Actress Hayden Panettiere Dies at 36, Friends Recall Struggles

On August 18, Linsey Lonberg, a lifelong family friend and second mother to Hayden Panettiere, stated that the actress never stood a chance of escaping her demons due to growing up as a child actor in Hollywood.

Hayden Panettiere died at age 36 on Sunday, August 16. Her father, Skip Panettiere, confirmed her death. Authorities in Greenville, South Carolina, said emergency responders were unable to resuscitate her from cardiac arrest after she was found unresponsive by a friend in her home. An initial police investigation found no evidence of foul play or suspicious circumstances.

No official cause of death was given. Lonberg told the Daily Mail that Panettiere described pills and liquor being available on sets. Panettiere described Lonberg as her second mother in her autobiography, "This Is Me: A Reckoning," where she also revealed being offered happy pills at 15. Panettiere checked into rehab in 2020 for eight months, with doctors warning she risked death within five years if she didn't stop drinking.

A resurfaced interview mentioned Panettiere being sex trafficked to a very famous man on a yacht at 18. Panettiere launched her career as a child, appearing in a baby commercial at 11 months. Her film breakthrough was in 2000 in "Remember the Titans." She gained wider fame on NBC's "Heroes" as Claire Bennett and in "Nashville" as Juliette Barnes.

Panettiere's former fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko, mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine, stated his family is in profound shock and grief. Panettiere and Klitschko have a daughter, Kaya, and Panettiere gave full custody to Klitschko in 2018 amid her battle with addiction and postpartum depression.