Hayden Panettiere’s tell-all memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning was released shortly before her shock death at 36

Hayden Panettiere had released her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning just three months before her tragic death at the age of 36.

In the book, Panettiere described how she contended with fame and handled the difficulties in her life. 

Representatives for the former child star announced on Sunday: ‘It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.’

The Palisades, New York-born actress, known for her roles on the hit NBC series Heroes and musical drama Nashville, was remembered as ‘an incredible light and a force of nature.’ 

The cause of death for Panettiere, who leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter, was not immediately clear. 

But law enforcement sources have confirmed to TMZ that police responded to an incident involving the actress and an investigation is ongoing.

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Panettiere for further comment on the story. 

Hayden Panettiere had released her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning was released just three months before her tragic death at the age of 36. Pictured 2023 in NYC 

In May, Panettiere told The Hollywood Reporter about the emotional process she encountered in pouring her life onto paper.

‘One of the things that I was most terrified about, when deciding whether or not to write this book, was that I knew what was going to come along with it,’ she said. ‘I had to sit with myself and make a decision, and I realized it was more important for me to share my stories and to wipe the slate clean.’

Panettiere said that the initial feedback she received following the release of the book had been heartwarming and positive.

‘Reading those comments from people within the industry and outside of it, it makes me feel like I made the right decision to write the book,’ she told the outlet.

Panettiere told the outlet that ‘one of the harder things to talk about’ in the book, which had been released by Grand Central Publishing this past May 12, was family issues including her estrangement from her mother and her brother Jansen Panettiere’s 2003 passing at the age of 28.

‘While writing it, I realized even more so how much of a toll it took on me,’ Panettiere said. ‘And then of course, anytime that my little brother comes up.

‘It’s still a subject where I’m moments from bursting into tears any time I try to talk about it. Time can be a great healer, but in this case, my grief just seems to evolve. It’s something I’ll never get over.’

Panettiere said that she had been ‘fiercely protective of people’ amid the writing of the memoir, and ‘felt very strongly about my ability to tell my stories and make them entertaining enough to put in a book, without having to drag people through the mud.’ 

The book had been released by Grand Central Publishing this past May 12

The actress, seen in 2022, said of the writing process, ‘I had to sit with myself and make a decision, and I realized it was more important for me to share my stories and to wipe the slate clean’

Sources told TMZ that Panettiere had been recently complaining of back pain and that her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, flew from Los Angeles to see her just one day before her tragic passing.

The Hollywood star earned multiple award nominations across her career, most notably while playing cheerleader Claire Bennet on Heroes and Juliette Barnes on Nashville.

She also appeared in the Scream franchise as Kirby Reed, and lent her voice to the video game Until Dawn. 

She had relinquished custody of her daughter to her ex, former heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, while struggling with postpartum depression in 2018.

Panettiere first started acting at just 11 months old when she appeared on screen in a commercial.

Her full-time acting career then began in 1994 when she played Sarah Roberts in the ABC soap opera One Life to Live until 1997. She then played Lizzie Spaulding in the CBS soap opera Guiding Light from 1996 to 2000.

For her role on Pixar’s A Bug’s Life, she was nominated for a Young Artist Award and Grammy Award, making her the fifth-youngest nominee for a Grammy.

Her other credits include Remember the Titans, Ally McBeal, Racing Stripes, Ice Princess and I Love You, Beth Cooper.

Panettiere also recorded a number of songs for the films and television programs she was in, including My Hero is You for the Disney Channel film Tiger Cruise and I Fly for the Disney film Ice Princess, which she co-starred in with the late Michelle Trachtenberg.

The late actress pictured at a book signing for her memoir on May 19 in NYC

In the book, Panettiere described how she contended with fame and handled the difficulties in her life 

Her first single not associated with an acting role, the reggae-infused Wake Up Call, was digitally released on August 5, 2008.

Clothing brand Candie’s announced it was premiering an ad campaign for the single in late July of that year, and provided additional promotion for the song with a television ad and a music video starring Sebastian Stan, who played Panettiere’s brother in The Architect.

More recently, Panettiere has come out as bisexual.

‘It’s sad that I had to wait till I was 36 years old to share that part of me, but better late than never, right?’ the Nashville alum told Us Weekly in May.

‘I’ve chosen to share it with the world, I’m comfortable saying I’m bisexual. I’m comfortable to confidently say that, yes, I am bisexual. I said it!’

Despite having little privacy due to ‘paparazzi always outside waiting for me,’ Panettiere still managed to secretly date women, whom she preferred to men from ‘a very, very young age.’

‘[I was] much more into women,’ the two-time Golden Globe nominee said.

‘But, yeah, I have explored it, but I don’t think I ever had the courage, because I hadn’t shared this with anybody.

‘I didn’t really have the courage to throw myself fully, emotionally into it, because then if I did fall in love, that wasn’t something that I wanted to ever have to hide. I didn’t feel confident enough, and I was too afraid to really let that part of me explore that part of me.’

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