Hayden Panettiere, the actress known for starring in Heroes and Nashville, has died aged 36. Her family confirmed her death on Monday, describing her as "an incredible light" who brought "immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her".
Memoir Reveals Birth Complications
Just months before her death, Hayden released her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, in which she revisited the traumatic complications she suffered while welcoming her daughter Kaya in 2014. What should have been a joyful moment quickly became a medical emergency after Hayden underwent an emergency Caesarean section.
She recalled her then-fiancé, former heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, being beside her in the operating theatre as doctors prepared to deliver their baby. Following Kaya's birth, Panettiere was flooded with emotion as she glimpsed her daughter for the first time.
Code Crimson Emergency
"Oh my God, she looks like my Poppa," she recalled telling Wladimir, before being presented with the infant more closely. Wladimir noted that Kaya had inherited her grandmother's dimples, while Panettiere remarked on her "blue eyes". However, the moment was suddenly cut short when a doctor called out: "Code crimson! Everyone step back."
A nurse then removed Kaya from the room, telling Wladimir: "I'm so sorry, Dad. But we're going to need you out of the room immediately." Hayden recalled watching medical staff frantically rushing around her as she remained conscious on the operating table.
Haemorrhage and Aftermath
She subsequently discovered she had experienced a severe haemorrhage, requiring seven blood transfusions and surgery to repair damaged blood vessels. As she lay there, Hayden said she closed her eyes and prayed for her daughter's safety.
Trying to lighten the mood, Hayden joked about Wladimir's expression behind his surgical mask, telling him: "You're doing resting b***h face." "Well, just keep looking at my RBF," he replied. "It will keep you distracted while they're getting our daughter."
Hayden wrote: "I don't know if it was the drugs I'd been given or divine intervention, but suddenly, a sense of calm flooded my body, and I was no longer afraid of dying." She began reflecting on her life and what would happen to Kaya if she did not survive.
"I'd done my job having the baby. I'd lived a good life, and I'd tried hard to be a good person," she wrote. "My family loved me, and I'd loved them." She continued: "I'd miss being a mom, but it was okay. Wlad could handle this."
Hayden then noticed the anaesthesiologist holding what she described as a "giant shot". "What the hell is that?" she asked. "It's the good stuff," he replied. "Now, you've got about two minutes before you start feeling what's going to happen to you. Trust me, you do not want to feel that." The medication was injected into her IV line, leaving Hayden unconscious.
Struggles and Custody Decision
The ordeal had a profound impact on her in the years that followed. Hayden later spoke about experiencing postnatal depression, describing how she became emotionally detached from her daughter. She subsequently turned to alcohol to cope and developed a dependency that eventually led her to seek treatment.
In 2018, Hayden made the difficult decision to give Wladimir custody of Kaya while she focused on recovering from her addiction. She later explained that she believed she needed professional help before she could become the mother her daughter needed.
In one of her final interviews before her death, Hayden discussed the decision with parenting outlet Mome for its July cover. She said: "It wasn't a decision I made lightly, nor was it a decision I even wanted to make. I was going through a really challenging time in my life... I knew I needed to be able to put her first so that I could get the help I needed and be the mum she needed me to be."
Hayden's family confirmed her death on Monday, with her father Skip paying tribute to his daughter as "an incredible light and a force of nature". He said she had brought "immeasurable love and joy" to those around her. No cause of death has been announced.
