Hayden Panettiere opened up about tragic impact of growing up as child star
As tributes pour in following the tragic passing of Nashville actor Hayden Panettiere at the age of 36, a recent TV interview has resurfaced of her explaining the reality of being a child star.
Just three months ago, the New Yorker appeared on CBS Mornings to discuss her revealing memoir, titled 'This Is Me: A Reckoning', which detailed her journey to stardom and the struggles that came with it.
Panettiere's first acting gig came when she was just a toddler, and by the time she was five, she had already filmed 50 commercials and starred on a major US television soap opera - One Life to Live.
The Heroes star reflected on the complicated relationship she shared with her mother, who was also an actress, and the immense pressure to perform weighed heavy on her as a girl.
Advert
"It was every moment on set I didn't care about anybody else's opinion but my mom's," she told Gayle King, before adding that if her mother was unhappy with her performance, her day was ruined.
Panettiere explained how she developed an ability to cry on cue, which directors loved but took a massive toll on her.
Over time, the young actor began to associate deep sadness and catastrophic on-screen moments with adoration from adults - a twisted dynamic which confused her as a child and led to her blurring the emotions of her character with her actual self.
Explaining the evolution of her crying on-screen, Panettiere said: "It went from being a kid and having to imagine just that your pet passed away or something. But then as I got older, the imagery became darker, and darker, and darker.
"And the emotion that I had to hold within me in order to get those trigger tears going, it became harder and harder to jump out of it. I didn't know where the my character started and where I ended, you know, just it meshed."
The sudden, explosive fame she found on Nashville and Heroes only made things harder, as being thrust into the spotlight as a teenager brought a new level of anxiety.
She recalled stepping out of her apartment at 16 for her first major paparazzi encounter, describing the moment as feeling like she was 'literally looking down the barrel of a gun'.
Photographers relentlessly hunted her like prey during the 2000s, an era she noted had absolutely no boundaries, while the intense scrutiny compounded the trauma she carried from her highly demanding childhood career.
Surviving these tumultuous times, which she dubbed 'life quakes', required therapy.
Beyond the pressures of childhood fame, she also spoke candidly about surviving physical abuse, battling addiction, and enduring postpartum depression.
The star's representative confirmed the heartbreaking news of her death in a statement to PEOPLE.
"It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden," the emotional statement read.
"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."
Topics: Entertainment, Mental Health, Celebrity
Joe Yates