saw the news and I’m so sad, rest in peace Hayden Panettiere. And thank you for giving us one of the best and most funniest characters in the Scream franchise,” wrote another fan.

Source: Read the original article on www.independent.co.uk