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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 multiple Scream films, has died at age 36.
Panettiere was pronounced dead at a South Carolina apartment Sunday, August 16. A cause of death has not been revealed, but an autopsy showed no signs of trauma. Toxicology reports are pending and could take up to 12 weeks, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.
An investigation is reportedly being conducted into Panettiere’s death involving Greenville police as well as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration after an incident report stated that her on-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, turned over a “bag of medication” to police.
On Thursday (20 August), the day before Panettiere’s 37th birthday, his lawyer told TMZ: “Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed. As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play.”
Panettiere was best-known for playing Sheryl Yoast in the 2000 Denzel Washington-led film Remember the Titans, high school cheerleader Claire Bennet on NBC’s sci-fi drama Heroes (2006-2010), and aspiring country singer Juliette Barnes on the hit TV series Nashville (2012-2018).
Her New York Times bestselling memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, was published in May this year, in which she looked back at her childhood in Hollywood and her experiences with addiction, postpartum depression (which she claimed cost her a sponsorship with skincare brand Neutrogena), abusive relationships, and the loss of custody of her daughter, Kaya, whom she shares with former heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
Hayden Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson breaks silence
Brian Hickerson has broken his silence following Hayden Panettiere’s death, issuing his first statement through his lawyer, Sloan Ellis.
“Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed,” Ellis said in a statement to TMZ. “As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play.”
The statement added: “Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”
Hickerson, who had an on-and-off relationship with Panettiere, was at the apartment when Panettiere was found unresponsive on Sunday, along with his brother Zach. He showed responding officers a bag of medication Panettiere had been taking, while authorities later said an autopsy found no signs of trauma.
The DEA has since joined the investigation, and Panettiere’s cause and manner of death remain pending.
Hickerson also has a history of domestic violence against Panettiere and pleaded no contest to two felony charges involving her in 2021.
Read more
Shahana Yasmin21 August 2026 04:00
Hayden Panettiere’s younger brother died in 2023
Hayden Panettiere’s younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, died in February 2023 at the age of 28 due to complications with his heart.
Jansen had an undiagnosed enlarged heart, as well as aortic valve complications.
His sudden death was extremely painful for Hayden, who told People in 2024: He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him.”
“When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul,” she said.
(Getty)
Jacob Stolworthy21 August 2026 11:24
Hayden Panettiere: ‘I think a lot about what my life could have been like if I did that film’
A few years ago, during a conversation with her former agent, Hayden Panettiere discovered the truth about a situation that had always nagged at her. In 2000, when she was an 11-year-old child actor Panettiere was fired from David Fincher’s home invasion thriller Panic Room after Nicole Kidman left the project, due to an injury. Or so she was told.
In fact, Fincher had wanted Panettiere to stay on with Jodie Foster, who was replacing Kidman. But he’d asked her mother if Panettiere could cut her hair into a bob, in order to better match Foster. Panettiere’s mother refused.
“I was so out of the loop,” Panettiere recalled in an interview with The Independent in May. “And it was one of the harder things that I’ve experienced. I didn’t think it was fair. And I think a lot about what my life could have been like if I did that film. What parts could I have played? What person would I have been?”
She met Panic Room’s eventual child star, Kristen Stewart, at a friend’s birthday party days before the interview. “We talked about everything that happened, and she was so kind. I felt like, finally, I was able to get it off my chest and let it go.”
Jacob Stolworthy21 August 2026 10:49
Hayden Panettiere’s cause of death remains unclear
Police in Greenville, South Carolina, said officers “responded to a report of an unresponsive female” at around 1:50 pm ET on Sunday (August 16). She was pronounced dead at the scene.
A cause of death has not been revealed, but an autopsy showed no signs of trauma. An investigation is ongoing.
Jacob Stolworthy21 August 2026 10:25
Wladimir Klitschko breaks silence over ex-fiancée’s death
Wladimir Klitschko breaks silence over ex-fiancée’s death
In an Instagram post, Wladimir Klitschko wrote: “Our family is going through a time of profound shock and grief.
“The announcement of Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply. She left this world far too soon. Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya.
