Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mom speaks out for first time since daughter's death aged 36
Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mother, Lesley Vogel, has broken her silence following the death of her daughter, aged 36.
Speaking with NBC, her mom spoke about Brian Hickerson, who the actress had reportedly been in an 'on-and-off' relationship with at the time of her death.
She noted that the actor was there when police arrived at the Greenville apartment complex, where Panettiere was found unresponsive on Sunday evening (August 16).
In a redacted police report, officers noted that Hickerson was 'very emotional' while the emergency services worked on the 36-year-old.
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The mom described Hickerson as a 'person in her life we have been trying to get rid of'.
She added: "'I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments and I think young people who grow up in the entertainment industry - it is a struggle and it’s a very challenging industry and it’s not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path."
The mom further noted that the star had 'sadly lost her way'.
Vogel noted that she had 'very little information as the investigation was ongoing, but that she would be speaking with a detective'.
In a statement issued to the BBC yesterday (August 17), Greenville County Coroner's Office, which is investigating the death of Panettiere, note that emergency services were called to an address on Sunday for a woman in cardiac arrest, but resuscitation efforts 'were unsuccessful'.
They added: "At autopsy no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death. The cause and manner of death remain pending further investigation and the completion of additional studies."
Hayden Panettiere’s relationship with mom
While promoting the release of her memoir prior to her tragic death, Panettiere offered insight into her estranged relationship with her mother.
Speaking with US Weekly, she said: "Unfortunately, we don't have a relationship right now.
"But that doesn't mean that I don't leave the door open for the opportunity to present itself one day."
'You cannot save someone who does not want to be saved'
Vogel has also opened up about their relationship in recent years, noting that she decided to go 'no-contact' with the Ice Princess star, following '20 years of trauma'.
Speaking with Page Six earlier this year, the 70-year-old said: "As many parents of entertainment children know, we are all too familiar with the painful observation of watching the self-destructive paths they sometimes choose.
"No parent hopes for this scenario; we want our children to be the best of themselves and live a peaceful, joyful life!"
The mom added: "Sadly, this is out of our control. You cannot save someone who does not want to be saved. "
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.”
Topics: Hayden Panettiere, US News, Celebrity
Mia Williams