Hayden Panettiere, an actress who launched her career as a child and who later starred in “Heroes” and “Nashville,” has died, her representative confirmed to ABC News. She was 36 years old.
Panettiere died in South Carolina. The investigation into her death is “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, 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.”
Beginning as a child star, with a long career in both TV and film, Panettiere is remembered for her roles as Claire Bennet on the hit series “Heroes” and as Juliette Barnes on the musical drama “Nashville.”
She also starred in “Remember the Titans,” “Raising Helen,” “Ice Princess” and “Scream 4.”
Panettiere had been candid about her struggles from child stardom through adulthood. She released a memoir this May titled “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.
‘Nashville,’ ‘Heroes’ actress Hayden Panettiere dies at 36
