American actress Hayden Panettiere, known for her roles in TV shows such as Nashville and Heroes, has died at the age of 36, ABC News reported on Sunday (Aug 16), citing her representative.
“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 on screen,” her representative told ABC News.
Panettiere’s father also asked that her family be given privacy while they “process this unimaginable loss.”
Details about her death were not immediately given but news outlet TMZ said there was an “open investigation” into the cause.
Born in 1989, Panettiere became a child star and went on to have numerous roles in both film and TV. She had a prolific career dating to 1996, and her credits included the voice of Dot in A Bug’s Life, Remember The Titans, Ice Princess, Scream 4 and Scream VI.
Her role as a cheerleader with superpowers in Heroes propelled her to fame, with the series revolving around the mantra “Save the cheerleader, save the world.”
She wrote a memoir titled This Is Me: A Reckoning which was released in May.
In that book, she wrote of the pressures of being a child star, and her experiences of addiction and recovery. She wrote about her decision to give full custody of her daughter to her former partner, boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
She had also spoken of estrangement from her mother, who managed her career as a child and later criticised her daughter’s book.
