Actress Hayden Panettiere, known for portraying an indestructible cheerleader in the series “Heroes” and a country music sensation in the show “Nashville,” is dead after she was found unresponsive Sunday at an apartment complex in South Carolina, police said. She was 36.
Details about her cause of death weren’t immediately released. Her representative confirmed her death, which was first reported by ABC.
Panettiere soared to stardom in the early 2000s before stepping back from the public spotlight as she battled challenges with addiction and mental health. She recently released a memoir describing her struggles and spoke publicly about the pain of losing her brother.
“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,” her father, Skip Panettiere, said in a statement shared by her representative.
Officers responded to a report of an unresponsive female Sunday afternoon at an apartment complex in Greenville, South Carolina, local police said in a news release shared by CNN affiliate WYFF. Panettiere was given medical treatment but was pronounced dead at the scene, Greenville police said.
“The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances,” police said in the release. “An acquaintance of Ms. Panettiere placed the 911 call.”
An autopsy was underway Monday to determine the cause and manner of Panettiere’s death, Greenville County Chief Deputy Coroner Shelton England said. His office plans to release more information Monday, but the cause and manner of death might take weeks to determine pending the results of toxicology tests, which are standard in many death investigations.
The actors’ union SAG-AFTRA mourned the “sudden passing of Hayden Panettiere,” who had been a member since 1994, the union said in a statement. “A child actor, Hayden’s long career in TV & film included memorable roles in ‘Heroes,’ ‘Nashville’ & more. Our hearts are with her daughter, family, friends & fans.”
Panettiere was born August 21, 1989, in Palisades, New York. Her career started when she was 11 months old, appearing in commercials.
Panettiere became one of the youngest people ever nominated for a Grammy Award for voicing Princess Dot in the 1998 movie “A Bug’s Life.”
She played Lizzie Spaulding on the CBS soap opera “Guiding Light” from 1996 to 2000, portraying a girl with leukemia.
Even as a child, Panettiere displayed a remarkable work ethic, her “Guiding Light” co-star Bethany Joy Lenz posted on Instagram.
By the time Panettiere was 10, “she knew her lines and everyone else’s,” Lenz wrote. “Her intelligence was astonishing. She understood scenes and nuance and human struggle like no child I’d ever seen on camera.”
Fans also remember Panettiere for her role in the 2005 film “Ice Princess” alongside Michelle Trachtenberg, who died in February 2025 due to complications of diabetes mellitus.
In 2011, Panettiere appeared in “Scream 4” as Kirby Reed and returned to the horror franchise years later in the sixth installment. She also had notable roles in the films “Remember the Titans”; “Bring It On: All or Nothing,” a sequel in the anthology series of competitive cheerleading; and “I Love You Beth Cooper.”
Panettiere earned another starring role in ABC’s musical drama series “Nashville,” playing young country music star Juliette Barnes opposite Connie Britton from 2012 to 2018.
After widespread acclaim during her teens and 20s, Panettiere spoke openly about her struggles with addiction. She released a candid memoir earlier this year titled “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” reflecting on her life growing up from a child star to confronting postpartum depression, addiction, recovery and domestic abuse.
“I could relate to a lot of those storylines like the alcoholism and postpartum depression. They hit close to home,” she told People magazine in 2022.
At one point, she was hospitalized with jaundice, and doctors told her that her liver was “going to give out,” she told the magazine.
Panettiere shares an 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, with her former partner, Wladimir Klitschko, a Ukrainian former professional boxer.
