Hayden Panettiere made chilling comment about death just three months before her tragic passing at age 36
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Hayden Panettiere reflected on her legacy just three months before her sudden death at age 36.
The actress, who died Sunday from a suspected overdose, told fans on May 26: ‘I can hopefully leave the world a better place than I found it.’
She made the remark, which now appears chilling in the wake of her death, at a promotional event for her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, which detailed her toxic experience in Hollywood and her battles with grief, addiction and postpartum depression.
‘So many people have come up to me within the industry and outside of the industry and shared their stories with me and said, “Because you’ve talked about your mental health, it gave me the courage to be honest about mine and get myself help, and you saved my life,”‘ Panettiere stated at the time.
‘And I was like, this is worth it… the strength is in our vulnerability.’
Representatives for the former child star announced on Sunday: ‘It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.’
Hayden Panettiere reflected on her legacy just three months before her sudden death at age 36; picture in 2022
The actress, who died on Sunday, said, ‘I can hopefully leave the world a better place than I found it,’ during a Los Angeles event in support of her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning; pictured May 19
Known for her roles on the hit NBC series Heroes and musical drama Nashville, Panettiere was remembered as ‘an incredible light and a force of nature.’
She had an 11-year-old daughter named Kaya following a life-threatening birth in 2014, but later gave full custody to her former fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
Panettiere died after going into cardiac arrest following a suspected overdose at a loft apartment in South Carolina.
Detectives confirmed to the Daily Mail that on Sunday afternoon they responded to a 911 call from an ‘acquaintance’ of the star, describing her as ‘unresponsive.’
She had arrived to Greenville with on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson one day earlier.
The author penned in her book this year: ‘I never want to stop evolving and changing for the better, and I’ll forever be a work in progress.
‘But one thing I know from my thirty-six years in the public eye is this: Life is a process that evolves day by day, year by year, and – like it or not – you are engaged in a cycle of growth until the moment you take your last breath.’
Panettiere’s memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning was released in May
The former child star pictured in 2005
Panettiere had been grieving the loss of her younger brother Jansen Panettiere, who died of an enlarged heart in 2023 at age 28; The siblings pictured in 2019
Panettiere had been grieving the loss of her younger brother Jansen Panettiere, who died of an enlarged heart in 2023 at age 28. She described his death as ‘the heartbreak of my life,’ while remembering him in her memoir.
‘There’s no easy way to share your story with the world, but the last thing I want to be is a downer,’ she also wrote.
The actress declared, ‘I’m an optimist to the core and refuse to be defined by my tragedies.’
Panettiere began acting as a child, first appearing in commercials and soap operas.
She then gained widespread recognition as the voice of Dot in Pixar’s 1998 film A Bug’s Life, and for her role in the 2000 sports drama Remember the Titans with Denzel Washington.
Later, she played cheerleader Claire Bennet in the superhero drama Heroes before starring as country singer Juliette Barnes for six seasons on Nashville.
She earned two Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress on the show, while her singing produced 11 entries on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.
Panettiere’s film credits include 2006’s Bring It On: All or Nothing, the comedy-drama film Raising Helen, and appearances in Scream 4 and Scream VI as Kirby Reed.