Anna Paquin has said female child stars were 'not protected' following the death of Hayden Panettiere. Paquin, who started acting professionally aged nine, referenced the deaths of Panettiere, Michelle Trachtenberg and Daveigh Chase, who all died before the age of 40 and began working when they were under 10.
Instagram post
Taking to Instagram, Paquin posted a picture of text that read: "It's not a coincidence that so many former, specifically pre-sexualised female, child 'stars' have profoundly sad lives and untimely ends. We were not as protected by the 'systems' that look great on paper as we are supposed to be.
"RIP HP [Hayden Panettiere], MT [Michelle Trachtenberg], DC [Daveigh Chase] and too many others. It's a strange small club we belong to and you are worthy of support no matter how our industry made us feel."
Addressing other child stars, she added: "Literally DM me. I believe you and I will stand by your side. You aren't alone. Let's have each other's backs. It might make public disclosure less terrifying."
Clarification and follow-up
In the caption, the True Blood star continued: "Quick edit- I’m speaking very specifically about the experience as a child on set that finds themselves prematurely a 'sex object'. I’m not implying damage is not done outside of the context of entertainment. But that is a longer post for a different moment. Also I used the women’s initials because I ran out of space. Nothing to be read into. Just logistics."
In a similar post uploaded the next day, she added: "One more thing - As an adult I've had the pleasure of working on productions where the welfare and mental health of young performers was handled incredibly carefully. Especially around material that was intense. It is possible to holistically look after kids on set and tell complex and sometimes upsetting stories. It just has to be the top priority of the production."
Paquin's career and earlier comments
Paquin started acting professionally when she was cast in The Piano aged nine. She became the second youngest winner of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for that film, and went on to appear in films such as Jane Eyre, She's All That and the X-Men films. In 2019, she told the Guardian that she had "some horrific experiences" on set over her career.
"People treat people who have no power, sometimes, in ways that are completely unacceptable," she said in the interview. "But when you’re a child and you don’t know any different, and you don’t want to get into trouble, you just keep your mouth shut."
Deaths of Panettiere, Trachtenberg and Chase
Her recent comments came a week after Panettiere died, aged 36. Panettiere's career began when she was 11 months old and starred in a toy advert. She started working on soap operas when she was four. As an adult, she struggled with postpartum depression and addiction issues, which led to her ex Wladimir Klitschko taking full custody of their daughter.
"From a very young age, I lost the chance to have a normal childhood, friends, relationships, and my privacy," Panettiere wrote in her autobiography, This Is Me, published earlier this year. The book also revealed that she had struggled with fame and was given a "happy pill" by a publicist, which acted as a "gateway drug that ushered me toward the good of pharmaceuticals and the downfall of addiction". She added to the Hollywood Reporter that she felt she was "groomed" to be an actor.
An investigation is said to have started into Panettiere's death after officers attending the scene where she suffered a cardiac arrest were presented with a bag of medications she was taking by ex boyfriend Brian Hickerson.
Her Ice Princess co-star Michelle Trachtenberg was 39 when she died in 2025. The actress had started working aged three. Trachtenberg's death was caused by complications resulting from her diabetes, which was a side effect of a liver transplant. Speaking about her time as a child star, Trachtenberg described being bullied relentlessly by her schoolmates, one of whom threw her down the stairs. She also shared that there was a director in her past who she claimed was "casually cruel", "hostile" and "toxic" to young actresses on set and was banned from being in the same room as her. The director denied the allegations.
Daveigh Chase, known for voicing Lilo in Lilo & Stitch, died aged 35 earlier this year. She died from complications associated with AIDS. She had stopped acting in 2016 and faced several hardships including periods of addiction and homelessness. Her father claimed she had suffered drug addiction since she was 13, but her mother disputed that, claiming the addiction began after a motorcycle accident in 2016.
