Months before her death at the age of 36, Hayden Panettiere relied on crutches and the assistance of others for help walking as she struggled with a painful back injury.
The Nashville actress died on Sunday afternoon but details surrounding her passing remain unknown. She was found dead in Greenville, South Carolina, with the dispatcher from the 911 call describing her as suffering from a ‘cardiac arrest.’
Another dispatcher was then heard saying Panettiere had suffered a suspected overdose.
For the past year, Panettiere had been suffering from a mysterious back injury that left her unable to walk on her own and her physical troubles were made apparent in the months leading up to her passing.
In March, just five months before her shock death, Panettiere was seen hobbling on crutches at LAX while accompanied by ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson.
When asked about the crutches, Panettiere explained that she was suffering from ‘some pinched nerves in my lower back,’ in footage obtained by the Daily Mail.
Months before her death at the age of 36, Hayden Panettiere relied on crutches and the assistance of others for help walking as she struggled with a painful back injury – seen hobbling at LAX with ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson in March
Panettiere was pictured in May walking with a limp as she continued to suffer side effects from pinched nerves in her lower back
However, she added that she was ‘on the mend,’ offering a smile and a thumbs-up before climbing into a black SUV outside the airport.
Video taken in May appears to show the impact the injury had on Panettiere as she struggled to walk while out in New York with her right leg visibly causing her some trouble.
Yet Panettiere attempted to mask the issues, putting on a happy face as she strode into the building.
While arriving at CBS Studios to promote her memoir that same day, Panettiere also relied on an assistant for support as she emerged from her car.
She held the woman’s hand tightly as she walked inside the studio, a smile on her face again deflecting attention from her physical troubles.
It is an injury that Panettiere struggled to find answers for and one that left her fearing she would be ‘paralyzed’ for the rest of her life.
Panettiere opened up about the issue during an interview in May with Women’s Health, revealing it all began when she woke up and felt ‘nothing but pins and needles’ from the waist down.
‘I’ve been dealing with an injury for the past year,’ she told the outlet during a barre workout. ‘Some nerve damage in my lower back.’
‘I quite literally woke up and felt nothing but pins and needles from my waist down,’ she said.
When asked about the crutches, Panettiere explained that she was suffering from ‘some pinched nerves in my lower back,’ in footage obtained by the Daily Mail
Panettiere held an assistant’s hand as she made her way into CBS Studios in May
‘I wasn’t able to bend my toes or lift my foot at all. No one was able to give me a solid answer.
‘It was like that for so long, that I was sitting there going, “Oh my gosh, am I gonna be paralyzed for the rest of my… life?”
‘It’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me physically, for sure.’
The former child star, who was known for her roles on the hit NBC series Heroes and musical drama Nashville, leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter.
Representatives for Panettiere announced 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.’
Detectives confirmed to the Daily Mail that they responded to the apartment block in Greenville yesterday afternoon after they received a 911 call from an ‘acquaintance’ of Panettiere, describing her as ‘unresponsive’.
In the dispatch audio of the call made at 1.51pm, a female dispatcher described Panettiere as suffering a ‘cardiac arrest.’ A few moments later, a male dispatcher could be heard saying that Panettiere had suffered a suspected overdose at the home in Greenville.
Officers and paramedics carried out chest compressions while trying to save Panettiere’s life.
The actress – who was due to turn 37 this Friday – was pronounced dead at the scene just over 40 minutes later at 2.32pm.
The Hollywood icon played cheerleader Claire Bennet in the superhero drama Heroes
Panettiere made a slew of public appearances promoting her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, earlier this year
Police and the local coroner’s office are probing the death, but said the ‘preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.’
Panettiere had daughter Kaya following a life-threatening birth, but later gave full custody to her former fiancé, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
The star first appeared in soap operas, then gained wider recognition for her role in the 2000 sports drama Remember The Titans with 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 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.
