Nashville star Hayden Panettiere has opened up about her decision to take a break from acting to allow her to work on her mental and spiritual health.
The 33-year-old actor will soon be back the big screen in the upcoming Scream VI, which sees the return of her character Kirby Reed after she last appeared in the franchise in 2011.
She went on to work for six years on the TV series Nashville, but since the show came to an end in 2018 Panettiere has stayed away from the spotlight. Hear her explain why below:
Panettiere began working when she was just a child, earning her first credit in the 1996 TV series Aliens in the Family.
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She hardly stopped throughout her childhood and teenage years, appearing in more than two dozen episodes of the series One Life To Live before voicing the character of Dot in A Bug's Life.
Her role in Nashville came after a series of film and TV roles throughout the early Noughties, and after the show came to a close, Panettiere admitted she 'didn't know what [she] wanted to do next'.
During an appearance on Good Morning America ahead of the release of Scream VI, Panettiere continued: "I did have to take those four years off, and thank God I did.
"I had to work on myself, my mental health, my physical health, spiritual health."
The actor spoke further about her mental wellbeing for an April cover issue for Women's Health, where she explained she'd put herself in a treatment centre while filming Nashville in 2015 because she was 'drowning'.
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She experienced postpartum depression after giving birth to her daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko the previous year, and admitted to relying on alcohol to help her cope.
"I should have gone on antidepressants [to cope with the postpartum depression], but you have to find the right one that works for you," she told Women's Health. "They don’t mix well with alcohol, and I wasn’t ready to stop drinking."
In 2021, Panettiere joined a 12-step program and began trauma therapy, saying she 'did a lot of work' on herself.
When the opportunity to return to the Scream franchise came up, Panettiere felt ready to jump back in.
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"When it came back around, I was like 'I want to be a part of that again', because I hoped that Kirby was still alive," she said on Good Morning America.
Panettiere said she called the creators to pitch the return of her character - a call which paid off with her appearance in the upcoming movie.
Scream VI is set to be released in cinemas on 10 March.
Topics: Celebrity, Mental Health, Film and TV