Hayden Panettiere, who has died at the age of 36, experienced grief after her brother died suddenly in 2023. Now, her parents have lost both their children, after her father announced 'the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden'.
Family Background
Hayden is the daughter of Skip Panettiere (real name Alan Lee Panettiere) and Lesley Vogel – the former confirmed her death. He asked for privacy as the family 'takes time to process this unimaginable loss'. The couple are no longer together, after Vogel filed for divorce in 2012.
In 2009, Skip pleaded no contest to misdemeanour battery for allegedly hitting his wife, according to People. He was sentenced to two years probation, ordered to complete domestic violence counselling and pay $400 in fines. After he was released on bail, Extra reported that the couple had told TV host Mario Lopez that 'it was all a big misunderstanding and that nothing actually happened'.
Vogel previously managed her daughter, but after what she told Page Six was '20 years of trauma', Hayden's mum decided to go 'no-contact' with the actress.
Brother Jansen's Death
In 2023, Hayden's brother, Jansen Panettiere, died suddenly aged 28. He was also an actor, voicing roles in Ice Age: The Meltdown and The X's. He was also known for his on-screen roles in AMC series The Walking Dead and Nickelodeon film The Last Day of Summer.
After his death, Jansen's family told ABC News in a statement: 'Though it offers little solace, the Medical Examiner reported Jansen's sudden passing was due to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), coupled with aortic valve complications.' The family remembered him for 'his charisma, warmth, compassion for others, and his creative spirit'.
Speaking about her grief on NBC's Today show, Hayden said: 'When you lose somebody that that you saw in all the important moments in your life, standing right next to you, it just rocks your world.'
Relationships and Custody
Panettiere had a daughter Kaya with Ukrainian former heavyweight boxer, Wladimir Klitschko, who she started dating in 2009. They welcomed their child in December 2014, a year after getting engaged – the couple, who had a 13-year age gap, never married. After splitting in August 2018, Panettiere told Us Weekly that they were still getting along: 'We're still respectful of each other, and we still have that friendship with each other.'
In 2018 Panettiere gave up custody of her child, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, who she shared with former boxer Klitschko. In her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, Panettiere talked about her own postpartum depression, as well as her experiences with addiction and recovery.
Earlier this year, Panettiere went on Jay Shetty's podcast, On Purpose, and spoke about the 'heartbreaking' claims she 'gave away' her daughter after giving her ex-fiancé full custody. She acknowledged that allowing her daughter to live in Europe with Klitschko while she sought treatment for alcoholism and substance abuse was 'incredibly difficult'. Panettiere admitted: 'By the time I finally got healthy, I felt like it would have been unfair of me to, and selfish of me to try to pull her out of this life that she had been [creating], this life that she had been living.' She said they still had a 'really intense, incredible bond' that she was 'very grateful' for.
Career and Other Relationships
Panettiere dated actor Stephen Colletti from 2006 to 2007, as Heroes was propelling her into global stardom. She then went on to date one of her co-stars from the show, Milo Ventimiglia. Their romance started just after she had turned 18 but only lasted until 2009. Reflecting on their 12-year age gap, Panettiere told Entertainment Weekly in May: 'At 18, I lived so much life that he almost couldn't count me as being 18. So Milo and I, even though he was 30, had a lot more in common than people might think.'
Next, she dated Klitschko on and off for nine years. They first split in 2011 and Panettiere started dating American football player Scotty McKnight – but they had gone their separate ways by the end of 2012. After splitting with Klitschko, Panettiere commenced a relationship with aspiring actor Brian Hickerson in 2018. In 2019 he was charged with 'one felony count of injuring a spouse, cohabitant, girlfriend, etc', a spokesperson for the LA County District Attorney's Office confirmed to People – these charges were later dropped. The following year, in July 2020, he was arrested on multiple felony charges, including four charges of corporal injury on a spouse/cohabitant, two charges of assault, and one of intimidating a witness, Panettiere. Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in jail after pleading no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse/cohabitant/girlfriend/child's parent. According to Page Six, the couple split in 2022 and later reconnected as friends.
Before Panettiere had hit her first birthday, she had made her debut on screen – at 11 months old she appeared in a commercial for Playskool Toy Train. In 2023 she told Entertainment Tonight: 'I don't know if that would really be an introduction to acting, because I don't think acting was involved at that point. I didn't have lines, I was just playing.' Panettiere starred in many commercials after that, including one for Wendy's that she did as a child, where she was promoting chicken nuggets. At four years old she was cast as Sarah Roberts in the ABC soap opera series One Life to Live – thus beginning her acting career. When she was nine she appeared in her first feature film as the narrator and voice of Princess Dot in A Bug's Life.
After starting out in US soap operas One Life to Live and Guiding Light at a young age, Panettiere went on to star in A Bug's Life, voicing the character Dot. She is well-known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville. In the former, she played cheerleader Claire Bennett, who like the other main characters was a seemingly ordinary human with supernatural abilities. In the latter, she is remembered for her role as Juliette Barnes in the musical drama Nashville. She earned two Golden Globe nominations for her performances and appeared on Billboard's Hot Country Song charts with 11 songs she recorded for the show. Panettiere also starred in memorable films like Bring It On: All Or Nothing, I Love You, Beth Cooper and Remember the Titans. She later became known as Kirby Reed in the Scream film franchise, and did voice work for video games, most notably in Kingdom Hearts and Until Dawn. Her cause of death hasn't been announced.
