Hayden Panettiere’s ex-fiancé says he's in 'profound shock and grief'

Hayden Panettiere, the 36-year-old actress and former child star, has died. According to the Gulf News, she was found dead in Greenville, South Carolina, with dispatch audio indicating first responders were called for a cardiac arrest and worked to revive her following a suspected overdose. The Greenville County Coroner's Office confirmed emergency crews treated a woman in cardiac arrest and that her autopsy revealed no signs of trauma, though an official cause of death has yet to be released.

Panettiere's ex-fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko, a Ukrainian boxer and the father of her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, has spoken out about her death. He described being in "profound shock and grief" and called Panettiere "talented", saying she had "left this world far too soon". According to the CBC News, Klitschko shared a heartfelt statement following Panettiere's death on Sunday.

Panettiere had spoken openly about her struggles with substance abuse and personal tragedies, including the 2023 loss of her brother Jansen to heart complications, as reported by the New Straits Times. In her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, she reflected on her experiences and wrote about her determination to survive and empathize with others. Klitschko noted that although he and Panettiere were no longer together, she remained "an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya".

Brief written by urgent.news from CBC News, New Straits Times, Gulf News, New Voice of Ukraine, Sky News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.