Hayden Panettiere<\/a>, who became a household name as a teenager<\/a> for her role in Heroes and later starred in Nashville and multiple Scream films, has died at age 36.<\/a><\/p>\n 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\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n An investigation is reportedly being conducted into Panettiere\u2019s 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<\/a>, turned over a \u201cbag of medication\u201d to police. <\/p>\n On Thursday (20 August), the day before Panettiere\u2019s 37th birthday, his lawyer told TMZ: \u201cHayden\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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\u2019s sci-fi drama Heroes (2006-2010), and aspiring country singer Juliette Barnes on the hit TV series Nashville (2012-2018).<\/p>\n 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<\/a> and her experiences with addiction, postpartum depression (which she claimed cost her a sponsorship with skincare brand Neutrogena)<\/a>, abusive relationships, and the loss of custody of her daughter, Kaya,<\/a> whom she shares with former heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko.<\/p>\n Hayden Panettiere\u2019s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson breaks silence<\/p>\n Brian Hickerson has broken his silence following Hayden Panettiere\u2019s death, issuing his first statement through his lawyer, Sloan Ellis.<\/p>\n \u201cHayden\u2019s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed,\u201d Ellis said in a statement to TMZ. \u201cAs has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play.\u201d<\/p>\n The statement added: \u201cOut of respect for Hayden\u2019s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The DEA has since joined the investigation, and Panettiere\u2019s cause and manner of death remain pending.<\/p>\n Hickerson also has a history of domestic violence against Panettiere and pleaded no contest to two felony charges involving her in 2021.<\/p>\n Read more<\/p>\n Shahana Yasmin21 August 2026 04:00<\/p>\n <\/a>Hayden Panettiere’s younger brother died in 2023<\/p>\n Hayden Panettiere\u2019s younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, died in February 2023 at the age of 28 due to complications with his heart.<\/p>\n Jansen had an undiagnosed enlarged heart, as well as aortic valve complications.<\/p>\n 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Jacob Stolworthy21 August 2026 11:24<\/p>\n <\/a>Hayden Panettiere: ‘I think a lot about what my life could have been like if I did that film’<\/p>\n 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\u2019s home invasion thriller Panic Room after Nicole Kidman left the project, due to an injury. Or so she was told.<\/p>\n In fact, Fincher had wanted Panettiere to stay on with Jodie Foster, who was replacing Kidman. But he\u2019d asked her mother if Panettiere could cut her hair into a bob, in order to better match Foster. Panettiere\u2019s mother refused.<\/p>\n \u201cI was so out of the loop,\u201d Panettiere recalled in an interview with The Independent <\/a>in May. \u201cAnd it was one of the harder things that I\u2019ve experienced. I didn\u2019t 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?\u201d<\/p>\n She met Panic Room\u2019s eventual child star, Kristen Stewart, at a friend\u2019s birthday party days before the interview. \u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacob Stolworthy21 August 2026 10:49<\/p>\n <\/a>Hayden Panettiere’s cause of death remains unclear<\/p>\n Police in Greenville, South Carolina, said officers \u201cresponded to a report of an unresponsive female\u201d at around 1:50 pm ET on Sunday (August 16). She was pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n A cause of death has not been revealed, but an autopsy showed no signs of trauma. An investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n Jacob Stolworthy21 August 2026 10:25<\/p>\n <\/a>Wladimir Klitschko breaks silence over ex-fianc\u00e9e’s death<\/p>\n Wladimir Klitschko breaks silence over ex-fianc\u00e9e’s death<\/p>\n In an Instagram post, Wladimir Klitschko wrote: \u201cOur family is going through a time of profound shock and grief.<\/p>\n \u201cThe announcement of Hayden\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cShe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cTo our daughter Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was.<\/p>\n \u201cI extend my deepest condolences to Hayden\u2019s parents, her friends, and her fans, who are also grieving today. Young and talented people like Hayden should not leave this world so soon.<\/p>\n \u201cI ask everyone to please respect our family\u2019s feelings and privacy during this incredibly difficult time. For now, this is all I wish to say.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you to everyone who is supporting my family and expressing their sincere condolences.<\/p>\n \u201cRest easy, Hayden. May you find eternal peace. #WeLoveYouHayden\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Jacob Stolworthy21 August 2026 09:55<\/p>\n <\/a>\u2018Women need to know they\u2019re not alone\u2019: Hayden Panettiere on postpartum depression<\/p>\n Hayden Panettiere opened up about her experience with postpartum depression in 2015, urging women to speak about the condition.<\/p>\n Appearing on Live! With Kelly and Michael in September that year, several months after the birth of her daughter Kaya, Panettiere said: \u201cWhen they tell you about postpartum depression you think it\u2019s, \u2018I feel negative feelings toward my child, I want to injure my child, I want to hurt my child.\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never, ever had those feelings. Some women do. But You don\u2019t realise how broad of a spectrum you can really experience that on,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Panettiere said she wanted to speak publicly because \u201cit\u2019s something that needs to be talked about\u201d. She added: \u201cWomen need to know that they\u2019re not alone, and that it does heal.\u201d<\/p>\n Shahana Yasmin21 August 2026 09:30<\/p>\n <\/a>Hayden Panettiere\u2019s on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson was with her when she died. Their history is complicated<\/p>\n 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\u2019d once described as her \u201cabuser.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n However, by the following year their relationship had taken a dark turn.<\/p>\n Shahana Yasmin21 August 2026 09:10<\/p>\n <\/a>Hayden Panettiere was asked when she would \u2018go off the rails\u2019 at 18<\/p>\n Hayden Panettiere was just 18 when she was asked by GQ when she expected to become the latest \u201cscrewed-up girl in Hollywood\u201d, after her rise to fame on Heroes.<\/p>\n \u201cNever, never. Cross our fingers,\u201d Panettiere replied in the 2007 interview.<\/p>\n When the interviewer followed up by asking whether she could schedule rehab for her 21st birthday, she responded: \u201cYou can\u2019t schedule rehab for me. And I don\u2019t think you can schedule any DUIs. I think I\u2019m going to be one of those boring girls.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201croutinely asked obnoxious questions\u201d, mostly variations of \u201cwhen are you going to go off the rails?\u201d, calling them \u201cmisogynistic provocations\u201d.<\/p>\n Shahana Yasmin21 August 2026 08:50<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1126598428...jpeg\")
(Getty)<\/p>\n![\"Hayden](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/83528676...jpeg\")
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)<\/p>\n
![\"Jansen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/185374060...jpeg\")
Jansen Panettiere (L) and Hayden Panettiere arrive at the 23rd Annual Environmental Media Awards in 2013 (Getty)<\/p>\n