US actress Hayden Panettiere dies at 36

US actress Hayden Panettiere has passed away at the age of 36, according to US media reports. Panettiere, renowned for her roles in TV shows Heroes and Nashville, was described as an "incredible light" and a "force of nature" by her father, Skip. The cause of her death remains unknown at this time, and her father has requested privacy.

Panettiere embarked on her acting journey as a child, appearing in commercials and soap operas. She achieved significant recognition for voicing the character Dot in Pixar's 1998 animated film A Bug's Life and received a Grammy nomination for the film's spoken word album for children. Panettiere gained widespread fame for her portrayal of Claire Bennett, a high school cheerleader with superpowers, on NBC's television series Heroes, which debuted in 2006.

She also starred as Juliette Barnes in the musical drama Nashville for six seasons. Panettiere appeared in two films from the Scream franchise and the horror film Sleepwalker, released in the US in January. Her last known appearance was in the psychological thriller Sleepwalker. Panettiere had openly discussed her struggles with alcohol addiction and depression, having battled addiction throughout her 20s.

Her younger brother, actor Jansen Panettiere, died in 2023 at the age of 28 due to a heart condition. Panettiere published a memoir earlier this year, where she addressed her mental health struggles, the loss of her brother, and her decision to grant full custody of her daughter to her former partner, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.