Summary
US actress Hayden Panettiere has died at the age of 36, with fellow actors describing her as an “amazing talent” and “so gifted”
Oscar winner Viola Davis says on social media: “I wish the world had more time with you”, while US actress Selma Blair writes: “Don’t be gone. Please”
Panettiere’s death was announced by her father, Skip, late on Sunday. In a statement, he described her as “an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her”
He also asked for “privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss” – no cause of death has been confirmed
Panettiere was best known for her roles in TV shows Heroes and Nashville, and films including Bring It On: All or Nothing – here’s a look at her career
Actors’ union Sag-Aftra, of which Panettiere was a member, says “our hearts are with her daughter, family, friends & fans”
‘Hayden was nothing but nice to everyone around her,’ Scream 4 actor says
Getty Images, Panettiere at the world premiere of Scream VI in New York CityA background actor for Scream 4 says her on set experience with Hayden Panettiere is ingrained in her memory.
In a post on X, Kathryn Henzler says: “I want to share something about Hayden Panettiere that will forever stay with me. My twin sister and I were background actors on the set of Scream 4, and were in the scene where Stab-A-Thon takes place in a barn.”
She says it was hot, dark, and “buggy” throughout the whole night of shooting.
“Yet Hayden was nothing but nice to everyone around her, even chatting with background actors and complimenting their acting choices,” the actor says.
Quote MessageSuper professional, supremely talented, and just a lovely person to be on set with in the not-so-great conditions. Humble, kind, gone too soon.”
Scream 4 background actor
Panettiere’s life and career in pictures
Hayden Panettiere’s career spanned three decades with a string of roles in hit TV shows and films, including the Scream horror film franchise and the TV drama series Nashville.
She was just four years old when she was cast on the popular US soap opera One Life to Live.
Here are some pictures from different stages of her life and career:
Getty Images, On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as a seven-year-old
Getty Images, On the red carpet with actress Kate Hudson in 2004
Getty Images, Panettiere’s big career breakthrough was in 2006
Getty Images, Panettiere with her parents and younger brother in 2007
Getty Images, Panettiere had a baby named Kaya in December 2014Hayden Panettiere: A life of struggles alongside screen success
Ian Youngs
Culture reporter
Hayden Panettiere lived most of her life in the spotlight – from success as a child star to lead roles in hit TV shows Heroes and Nashville – but also endured struggles that went along with the pressures of fame.
She appeared in her first commercial when she was 11 months old. Her mother Lesley Vogel was an actress and set her daughter on the same path.
By the age of four, Hayden was in US TV show One Life to Live, then at eight joined another soap opera, Guiding Light.
Her natural acting ability was evident, but the burgeoning childhood career came at a cost.
“From a very young age, I lost the chance to have a normal childhood, friends, relationships, and my privacy,” Panettiere wrote in her revealing autobiography, This Is Me, which was published earlier this year.
Alongside TV and film roles, Panettiere campaigned for whales and dolphins
Just as she was finding fame as a cheerleader in Heroes, Hayden Panettiere put herself front and centre of the campaign to “save the whale” and also protested against dolphin hunting.
Joining a group of activists, her exploits were featured in the Oscar-winning documentary, The Cove, which depicted the practice of an annual mass slaughtering of dolphins in the bay of small Japanese town Taiji.
On a trip to Taiji after the documentary’s release, Panettiere called for an end to the dolphin hunt, but described in a blog on the Whaleman website, external how she was met with opposition from locals.
Peter Carette Archive via Getty Images, Panettiere’s activism against dolphin hunting in Japan was featured in the Oscar-winning documentary, The Cove“The majority of people living there don’t know about the dolphin hunts and would never condone them if they did. And for the few who do eat dolphin meat, there is a serious human health concern. Dolphin meat is highly toxic and isn’t safe for people to eat,” the actress explained at the time.
Panettiere also led a rally on Capitol Hill in Washington DC against commercial whaling when she was still a teenager, arguing: “Dolphins and whales are some of the most contaminated animals on the planet, and like canaries in a coal mine they are telling us that something is seriously wrong with our oceans.”