“She built an incredible career through immense talent, while also facing the darker sides of a very demanding industry. Nothing will erase the times we shared or the place she had in our lives.
“To our daughter Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was.
“I extend my deepest condolences to Hayden’s parents, her friends, and her fans, who are also grieving today. Young and talented people like Hayden should not leave this world so soon.
“I ask everyone to please respect our family’s feelings and privacy during this incredibly difficult time. For now, this is all I wish to say.
“Thank you to everyone who is supporting my family and expressing their sincere condolences.
“Rest easy, Hayden. May you find eternal peace. #WeLoveYouHayden”
Jacob Stolworthy21 August 2026 09:55
‘Women need to know they’re not alone’: Hayden Panettiere on postpartum depression
Hayden Panettiere opened up about her experience with postpartum depression in 2015, urging women to speak about the condition.
Appearing on Live! With Kelly and Michael in September that year, several months after the birth of her daughter Kaya, Panettiere said: “When they tell you about postpartum depression you think it’s, ‘I feel negative feelings toward my child, I want to injure my child, I want to hurt my child.’
“I’ve never, ever had those feelings. Some women do. But You don’t realise how broad of a spectrum you can really experience that on,” she said.
Panettiere said she wanted to speak publicly because “it’s something that needs to be talked about”. She added: “Women need to know that they’re not alone, and that it does heal.”
Shahana Yasmin21 August 2026 09:30
Hayden Panettiere’s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson was with her when she died. Their history is complicated
When Hayden Panettiere died this Sunday, the 36-year-old Heroes and Nashville star was in South Carolina with an on-and-off boyfriend she’d once described as her “abuser.”
Panettiere first started dating Brian Hickerson, an aspiring actor and real estate agent, in 2018. At the time, she had recently broken up with heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, who is the father of her daughter, Kaya.
In the early days of their courtship, Panettiere and Hickerson were photographed by paparazzi in Los Angeles attending film screenings and eating brunch with friends.
However, by the following year their relationship had taken a dark turn.
Shahana Yasmin21 August 2026 09:10
Hayden Panettiere was asked when she would ‘go off the rails’ at 18
Hayden Panettiere was just 18 when she was asked by GQ when she expected to become the latest “screwed-up girl in Hollywood”, after her rise to fame on Heroes.
“Never, never. Cross our fingers,” Panettiere replied in the 2007 interview.
When the interviewer followed up by asking whether she could schedule rehab for her 21st birthday, she responded: “You can’t schedule rehab for me. And I don’t think you can schedule any DUIs. I think I’m going to be one of those boring girls.”
Hayden Panettiere (L) and actor Jack Coleman at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum’s Hollywood Legacy Awards XI honoring the cast of ‘Heroes’ in 2008 (Getty)
Her Heroes co-star Jack Coleman, who played her on-screen father, remembered the questions in a tribute following her death this week. He said Panettiere was “routinely asked obnoxious questions”, mostly variations of “when are you going to go off the rails?”, calling them “misogynistic provocations”.
Shahana Yasmin21 August 2026 08:50
Hayden Panettiere said she was ‘riddled with guilt’ after brother Jansen’s death
Hayden Panettiere spoke openly about the guilt she carried after the sudden death of her younger brother Jansen, who died aged 28 in 2023 from a heart condition.
Jansen Panettiere (L) and Hayden Panettiere arrive at the 23rd Annual Environmental Media Awards in 2013 (Getty)
In an interview with E! News in May, Panettiere said she was still struggling with the loss three years later. “It’s all the time,” she said of her grief. “It just evolves, especially with a sibling and being the older sibling. You’re just riddled with guilt that you didn’t do your job.”
“I miss him all the time. I didn’t think I would have to do life without him, but I’m grateful that I had the time I had with him,” she added.
Shahana Yasmin21 August 2026 08:30
What parent would actually wish fame on their own child?
Reading about Hayden Panettiere’s tragic quest to outrun her child stardom, it’s clear to me that Hollywood has created a market that urgently needs abolishing, says Claire Cohen
Shahana Yasmin21 August 2026 08:10