Actor Hayden Panettiere, the child actor who rose to stardom in television and also spoke with raw frankness about her struggles with fame and mental health, died Sunday, according to her family. She was 36.<\/p>\n
Panettiere\u2019s father, Skip, announced the actor\u2019s death in a statement shared with The Times on Sunday. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her \u2014 and to the millions who watched her onscreen,\u201d his statement said.<\/p>\n
No other details were released. <\/p>\n
She starred on \u201cNashville\u201d (2012-18) and, before that, \u201cHeroes\u201d (2006-10). Her early work included roles in the 1990s on the soaps \u201cOne Life to Live\u201d and \u201cGuiding Light.\u201d She was a model and a singer, having released several singles.<\/p>\n
Panettiere also starred in the \u201cScream\u201d horror movie franchise as well as in hits \u201cI Love You, Beth Cooper\u201d and \u201cRemember the Titans.\u201d<\/p>\n
She first gained major attention with \u201cHeroes,\u201d where she played a cheerleader with superpowers. On \u201cNashville,\u201d she played a troubled country music star (she sang her own songs and performed on tour). <\/p>\n
Panettiere has been candid about her struggles while living so much of her life in the public eye.<\/p>\n
Panettiere gave birth to her daughter, with boxing champ Wladimir Klitschko, in 2014 and battled postpartum depression. She gave up custody<\/a> of the child in 2018, a decision she called \u201cheartbreaking.\u201d <\/p>\n In May, the actor published a memoir, \u201cThis Is Me: A Reckoning<\/a>,\u201d in which she opened up about her alcoholism and depression after the birth of her daughter.<\/p>\n In interviews about the book, she reflected on the scrutiny and cruelty she faced as a young actor.<\/p>\n \u201cIt blows my mind that people could be so cruel,\u201d she told the New York Times. \u201cLooking back as an adult and a mother of a daughter, it\u2019s hard to believe that grown adults were OK with ripping you apart at such a tender age. At any age, really.<\/p>\n \u201cI just can\u2019t believe I made it through alive,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Panettiere started in movies at the age of 9 when she voiced Princess Dot in the 1998 Pixar movie \u201cA Bug\u2019s Life.\u201d Two years later, she made a splash in the role of a young football-obsessed fan and daughter of assistant coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton) in the biographical drama \u201cRemember the Titans.\u201d The actor told \u201cET\u201d<\/a> in 2023, \u201cIf I had a wish to go back to any time in my life, it would be going back to \u2018Remember the Titans.\u2019 … There were so many stars made from this movie.\u201d <\/p>\n Panettiere was passionate about animals and began advocating for whale conservation in her teens. She came out as bisexual earlier this year, telling Us Magazine that she was sad to have waited until age 36 to do so.<\/p>\n She spoke up about her experience with domestic abuse after a public altercation in Los Angeles<\/a> in 2022 involving a then-boyfriend. Brian Hickerson was on probation at the time following multiple domestic violence charges that dated back to 2018. <\/p>\n