Panettiere was pronounced dead at a South Carolina apartment Sunday, August 16. A cause of death has not been revealed, but an autopsy showed no signs of trauma. Toxicology reports are pending and could take up to 12 weeks, according to the Greenville County Coroner\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
A newly released incident report states that the 911 call was made by Brian Hickerson, 37, who is referred to as Panettiere\u2019s boyfriend. He reportedly turned over a \u201cbag of medication\u201d belonging to Panettiere to the police, but the contents of that bag has so far been redacted. His brother Zach Hickerson was also present on the scene. The Independent has approached police for further information.<\/p>\n
Now, police have reportedly begun probing whether there could be criminal conduct behind her death. Officers with the Greenville Police Department were seen outside of a Hickerson family home Wednesday morning in photos first obtained by Page Six. The US Drug Enforcement Administration joined the investigation into Panettiere\u2019s death on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the case who spoke to the New York Times. <\/p>\n
Among her most memorable roles were Sheryl Yoast in the 2000 Denzel Washington-led film Remember the Titans, high school cheerleader Claire Bennet on NBC\u2019s sci-fi drama Heroes (2006-2010), and aspiring country singer Juliette Barnes on the hit TV series Nashville (2012-2018).<\/p>\n
Her New York Times bestselling memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, was published in May this year, in which she looked back at her childhood in Hollywood<\/a> and her experiences with addiction, postpartum depression<\/a>, abusive relationships, and the loss of custody of her daughter, Kaya,<\/a> whom she shares with former heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko.<\/p>\n Wladimir Klitschko breaks silence over ex-fianc\u00e9e’s death<\/p>\n In an Instagram post, Wladimir Klitschko wrote: \u201cOur family is going through a time of profound shock and grief.<\/p>\n \u201cThe announcement of Hayden\u2019s tragic death saddens me deeply. She left this world far too soon. Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya.<\/p>\n \u201cShe built an incredible career through immense talent, while also facing the darker sides of a very demanding industry. Nothing will erase the times we shared or the place she had in our lives.<\/p>\n \u201cTo our daughter Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was.<\/p>\n \u201cI extend my deepest condolences to Hayden\u2019s parents, her friends, and her fans, who are also grieving today. Young and talented people like Hayden should not leave this world so soon.<\/p>\n \u201cI ask everyone to please respect our family\u2019s feelings and privacy during this incredibly difficult time. For now, this is all I wish to say.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you to everyone who is supporting my family and expressing their sincere condolences.<\/p>\n \u201cRest easy, Hayden. May you find eternal peace. #WeLoveYouHayden\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Read more<\/p>\n Caitlin Hornik18 August 2026 14:44<\/p>\n <\/a>Tim Allen pays tribute to on-screen daughter Panettiere: ‘She is a wonder’<\/p>\n Toy Story star Tim Allen has paid tribute to Hayden Panettiere, who played his daughter in the 2001 comedy-drama Joe Somebody. The film follows an ordinary man who learns to fight after an altercation with a co-worker. <\/p>\n Posting to X<\/a>, Allen wrote: \u201cI am shocked and so sad as the passing of Hayden Panettiere. She played my daughter in the movie Joe Somebody. <\/p>\n \u201cThe fondest memories of that movie were moments around her. She is a wonder and my prayers are with her family.\u201d<\/p>\n Lauren Morris20 August 2026 10:30<\/p>\n <\/a>Hayden Panettiere campaigned against dolphin captivity in final project<\/p>\n In one of her final projects, the Heroes star teamed up with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to protest the conditions dolphins and other mammals live in at marine parks. <\/p>\n \u201cImagine spending your entire life in a bath tub. That\u2019s what it\u2019s like for dolphins and whales in tiny tanks at marine amusement parks. We can end this. You and me,\u201d she said in a video, while posing in a bath tub.<\/p>\n \u201cTogether we can end this cruelty.\u201d<\/p>\n Panettiere was a fierce advocate for animal rights throughout her life \u2013 confronting dolphin hunters at 18 in Japan, protesting against the Georgia Aquarium importing 18 wild-caught beluga whales from Russia, and appealing to President Vladimir Putin to release almost 100 belugas and orcas set to be transferred to marine parks. <\/p>\n Hayden Panettiere stars in PETA campaign filmed weeks before her death<\/p>\n Lauren Morris20 August 2026 09:31<\/p>\n <\/a>Hayden Panettiere said she was \u2018riddled with guilt\u2019 after brother Jansen\u2019s death<\/p>\n Hayden Panettiere spoke openly about the guilt she carried after the sudden death of her younger brother Jansen, who died aged 28 in 2023 from a heart condition.