Simply heartbreaking.
Actress Hayden Panettiere, who is best known for her roles in Heroes, Nashville, and Remember The Titans, has died from an apparent overdose. She was 36 years old. Her father shared the following statement to ABC News:
“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.”
According to TMZ, she was found dead by a “friend inside a South Carolina home on Sunday afternoon. Emergency Medical Service workers responded to a call of a person in ‘cardiac arrest’ and an ‘unresponsive female.’” EMS worked to try and resuscitate her, however she was pronounced dead at the scene. Police suspect no foul play, however, the tragic death is under investigation.
Brian Hickerson, Panettiere’s “on and off” boyfriend from 2018 to 2022 reportedly flew from Los Angeles to South Carolina on Saturday and they spent time together. Hickerson was arrested multiple times during the course of their relationship, and in 2021, he was sentenced to 45 days in prison for domestic violence. They were also seen together back in March of this year. Panettiere was also reportedly suffering from back problems and pinched nerves.
Panettiere started acting as a child with one of her first roles being the voice of Princess Dot in Pixar’s A Bug’s Life. She also played Gennifer “Gen” Harwood, in Ice Princess, and the football-obsessed coach’s daughter, Sheryl Yoast, in the absolute classic Remember the Titans. She also starred in Raising Helen, I Love You, Beth Cooper, Guiding Light, Ally McBeal, a Bring It On sequel and much more.
Her breakout role came in 2006 with the cultural phenomenon that was Heroes. She played the quick-witted Kirby Reed in the Scream franchise. However, for country music fans, she will always be remembered as the fiery, complicated, and immensely talented country music superstar Juliette Barnes on Nashville. When she took on the role of Juliette in 2012, she proved she was more than just a great actress.
Panettiere actually charted 11 different tracks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs list during her run on the show. She earned two Golden Globe nominations and gave country music fans one of the most compelling, messy, and fiercely independent characters to ever hit primetime TV.
Because of her role on Nashville, she released a substantial amount of country songs, notably a song called “Telescope,” which peaked at #33 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart and spent 15 weeks climbing the Billboard charts, making it the longest-running chart entry of any song Hayden Panettiere recorded for the Nashville television series. Additionally, “Don’t Put Dirt On My Grave Just Yet,” which was a fan-favorite anthem, peaked at #34 on the country charts, and fans will know plenty of others like “Undermine,” her duet recorded with co-star Charles Esten, “Wrong Song,” one she did with co-star Connie Britton, and solo songs like “Nothing In This World Will Ever Break My Heart Again”, “Trouble Is”, “Love Like Mine” and “Tell That Devil.”
And to be fair, I don’t think most would really consider her a country music star, as her chart success was thanks to her character on the show, but still, she managed to chart a number of songs. There are plenty of country artists out there who will never see a Billboard chart in their career. She also starred in Jason Aldean’s 2013 “1994” music video (as did many other country stars at the time), playing herself.
Hayden also put out solo music prior to her role on Nashville, and in the early 2000s, she released her debut pop single in 2008 “Wake Up Call,” which was supposed to be part of a bigger album but that got shelved. She released singles like “Inseparable” and “I Can Do It Alone” in the late-2000s alongside her work on Heroes, and she of course did a lot of work with Disney, putting out singles, official movie soundtrack contributions, and Disney compilation tracks with them.
She recorded “I Still Believe” for the animated movie Cinderella III: A Twist in Time in 2007, “Try” for the Bridge to Terabithia soundtrack in 2007, in addition to “I Fly” for the movie Ice Princess in 2005, which she also starred in, along with songs like “My Hero Is You” for the Disney Channel Original Movie Tiger Cruise in 2004.
She was such a beloved entertainer, a woman who could do it all, and in more recent years, had been very candid about a lot of her personal struggles. Of course, growing up in the spotlight comes with its own set of struggles, and Hayden has spoken in-depth about her struggles with severe postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter, Kaya, in 2014. Her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, addressed topics like her decision to give up custody of her daughter to prioritize health and safety, and coping with the devastating 2023 death of her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere.
For all of her success, she went through a lot in her personal life, and if you grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s like me, she was a staple of your childhood (and probably near the same age as you). It’s just devastating that she’s gone and how hard her life was for many years. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her daughter and family during this horrific time.
You can check out some of her music below.
“Telescope”
“Wrong Song”
“Undermine”
