Actress Hayden Panettiere, best known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, has died at the age of 36.
A representative confirmed her death on Sunday, saying she brought ‘immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her’.
A statement from her father Skip Panettiere said: ‘It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.
‘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.’
He also asked that her family be given privacy as they ‘take time to process this unimaginable loss.’
Her cause of death has not been announced.
Her publicist, Kasey Kitchen, told NBC that death was being investigated.
‘There’s an investigation ongoing,’ she said in a statement. ‘We should know more tomorrow.’
Police in Greenville, South Carolina, said officers responded to a report of an unresponsive female at around 1.50pm
‘Upon arrival, medical assistance was administered; however, the individual, later identified as Hayden Panettiere, was pronounced deceased at the scene,’ they said.
‘The case is under investigation by the Greenville Police Department in conjunction with the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. An acquaintance of Ms. Panettiere placed the 911 call.’
Hayden’s last Instagram post, captioned ‘Good times with good friends,’ has been flooded with tributes.
She leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter named Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, who she had during her nine year relationship with ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko.
Panettiere began acting as a child and appeared in soap operas before gaining wider recognition for her role in the 2000 sports drama Remember The Titans alongside Denzel Washington, and as the voice of Dot in 1998’s A Bug’s Life.
She later found fame playing cheerleader Claire Bennet in the superhero drama Heroes before going on to star as country singer Juliette Barnes in the hit TV series Nashville.
