Hayden Panettiere, the Star of ‘Heroes’ and ‘Nashville,’ Has Died at 36, Three Months After Publishing a Memoir About Her Depression, Addiction, and Losing Custody of Her Daughter
She died in South Carolina, three months after publishing a memoir about her depression, substance abuse, and losing custody of her daughter. Her father confirmed the death in a statement early Monday.
In May, Panettiere published “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” a memoir that walked through a decade of postpartum depression, opioid and alcohol addiction, rehab stints, and the loss of custody of her daughter Kaya, now 12.
Her father, Skip Panettiere, confirmed her death through her publicist in a statement to The New York Times. “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” the statement said. “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 was given.
Panettiere had been on camera since she was 11 months old. She played the coach’s daughter in “Remember the Titans” at 11, the invincible cheerleader Claire Bennet on “Heroes” from 2006 to 2010, and country star Juliette Barnes on “Nashville,” a role that earned her Golden Globe nominations in 2013 and 2014. She was Kirby Reed in “Scream 4” and returned to the role in “Scream VI” in 2023.
She met the Ukrainian heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2009, and their daughter Kaya was born in 2014. Panettiere told the Times she developed postpartum depression and turned to alcohol and opioids, sometimes waking up shaking and needing a full bottle to get through the day. She left “Nashville” mid-run in 2015 for treatment, returned months later, and stayed on until the show ended in 2018. When Kaya was 3, Klitschko asked her to sign over sole custody. Kaya was raised in Europe, and Panettiere said in May they had built “an incredible bond.”
Before she got sober, Panettiere was in a relationship with Brian Hickerson, who served jail time in 2021 after pleading no contest to two felony counts of injuring her. Her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, died in 2023 at 28 from heart complications.
Asked in May what she wanted next, she told the Times she was thinking about producing, directing, or starting a jewelry, makeup, or lifestyle line. She had, she said, a “laundry list of aspirations.”
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