American actress and star of Heroes and Nashville, Hayden Panettiere has died at 36—no cause of death has been made available at this time.
Known for her TV roles as Claire Bennet on the series Heroes and Juliette Barnes on Nashville, and played Kirby Reed in the Scream franchise—Hayden Panettiere has died at the age of 36 on Sunday, August 16, 2026. ABC News was the first to report on the news, with which her family’s representative provided a statement. Panettiere died in South Carolina, and the investigation into her death is still “ongoing”—according to her representative. Panettiere’s father asked for privacy “as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” her father, Alan Lee “Skip” Panettiere, said in a statement to ABC News on Sunday. “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.” While many know Hayden Panettiere for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, she was also remembered in other films: A Bug’s Life, Remember the Titans, I Love You, Beth Cooper, Raising Helen, Ice Princess, Scream 4, and Scream 6.
In the video game world, Hayden Panettiere is widely known to voice Kairi in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, and Birth by Sleep. She also voiced Xion in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. This is especially tragic, as Kingdom Hearts IV news was just announced at D23 2026. One of the most surprising VA roles for Panettiere in a video game was Supermassive Games’ Until Dawn, where she voiced and had her likeness used for the character Samantha “Sam” Giddings. Her performance enhance and push the interactive drama, survival-horror genre across the video games industry.
Panettiere has been quite honest about her struggles from childhood stardom, going into adulthood. She released a memoir this past May called This Is Me: A Reckoning. In the memoir, she shared “a rare and intimate glimpse into her life behind closed doors, opening up about postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma, domestic abuse, and loss,” according to a synopsis for her book. In recent interviews and in the memoir, she spoke on her difficulties following her role on Nashville.
The worst news that took a huge toll on Panettiere was the death of her brother Jansen back in February 2023. He passed away from cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) coupled with aortic valve complications, his family said in a statement at the time. He was 28. Hayden Panettiere spoke openly about her grief, saying in an interview with People two years after his death, “I will always be heartbroken about it…I will never be able to get over it. No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss.”
Hayden Panettiere is the mother to one child, a daughter Kaya Klitschko, whom she had in 2014 with her ex-fiancé, heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Panettiere would have turned 37 years old on Friday, August 21st.
