Key Takeaways
- Actor Hayden Panettiere, 36, was found unresponsive in her Greenville, South Carolina home on Aug. 16 after an apparent overdose and could not be revived despite advanced cardiac life support.
- Authorities say there were no signs of foul play and do not consider the death suspicious, though an autopsy is scheduled to determine the official cause.
- Panettiere, celebrated for roles in Heroes, Nashville, the Scream franchise, is survived by her 11-year-old daughter Kaya.
Former child actress and Heroes star Hayden Panettiere was found dead in her South Carolina home after reportedly going into cardiac arrest after an apparent overdose.
As reported by TMZ, emergency medical service personnel responded to reports of an “unresponsive female” at 1:51 p.m. on Sunday (Aug. 16). An unidentified friend of Panettiere made the call to authorities to report that she was in cardiac arrest inside her Greenville residence. Paramedics and police officers attempted to resuscitate the actress with “advanced cardiac life support,” but their attempts were unsuccessful, and she was pronounced dead by 2:32 p.m. on Sunday. She was 36.
An autopsy is expected to be performed on Monday (Aug. 17) to determine the cause of death, but authorities said that her death is not being treated as suspicious. Police added that there were no signs of foul play, but her death is under investigation.
After making her on-screen debut in a commercial at just 11 months old, Panettiere started her acting career as a child actress. She later starred as Princess Dot in the animated Pixar film A Bug’s Life in 1998, but is perhaps best known for her role as Claire Bennet in the series Heroes. Other roles included the series Nashville, Scream 4 and Scream VI, the Kingdom Hearts series of games, Remember the Titans, and the PlayStation 4 game Until Dawn.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” a statement shared on behalf of her father, Alan Panettiere, 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.”
Panettiere welcomed a daughter, now-11-year-old Kaya, in 2014. She had her only child with her ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko, who gained full custody in 2018. She released a memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, earlier this year.
