Hayden Panettiere

Hayden Lesley Panettiere (August 21, 1989 – August 16, 2026) was an American actress and singer born in Palisades, New York. She was the daughter of former daytime soap opera actress Lesley R. Vogel and FDNY captain Alan Lee "Skip" Panettiere, and had a younger brother, Jansen. Panettiere first appeared on screen in a 1990 commercial at 11 months old and was featured in over 50 commercials by age five. Due to her performing and travel schedule, she transitioned to homeschooling after completing eighth grade at South Orangetown Middle School.

Her early major television roles were Sarah Roberts in One Life to Live (1994–1997) and Lizzie Spaulding in Guiding Light (1996–2000). For portraying a character battling leukemia in Guiding Light, she received a Special Recognition Award from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. She made her feature film debut voicing Princess Dot in A Bug's Life (1998), earning a Grammy Award nomination for its spoken word read-along album. Her early film appearances also included The Object of My Affection (1998), Message in a Bottle (1999), Dinosaur (2000), and Remember the Titans (2000), which won her a Young Artist Award.

Panettiere continued to expand her career with television appearances on Ally McBeal, Normal, Malcolm in the Middle, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, along with starring in Disney Channel's Tiger Cruise (2004). Her film credits included Raising Helen (2004), The Dust Factory (2004), Racing Stripes (2005), and Ice Princess (2005). She achieved wide recognition playing Claire Bennet, a high school cheerleader with healing powers, in the science fiction series Heroes (2006–2010), winning a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Throughout her career, Panettiere also worked in music, video games, and modeling. She voiced Kairi and Xion in the Kingdom Hearts video game franchise (2002–2017) and Samantha "Sam" Giddings in Until Dawn (2015). Panettiere recorded several songs for film soundtracks, released the digital single "Wake Up Call" in 2008, and served as a cover girl or spokesperson for Neutrogena, Kohl's, and Candie's, while also designing limited-edition handbags for Dooney & Bourke.

Panettiere gained further fame for playing Kirby Reed in the horror film Scream 4 (2011), later reprising her role in Scream VI (2023). From 2012 to 2018, she starred as Juliette Barnes in the musical drama series Nashville, earning two Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress and recording multiple songs for the show's soundtracks. Her other screen projects included voice roles in Alpha and Omega (2010) and Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011), as well as starring in Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy (2011).

Beyond entertainment, Panettiere participated in public advocacy, supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities, teen pregnancy prevention campaigns with the Candie's Foundation, and Washington, D.C. voting rights and statehood. Her final film project was the psychological thriller Sleepwalker (2026), in which she starred as Sarah Pangborn and served as executive producer. Before her death, she expressed aspirations to direct, produce, and write for television. Panettiere died of cardiac arrest on August 16, 2026, at age 36.