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. 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. At autopsy no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death,” a Monday report from the Greenville County Coroner’s Office’s stated. Her father, Skip, confirmed Panettiere’s death in a heartbreaking statement to ABC News.
Panettiere’s co-stars including Connie Britton, Tim Allen, Viola Davis and Melissa Barrera have offered heartfelt tributes to the two-time Golden Globe nominee on social media. Among her most memorable roles were 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, abusive relationships, and the loss of custody of her daughter, Kaya, whom she shares with former heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
Hayden Panettiere, best known for her roles in Heroes, Nashville, and the Scream franchise, has died aged 36. Gone far too soon,” Cattrall wrote on Instagram. In the film, Cattrall played Tina Harwood, a former figure skater and coach whose daughter Gen, played by Panettiere, becomes rivals with Michelle Trachtenberg’s aspiring skater Casey Carlyle.
The film has taken on a particularly tragic meaning for fans after Panettiere’s death, coming just 18 months after Trachtenberg died aged 39. Hayden Panettiere’s Scream family has been among those mourning the actor, with Neve Campbell remembering her former co-star as “a true talent”. Neve Campbell, who starred with Panettiere in Scream 4, told People: “I found Hayden to be really kind and funny and brought a magnetic energy to set.
She was a true talent which shows in the decades she worked in such a short life. Her family and loved ones are in my prayers.” Emma Roberts, who played Panettiere’s on-screen cousin Jill Roberts in Scream 4, shared a photograph of the pair and wrote: “Rest in peace my sweet friend. you are so loved and you will be forever missed.” David Arquette, another Scream 4 co-star, wrote “I love you, Hayden” on Variety’s Instagram post announcing her death. Melissa Barrera, who worked with Panettiere on Scream VI, posted on Instagram Stories: “Rest in peace sweet Hayden.” Panettiere had returned as Kirby Reed in the 2023 film, 12 years after first playing the character.
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