RIP Hayden Panettiere

Actress Hayden Panettiere, who was best known for TV shows like Heroes and starring in the Scream franchise, has died at the age of 36. Her father announced her passing in a statement reported by the BBC. He said:

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.

“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.

“We ask for privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”

Hayden Panettiere began acting at the age of eight months old, starring in TV ads before landing her big break at four in the soap opera One Life to Live. She worked consistently across film, TV, and video games, appearing in shows like Malcolm in the Middle and Ally McBeal, and films like Remember the Titans and Ice Princess. She rose to further fame in 2006 with Heroes, the smash hit sci-fi series from NBC where she played Claire Bennet, a cheerleader with regenerative powers. After that show wrapped, she moved to the musical drama Nashville.

Earlier this year, Panettiere published her memoir, This is Me: A Reckoning, wherein she detailed her troubled experiences as a child star, her struggles with postpartum depression, and an abusive relationship. In 2023, her brother Jansen died at the age of 26 from heart issues.

While promoting her book in May, she said, “So many people have have come up to me within the industry and outside of the industry and shared their stories with me and said, ‘Because you’ve talked about your mental health, it gave me the courage to be honest about mine and get myself help and you saved my life.’ I was like, This is worth it. I can hopefully leave the world a better place than I found it.”

RIP Hayden. Save the cheerleader, save the world.