Actress Hayden Panettiere, whose death aged 36 has prompted tributes from around the world, was the subject of a 911 call reporting a cardiac arrest at approximately 1:51 PM on 16 August 2026, according to WYFF 4. She was pronounced deceased at 2:32 PM the same day.
An acquaintance of Panettiere placed the emergency call, authorities said, according to WDBJ 7. The address given was 701 Easley Bridge Road in Greenville. The details surrounding her death were not immediately available beyond those initial emergency response details.
‘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 reported by US media.
Skip Panettiere has asked for privacy ‘as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss’, in a statement issued through her representative.
Career spanning three decades
Panettiere began her career as a child actor, cast on the US soap opera One Life to Live at just four years old. She later rose to prominence playing Claire Bennet, a cheerleader with superpowers, in the sci-fi series Heroes, which ran from 2006 to 2010.
Her career extended across film and television over three decades. Memorable roles included parts in Remember the Titans and Raising Helen, as well as the romantic comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper. She also appeared in the Scream horror franchise, including Scream VI in 2023, according to Yahoo Entertainment.
She also starred in the US television series Nashville, which brought her a further generation of fans.
In May, Panettiere spoke to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, about her early start in the industry. Her mother had taken her as an ‘eight-month-old baby into audition rooms’, she said. ‘It went from there and progressed into 50 commercials by the time I was five… It just never stopped.’
Memoir and Hayden Panettiere death aged 36
Earlier this year, Panettiere released a memoir titled This Is Me: A Reckoning, recounting the struggles of growing up as a child actor and her experiences with addiction, abuse and later recovery. The book placed her story in her own words for the first time at length.
In 2015, after giving birth to her daughter Kaya, Panettiere revealed she had entered a treatment facility for postpartum depression. She spoke publicly about the experience on the US talk show Live With Kelly And Michael.
‘It’s something a lot of women experience,’ she said at the time. ‘You think it’s “I feel negative feelings towards my child, I want to injure or hurt my child.” I’ve never, ever had those feelings. Some women do. It’s something that needs to be talked about. Women need to know that they’re not alone, and that it does heal.’
Panettiere is survived by her daughter Kaya with her former partner, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
An autopsy has been completed, WDBJ 7 reported, though results had not been publicly released at the time of publication. The BBC has contacted Panettiere’s representatives.
