{"id":901699,"date":"2026-09-22T20:50:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T20:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/901699\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T20:50:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T20:50:14","slug":"hayden-panettiere-died-from-accidental-overdose-involving-fentanyl-coroner-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/901699\/","title":{"rendered":"Hayden Panettiere died from accidental overdose involving fentanyl, coroner says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Actor Hayden Panettiere died from an accidental overdose of several drugs, including fentanyl, a coroner in South Carolina says.<\/p>\n

The 36-year-old was found unresponsive in an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16.<\/p>\n

Her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the home.<\/p>\n

According to a statement from the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, a combination of fentanyl and its chemical by-product, alongside the anti-anxiety medication alprazolam, a muscle relaxer and a drug used to treat major depression and other serious mental health disorders, was involved.<\/p>\n

The office did not include further details from the autopsy report in its initial release.<\/p>\n

Kasey Kitchen, a publicist for Ms Panettiere’s family, told The Associated Press “the investigation is still ongoing and the case is complex”.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Hayden Panettiere and her brother Jansen, who died in 2023. (AP Photo: Dan Steinberg, file)<\/p>\n

Greenville Police confirmed Tuesday, local time, that their investigation into Ms Panettiere’s death was continuing.<\/p>\n

Paramedics attended Ms Panettiere’s apartment after a 911 call and performed CPR and other advanced resuscitation efforts for more than 40 minutes before she was declared dead.<\/p>\n

The autopsy found no signs of trauma that could have contributed to her death, Greenville County Coroner Mike Ellis said.<\/p>\n

The police report released after her death listed medications Ms Panettiere was taking, but drug names were redacted.<\/p>\n

Early fame brought success and struggle<\/p>\n

Ms Panettiere soared to fame in the TV shows Heroes and Nashville. In her memoir This Is Me, released in May, she described lifelong scars from her early fame.<\/p>\n

The autobiography acknowledged her addiction to alcohol and enduring postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, Kaya, with Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Heavyweight boxing world champion Wladimir Klitschko and Hayden Panettiere share a daughter together. (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Family and domestic violence support services:<\/p>\n

If you need help immediately, call emergency services on Triple Zero.<\/p>\n

Family struggles and tragedy were also outlined in the memoir; her parents’ marriage was strained and eventually ended.<\/p>\n

Her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, also an actor, died of a heart condition in 2023, at age 28.<\/p>\n

Ms Panettiere also talked about her long relationship with Brian Hickerson and allegations the aspiring actor physically abused her.<\/p>\n

He was charged in 2020 with multiple counts of felony abuse, and pleaded no contest to two counts of injuring a spouse or partner.<\/p>\n

Mr Hickerson served 45 days in jail and was sentenced to four years of probation and anger management and alcohol rehabilitation sessions.<\/p>\n

Mr Hickerson recently asked a judge to reduce his conviction to misdemeanours, but the request was denied.<\/p>\n

Influence of acting roles on mental health<\/p>\n

Ms Panettiere was one of two children of former soap opera star Lesley Vogel and Skip Panettiere, a former New York City fire captain.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The actress rose to fame in childhood, beginning screen work in commercials and soap operas. (Reuters: RMP\/ELD\/ME)<\/p>\n

She acted in commercials and soap operas, including the troubled character Lizzie Spaulding on “Guiding Light.”<\/p>\n

In Ms Panettiere’s memoir, she wrote that the traumas her character endured, from being kidnapped to killing her mother’s boyfriend, led her to associate “catastrophe with adoration.”<\/p>\n

The actress also said she experienced a cycle of using alcohol and drugs to cope with depression and anxiety, attending rehab in 2015 and 2020.<\/p>\n

“I was the one who put myself in the first treatment centre. I was drowning,” Ms Panettier said in a 2023 interview with Women’s Health magazine.<\/p>\n

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