US actress Hayden Panettiere was seen laughing and smiling in her last social media post before her tragic passing
Hayden Panettiere was seen laughing and smiling in her last social media post shared just weeks before her tragic death was announced.
It was confirmed on Monday (August 17) that the US actress, best known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, had passed away at the age of 36 on Sunday (August 16).
A representative confirmed the tragic news, saying her family would remember her as an “incredible light” who brought “immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her”.
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The statement from her father Skip read: “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.”
Her father also asked that her family be given privacy as they “take time to process this unimaginable loss”. At the time of writing, no cause of death has been announced.
Following the devastating news, fans have been seen rushing to pay tribute on social media, including underneath the star’s final Instagram post, shared just three weeks ago.
She had shared a photo on July 27 in which she could be seen smiling alongside her photographer, Randall Slavin. Panettiere gave a cheeky wink for the camera as her pal looked on at her with glee. “Good times and good friends,” she simply captioned the post.
Actress Selma Blair is among those to have commented on the post, writing: “I love you. Don’t be gone. Don’t be gone. Please. Please.” She added: “I love you whale tail my friend.”
Panettiere began acting as a child, appearing in soap operas before gaining wider recognition for her role in the 2000 sports drama Remember The Titans alongside Denzel Washington, and as the voice of Dot in Pixar’s 1998 film A Bug’s Life.
Panettiere later found fame playing cheerleader Claire Bennet in the superhero drama Heroes before going on to star as up-and-coming country singer Juliette Barnes for six seasons on the hit TV series Nashville. Her performances in Nashville earned her two Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress, while her singing on the show produced 11 entries on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.
Following her rapid rise to fame, the pressure of the industry began to weigh on Panettiere – with the actress previously revealing that she had struggled with addiction throughout her 20s.
In a memoir published earlier this year, Panettiere opened up about her struggles with mental health, the loss of her younger brother, Jansen, and her decision to give full custody of her daughter Kaya to her former partner, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko, in 2018. She said her daughter had lived with her father full-time from a young age amid the actress’s struggles with addiction and mental health.
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