Hayden Panettiere’s celebrity friends and co-stars share heartbreaking tributes after her sudden death

Tributes have been flooding in for Hayden Panettiere after the actress died suddenly at the age of 36, with friends, co-stars and directors from across Hollywood sharing how deeply her loss has hit them.

Panettiere's father, Skip Panettiere, confirmed the awful news in statement yesterday. "It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden," he said.

"She as an incredible light and force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her, and to the millions who watched her on-screen."

Panettiere began acting as a child, appearing in Guiding Light and Remember the Titans, before going on to star in Heroes, Nashville and the Scream franchise, as well as lending her voice to Kingdom Hearts and Until Dawn. Her final film role was in the psychological thriller Sleepwalker, released in January.

Tributes roll in for Hayden Panettiere

Actor Clayton Johnson, who was close to Panettiere, shared an emotional post on Instagram.

"Sweet Hayden. I spent last night trying to process, to try to find the right words, but there really aren't any," he wrote, adding that he hoped she was 'at peace now and reunited with Jansen.'

Johnson recalled that the last text she ever sent him read: "Honestly, people think it's a joke to ask for world peace, but that would be me," saying it summed her up perfectly.

Actress Emma Roberts also posted a tribute, writing that Panettiere was 'so loved' and would be 'forever missed'.

Panettiere's Nashville co-star Connie Britton shared a carousel of photos on Instagram, writing: "This was Hayden. Bursting with brilliance, shining so bright. I have no words for this sad song. Just heartbreak. I love you girl. Sleep easy now."

Several of Panettiere's Heroes co-stars also spoke out. David Anders shared a photo of the pair together, calling her 'one of the brighter lights' he'd ever met. Dania Ramirez, who played Maya on the show, said her heart 'aches so much', while James Kyson recalled meeting Panettiere at 16 and remembered her as a 'fierce protector of animal rights' who championed kindness and fairness.

From the Scream franchise, David Arquette, who appeared in both Scream 4 and Scream VI alongside Panettiere, wrote simply that he loved her.

Melissa Barrera, her Scream VI co-star, posted an Instagram Story reading 'rest in peace, sweet Hayden'.

Bethany Joy Lenz, who worked with Panettiere as a child on Guiding Light, shared an extended tribute describing her as a 'wild little blonde' who used to run through the studio hallways between takes.

"She knew her lines and everyone else's. Her intelligence was astonishing," Lenz wrote, adding that she was struggling to process the news after knowing Panettiere on and off for 26 years.

What have other celebrities said about Hayden Panettiere's death?

Viola Davis, who worked with Panettiere on The Architect, called her an 'amazing talent' with 'an old, wise soul', while model Naomi Campbell left a message of condolence in the comments.

Rosie O'Donnell wrote that she was 'heartbroken', and Selma Blair commented directly on Panettiere's own Instagram page, pleading, "I love you. Don't be gone. Don't be gone. Please. Please."

Kelly Osbourne posted an Instagram Story saying she and Panettiere had understood each other in a way 'few truly can', reflecting on the difficulty of growing up in the spotlight, and adding that Panettiere 'deserved better'.

Podcast host Jay Shetty, who had interviewed Panettiere as recently as May, said their friendship had 'just begun', while singer Alyson Stoner, who took over voicing Kairi in Kingdom Hearts after Panettiere, posted a video sending love to her family and the gaming community.

Singers Ashlee Simpson, JoJo and Normani, actor Jeremy Renner, and Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale, who appeared with Panettiere in Scream 4, also shared messages of condolence and grief across social media.

A timeline of Hayden Panettiere’s troubled Hollywood career

August 1989

Hayden Panettiere is born to firefighter Skip Panettiere and Lesley Vogel, who would go on to be Hayden’s manager.

1990

Panettiere appears in a commercial at 11 months old, later landing recurring roles in soap operas as a child actor.

2004/2005

Aged 15, Panettiere said someone on her team started offering her ‘happy pills’. She later tells People: “They were to make me peppy during interviews.

"I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction.”

2006

Aged 17, Panettiere lands one of the defining roles of her career as Claire Bennett in Heroes.

2007-2009

Panettiere later reveals several disturbing incidents that happened during this period in her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning.

Aged 18, she claims she was led onto a yacht by ‘somebody that I had grown to trust and see as a protector’ and placed into bed next to an ‘undressed man who was very famous’.

In 2008, she alleged a network executive kissed her on the lips at a party.

Aged 19, she said a ‘well-respected, award-winning actor’ tricked her into looking at his testicles through an unzipped fly.

In 2007, she also starts dating Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia - she is 18 and he is 30. They split in 2009.

2009

Panettiere starts dating Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

Meanwhile, her father Skip is handed two years of informal probation after pleading ‘no contest’ to spousal battery.

2013

Panettiere and Klitschko get engaged.

December 2014

Panettiere and Klitschko’s daughter Kaya is born. Panettiere endures an incredibly difficult pregnancy, hemorrhaging during her c-section and being forced to undergo a three-hour surgery.

2015

Panettiere begins suffering severe post-partum depression. She later tells Jay Shetty on his On Purpose podcast: “I knew something was terribly, terribly wrong. I wasn't connecting with [Kaya] the way I should be.”

She uses alcohol to manage her mental health struggles and enters treatment when Kaya is four months old.

She later says she became dependent on medication to sleep, and then turned to drinking vodka.

2018

Klitschko presents Panettiere with custody papers asking for full custody of Kaya. After initially fighting back, she eventually accepts and Kaya goes to live with Klitschko in Ukraine.

She writes in her memoir: “Not being under the same roof with her every day has been the most gut-wrenching experience of my life”

Meanwhile, her long-running role in TV show Nashville comes to an end and she doesn’t have any more TV or film roles for five years.

In the same year, she starts dating actor Brian Hickerson.

2020

Panettiere spends an eight month stint in rehab.

She experiences brutal alcohol withdrawal symptoms including insomnia and intense headaches.

Meanwhile, her now-ex Hickerson is charged with felony assault.

2021

Hickerson pleads no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse/cohabitant/girlfriend/child's parent and is sentenced to 45 days in jail and four years probation.

2023

Panettiere returns to acting, reprising her role as Kirby Reed in Scream VI.

In the same year, her brother Jansen dies aged 28 from an enlarged heart.

May 2026

Panettiere releases her memoir in which she makes disturbing allegations against film stars and industry execs from when she was a teenager.

She also opens up on her experience of postpartum depression and comes out as bisexual.

August 2026

Panettiere tragically dies. Police say: “The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.”