An Incredible Light: Hollywood Remembers Hayden Panettiere
This weekend brought the heartbreaking news of the death of Hayden Panettiere, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 36.
Her father told ABC News on Sunday: “It 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 — and to the millions who watched her onscreen.”
Panettiere was a two-time Golden Globe nominee who first appeared on camera at 11 months old in a commercial. At ten, she turned in a memorable performance as the feisty daughter of a coach in the 2000 film Remember the Titans, which featured Denzel Washington. Panettiere starred in dozens of films and series, including playing the supernaturally strong cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes from 2006 to 2010, and the rising music star Juliette Barnes on the hit series Nashville, earning her two Golden Globe nominations in 2013 and 2014. In Scream 4 and Scream VI, she played Kirby Reed, the sassy, quick-witted best friend turned FBI agent.
This past May, Panettiere published a candid memoir about her postpartum depression and alcohol and opioid addiction, “This Is Me: A Reckoning.” She also discussed in the memoir suffering from body dysmorphia resulting from invasive tabloid press coverage of her when she was a teenager.
Tributes from former colleagues and co-stars have poured in. Viola Davis, who starred with Panettiere in writer/director James Lapine’s 2016 drama Custody alongside Davis’s husband, Julius Tennon, shared this moving tribute on Instagram:
“What an amazing talent you were….so gifted. Julius and I loved working with you….an old, wise soul with such a deep heart. I wish the world had more time with you because I had a burning curiosity about who you were becoming. I saw this beautiful Phoenix rising from the ashes. Your tests became your testimony, and your testimony became your legacy. You will be remembered. Rest well, Hayden. Sending healing prayers to your family, your daughter, and all who loved you. May they always speak your name.”
Many more former co-stars, friends, and admirers have shared their heartbreak, including her Scream 4 co-star David Arquette and her Scream VI co-star Melissa Barrera.
Panettiere’s former One Tree Hill co-star and good friend Bethany Joy Lenz wrote on Instagram: “I’m crushed. I knew the wild little blonde. Was she nine? Ten? I was eighteen. She ran through the Screen Gems studio hallways at 222 E44th St., laughing and playing games in between blocking and camera rehearsals. Long, unruly curls trailing behind her. She knew her lines and everyone else’s. Her intelligence was astonishing. She understood scenes, nuance, and human struggle like no child I’d ever seen on camera. And she’d sit with you for a great conversation, then giggle and go play.”
Panettiere is survived by her 11-year-old daughter.
Featured image: Hayden Panettiere arrives at the premiere of “Blonde” held at the TCL Chinese Theatre on September 13, 2022, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images)