The star began acting as a child, appearing in soap operas before being catapulted further into fame
On Monday, a spokesman for the City of Greenville Police told the Daily Mail: ‘On August 16, 2026, at approximately 1.51pm, officers from the Greenville Police Department, accompanied by EMS personnel, responded to a report of an unresponsive female at Judson Mill Lofts, located at 701 Easley Bridge Road.
‘Upon arrival, medical assistance was administered; however, the individual, later identified as Hayden Panettiere, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
‘The case is under investigation by the Greenville Police Department in conjunction with the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.
‘The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. An acquaintance of Ms Panettiere placed the 911 call. At this time, no further details are available for release.’
Judson Mill Lofts is a former textile mill dating back to 1912, which was recently converted into apartments. These include studios and three-bedroom homes that can be rented from $1,295 to $3,485 a month.
No cause of death has been announced.
Panettiere leaves behind a daughter whom she had with Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko
Scream co-star Melissa Barrera paid tribute to the actress in an Instagram story, writing, ‘Rest in peace sweet Hayden,’ alongside a broken heart emoji.
Commenting under Panettiere’s latest social media post after news of her death broke, actress Selma Blair said: ‘I love you. Don’t be gone. Don’t be gone. Please. Please.’
Singer JoJo wrote on her Instagram stories: ‘This is such devastating news. I am so sorry to hear of her passing. Oh My God’, and Rosie O’Donnell shared a picture of Panettiere with the caption: ‘Oh my god – heartbroken.’
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 Kaya to her former partner Klitschko in 2018.
‘The idea that anyone would think that I would just give away my child and be okay with it is heartbreaking and couldn’t be further from the truth,’ she told podcaster Jay Shetty after the release of her memoir in May.
Panettiere said her daughter had lived with her father full-time from a young age amid the actress’s struggles with addiction and mental health.
Panettiere pictured with her daughter Kaya in 2017
She said, ‘I was struggling with mental health and anxiety and the postpartum and having to act my way through it and just feeling like I completely lost myself.’
Panettiere also spoke about giving up custody of her daughter while struggling with addiction in one of her final interviews before her death.
In an interview with parenting outlet Mome for its July cover, she discussed the life-threatening birth of her daughter Kaya and the eventual decision to give up custody to Klitschko.
While battling substance addiction issues, in 2018 the actress made the decision to sign over custody of her daughter to Klitschko, who was not living in the same country as Panettiere at the time.
She said, ‘It wasn’t a decision I made lightly, nor was it a decision I even wanted to make.
‘I was going through a really challenging time in my life… I knew I needed to be able to put her first so that I could get the help I needed and be the mum she needed me to be.’
After giving birth to her daughter in 2014, Panettiere recalled hemorrhaging before she underwent seven blood transfusions and surgery to repair vessels that had begun to fail.
Panettiere played country singer Juliette Barnes for six seasons on Nashville
She said, ‘I closed my eyes and just prayed for my daughter to be OK. I truly was ready to go if it was my time. Kaya being safe and healthy was all that mattered.’
However, days later, she recalled feeling ‘nothing’ when looking at her daughter and developed postnatal depression. The actress then turned to drinking.
She said. ‘I turned to wine, which ultimately ended up leading to an alcohol dependency. It was how I would get through each day.’
Although she underwent treatment, Panettiere felt the ‘root cause’ of her drinking, the depression, was not addressed.
‘I wish more people had known what it was at the time. Maybe I wouldn’t have waited so long to get help,’ she said.
Six years on from giving up custody, Panettiere spoke about her current relationship with her daughter.
She said, ‘I love my daughter, and I’m so proud of the young woman she is becoming. I talk to her all the time, and I feel so connected to her. She’s like a mini-me.’
The actress went on to say she had ‘been able to put her first no matter how I’ve felt or what I’ve experienced’ and that she hoped that one day Kaya would ‘understand my story and why I wasn’t able to be with her all the time’.
She then called herself ‘resilient’ and a ‘work in progress’, but that she was ‘doing the work…and doing my best.’
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