Hayden Panettiere opened up about motherhood and addiction months before her death at 36

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Actor Hayden Panettiere has died at 36, her representative told Business Insider on Monday.

"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. We ask for privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss," her father, Skip Panettiere, said in a statement.

The family did not immediately provide any other details about her death.

Panettiere began her acting career as a child, with one of her earliest major roles as Sarah Roberts on the ABC soap opera "One Life to Live," on which she appeared from 1994 to 1997.

She later became widely known for playing Claire Bennet in the hit series "Heroes" and Juliette Barnes in the musical drama "Nashville."

In her memoir, released on May 19, Panettiere wrote about her struggles with postpartum depression after giving birth to her daughter in 2014.

"It wasn't panic that was sitting in my chest. It was nothing. A total blackout of emotion, like my soul was dead," she wrote.

To deal with her symptoms, she turned to alcohol to get "those happy hormones," she wrote.

"The first thing I'd thought of when I woke up was alcohol. Not my child, not my job, and not the rest of my life. I needed a drink to function — at 6 a.m.," Panettiere wrote.

In 2018, Panettiere signed over full custody of her daughter to the child's father, Wladimir Klitschko, saying she believed it was best for her daughter.

During this period of personal struggles, Panettiere was also filming "Nashville," which she starred in from 2012 to 2018.

In a May appearance on Jay Shetty's "On Purpose" podcast, she said her character's storylines increasingly mirrored what she was experiencing in her own life.

"It felt like it never ended. I didn't know where Juliet began, and Hayden ended," she told Shetty.

Panettiere said she initially thought the parallels were a "coincidence," but eventually felt she was living through her experiences twice.

"I couldn't come up for air from it. There was no break from it," she said.

Amanda is a senior lifestyle reporter at Business Insider's Singapore bureau.Her reporting explores how people navigate major life transitions, including career changes, relocation, and retirement, with a particular focus on the experiences of those living in Asia. She also writes about travel, culture, wellness, and relationships.In 2025, she won the Singapore Press Club's Rising Stars Young Digital Journalist Award.She previously worked as a writer and video producer at a content marketing agency in Singapore. She graduated from the University at Buffalo with a BA (Hons) in Sociology.