<\/p>\n In an interview with E! News in May, Panettiere said she was still struggling with the loss three years later. \u201cIt\u2019s all the time,\u201d she said of her grief. \u201cIt just evolves, especially with a sibling and being the older sibling. You\u2019re just riddled with guilt that you didn\u2019t do your job.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI miss him all the time. I didn\u2019t think I would have to do life without him, but I\u2019m grateful that I had the time I had with him,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Shahana Yasmin20 August 2026 09:30<\/p>\n <\/a>Hayden Panettiere said she struggled to fit into \u2018two different worlds\u2019 as a child star <\/p>\n Hayden Panettiere had opened up about the difficulty of growing up in Hollywood, saying she felt caught between the adult world of the entertainment industry and the ordinary childhood she wanted.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was like I was trying to fit into two different worlds \u2014 one was a very adult world, which was the industry, and one was the world of just being a normal kid \u2014 and struggled with both in different ways,\u201d Panettiere told BuzzFeed in May, after the release of her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I desperately wanted to fit in. That\u2019s what I wanted more than anything,\u201d she said, explaining that she wanted \u201cfriends that were my age\u201d, to go to school like a \u201cnormal kid\u201d and play sports.<\/p>\n Panettiere said she was also dealing with paparazzi and a loss of freedom while working on Heroes. \u201cOutside of work, I was dealing with paparazzi for the first time and my freedom being taken away, basically overnight,\u201d she said. \u201cThe cast of Heroes really kept me grounded at a very pivotal time in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n Shahana Yasmin20 August 2026 09:15<\/p>\n <\/a>The heartbreaking family struggles that shaped Hayden Panettiere\u2019s life off screen<\/p>\n The Heroes and Nashville star, who has tragically died aged 36, was bracingly honest about her experiences of familial estrangement, losing custody of her daughter and the depression that followed the sudden death of her younger brother, writes Katie Rosseinsky:<\/p>\n Shahana Yasmin20 August 2026 09:00<\/p>\n <\/a>Nashville\u2019s music community pays tribute to Hayden Panettiere after her death<\/p>\n Tributes have come from the country music world following Hayden Panettiere\u2019s death, with The Chicks, Rascal Flatts\u2019 Jay DeMarcus, and Nashville\u2019s Bluebird Cafe among those remembering the actor.<\/p>\n The Chicks, who appeared as themselves on Nashville in 2013, wrote: \u201cHayden was a beautiful chick, inside and out. Funny, talented, honest, and brave\u2026 with a heart of gold. (She could work an iFan like nobody else.) Gone too soon, but never forgotten. Rest in peace, sweet Hayden.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n DeMarcus, who worked with Panettiere several times during his appearances on Nashville, wrote on Instagram: \u201cI had the privilege of working with her several times during her years here in Nashville, this is absolutely heartbreaking.. prayers for the family.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Bluebird Cafe, the Nashville music venue that featured prominently on Nashville, where Panettiere\u2019s character Juliette Barnes performed, wrote: \u201cRest in Peace, Hayden Panettiere. She was a spark; funny, incredibly talented, beautiful. Nashville brought her to us at The Bluebird, and she became part of our family through that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Shahana Yasmin20 August 2026 08:46<\/p>\n <\/a>Hayden Panettiere\u2019s friend shares her final text: \u2018That was you in a nutshell\u2019<\/p>\n Musician Clayton Johnson has shared the final text Hayden Panettiere sent him, as he paid tribute to the actor.<\/p>\n Johnson, who shared a video of himself singing with Panettiere, wrote on Instagram: \u201cMore than anything, I hope you\u2019re at peace now and reunited with Jansen.\u201d Panettiere\u2019s younger brother, Jansen, died aged 28 in 2023 from an undiagnosed heart condition.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Johnson said the last message Panettiere sent him, a few weeks after their last phone call, was: \u201cHonestly, people think it\u2019s a joke to ask for world peace, but that would be me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat was you in a nutshell,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI\u2019m grateful I got to know you, and I\u2019ll always be grateful for the memories. Fly high, Hayden.\u201d<\/p>\n Shahana Yasmin20 August 2026 08:30<\/p>\n![\"Jim](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-688264.jpg\")
Jim Belushi, Julie Bowen, Hayden Panettiere, Kelly Lynch and Tim Allen at the premiere of ‘Joe Somebody’ in 2001 (Getty Images)<\/p>\n(Getty)<\/p>\n
Hayden Panettiere (centre) with fellow cast members from the film \u2018Joe Somebody\u2019 Julie Bowen and Tim Allen to the film’s premiere in the Westwood Village of Los Angeles in 2001 (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)<\/p>\n