• Faith: Catholic
• Career: Actress
• Birthday:  August 21, 1989
• Date of Death:  August 16, 2026

Hayden Panettiere was an American actress, singer and model best known for her roles as Claire Bennet on the NBC series Heroes, Juliette Barnes on the musical drama Nashville and Kirby Reed in the Scream film franchise. Beginning her career as a child, she spent more than three decades in entertainment before her death on August 16, 2026, at age 36.

Hayden Lesley Panettiere was born August 21, 1989, in Palisades, New York. Her mother, Lesley R. Vogel, was a former soap opera actress, while her father, Alan "Skip" Panettiere, worked as a captain in the New York City Fire Department. Panettiere had Italian, German and English ancestry and grew up with her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, who also became an actor.

Panettiere entered show business before she was old enough to remember it. She appeared in her first commercial at 11 months old and went on to appear in dozens of advertisements. At age 4, she began playing Sarah Roberts on the soap opera One Life to Live. She later portrayed Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light, establishing herself as a successful child actress.

Panettiere made the transition from child performer to film and television actress with roles in Remember the Titans, Raising Helen, Racing Stripes, Ice Princess and Bring It On: All or Nothing. She also provided the voice of Dot in Pixar's A Bug's Life and later voiced characters in the Kingdom Hearts video game series.

Her major breakthrough came in 2006 when she was cast as Claire Bennet, a high school cheerleader with regenerative powers, on NBC's Heroes. The series became an international hit and made Panettiere one of television's most recognizable young stars.

In 2011, she played Kirby Reed in Wes Craven's Scream 4, a role she reprised more than a decade later in Scream VI in 2023. Her other defining role came in 2012, when she began starring as country singer Juliette Barnes opposite Connie Britton on ABC's Nashville. Panettiere remained with the series through its conclusion in 2018 and received two Golden Globe nominations for her performance.

After stepping away from acting for several years, Panettiere returned with Scream VI. Her final film role was in the 2026 psychological thriller Sleepwalker. That same year, she published the memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, which addressed her experiences as a child star and her personal struggles.

Panettiere dated her Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia before beginning a relationship with Ukrainian heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko in 2009. After separating and later reconciling, the couple became engaged and welcomed their daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, in December 2014. They ultimately separated in 2018.

Following Kaya's birth, Panettiere publicly discussed experiencing severe postpartum depression and later disclosed struggles with alcohol and substance addiction. She sought treatment and eventually agreed for Kaya to live primarily with Klitschko in Europe, a decision she said was made with her daughter's well-being in mind.

Panettiere also endured the death of her younger brother, Jansen, who died unexpectedly in 2023 at age 28 from an enlarged heart. She later spoke openly about the profound effect his death had on her.

Panettiere died on August 16, 2026, at age 36. She was found unresponsive at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, after a friend called 911 at approximately 1:50 p.m. Emergency responders administered advanced cardiac life support, including CPR, medication and breathing assistance, but she was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m.

Dispatch audio indicated that responders were called for a possible drug overdose followed by cardiac arrest.

Panettiere was survived by her daughter, Kaya, and her parents. Her death brought tributes from actors, friends and fans who remembered a performer whose career stretched from childhood soap operas to some of the most recognizable television and film roles of her generation.

Hayden Panettiere's Religious Beliefs

Panettiere was raised in the Catholic tradition and came from a family with Italian-American roots. Her religious upbringing was part of her early family background, although she did not become widely known for publicly discussing or promoting a specific religious faith as an adult.

Unlike some celebrities who make religion a central part of their public identity, Panettiere generally kept her spiritual beliefs private. Her later interviews focused more heavily on family, recovery, motherhood, grief and personal growth.