(VIDEO) Hayden Panettiere, Star of TV's Heroes and Nashville, Dies at Age 36: What Was the Cause of Her Death?

NEW YORK — Actress Hayden Panettiere, who rose to fame as a teenager on the NBC science-fiction series "Heroes" and later starred as a country music singer on the drama "Nashville," has died at age 36, her representative confirmed to ABC News on Sunday.

A cause of death was not immediately released. Panettiere's father, Skip Panettiere, said in a statement provided by her representative that his daughter had brought "an incredible light and a force of nature" to everyone who knew her and to the millions of viewers who watched her on screen. He asked for privacy as the family processes what he called an unimaginable loss.

Panettiere's publicist, Kasey Kitchen, told reporters an investigation into the circumstances of her death was ongoing, though it was not immediately clear whether that referred to a routine death investigation or autopsy, a standard procedure in many jurisdictions. Additional details were expected in the coming day.

Entertainment outlet TMZ was first to report the news, citing sources with direct knowledge of the matter. According to that outlet's reporting, Panettiere and her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, had traveled from Los Angeles to the southern United States on Saturday, a day before her death was confirmed.

Panettiere's career began almost as soon as she could walk. According to her Television Academy biography, she started appearing in television commercials at 11 months old and had joined the casts of daytime soap operas "One Life to Live" and "Guiding Light" by age 4. She later lent her voice to the animated film "A Bug's Life" and appeared in the football drama "Remember the Titans" alongside Denzel Washington.

Her breakout role came in 2006, when she was cast as Claire Bennet, an indestructible cheerleader with the ability to heal from any injury, on NBC's "Heroes." The role made her a fixture of mid-2000s pop culture and earned the show a passionate global fan base during its four-season run.

Panettiere went on to headline "Nashville," playing troubled country star Juliette Barnes across six seasons on ABC and later CMT. The performance earned her two Golden Globe nominations and cemented her standing as one of television's most recognizable leading women of the era. She also became known to horror fans for her role as Kirby Reed in "Scream 4" in 2011, a character she reprised in "Scream VI" in 2023, as well as for voicing and performing the character Samantha "Sam" Giddings in the video game "Until Dawn."

Her other film credits included "Racing Stripes," "Ice Princess," "I Love You, Beth Cooper" and the TV movie "Amanda Knox," in which she portrayed the American college student wrongfully convicted, then acquitted, in the 2007 murder of her roommate in Italy.

Panettiere was born Aug. 21, 1989, and raised in Palisades, New York, roughly 40 miles north of New York City, the daughter of actress and producer Lesley Vogel and Alan Panettiere. She was the mother of one child, daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, born in 2014 with her former partner, Ukrainian professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

In recent years, Panettiere had spoken candidly about mental health struggles that followed her years as a child star. She revealed earlier this year that she had battled postpartum depression and addiction, disclosures she said contributed to her decision to give up custody of her daughter in 2018. She detailed those experiences in a memoir published this year, "This Is Me: A Reckoning," which generated headlines over its revelations about her past relationships.

Panettiere also endured a personal tragedy in February 2023, when her younger brother, actor Jansen Panettiere, died suddenly at age 28. His family said at the time that the cause was cardiomegaly, an enlarged heart, coupled with aortic valve complications. In an interview two years later, Hayden Panettiere told NBC's "TODAY" show that losing someone who had stood beside her through life's most important moments had shaken her deeply.

Tributes began circulating across social media and entertainment outlets within hours of the news breaking, with former co-stars and fans recalling her performances on "Heroes" and "Nashville" as well as her openness about her personal struggles later in life. Several outlets, including NBC News, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety, confirmed the death through Panettiere's representative and family statement Sunday evening, while noting that further details were still emerging.

Panettiere's death adds her to a small group of performers who achieved major stardom as children before navigating long, sometimes turbulent careers into adulthood. Colleagues in the industry noted her range across genres, from the fantastical superhero ensemble of "Heroes" to the music-industry drama of "Nashville" and the slasher sequences of the "Scream" franchise.

As of Sunday night, no funeral or memorial arrangements had been announced. Her representative said the family was requesting privacy during the coming days. Outlets including ABC News indicated the story remained developing, with additional details expected as investigators and family representatives release further information.

Panettiere's rise from child actor to leading lady made her one of the more visible faces of American network television across two decades, and her death drew immediate reaction from fans who grew up watching her portray Claire Bennet's ability to heal from any wound — a fictional resilience that fans on social media noted stood in poignant contrast to the personal battles she later described facing in real life.