Hayden Panettiere, the actress and singer best known for her breakout role as Claire Bennet on NBC’s Heroes and her Golden Globe-nominated turn as Juliette Barnes on ABC’s Nashville, has died at age 36. She was found unresponsive in a Greenville, South Carolina apartment on the afternoon of Aug. 16 and pronounced dead at the scene after emergency responders were unable to revive her.
According to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, first responders arrived around 1:51 p.m. after a 911 call reported a woman in cardiac arrest. Advanced life-support measures were administered, but she was declared dead at 2:32 p.m. An autopsy completed the following day found no signs of trauma. The official cause and manner of death remain pending further testing, including toxicology results that could take several weeks.
Police have said their preliminary investigation turned up no indication of foul play. Still, the case has drawn additional scrutiny. Dispatch audio from the emergency response referenced a possible overdose, and sources familiar with the matter have told multiple outlets that investigators are examining the possibility of drug involvement. The Drug Enforcement Administration has since joined local authorities in the probe. Law enforcement sources have indicated they are not treating the death as a simple matter of prescribed medication and are looking closely at the full circumstances.
Panettiere had been staying temporarily at the apartment with her on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach. The brothers placed the 911 call. A police report notes that Zach appeared highly emotional while paramedics worked, while Brian showed little visible reaction until she was pronounced dead. He later handed officers a bag of medications she had been taking. No charges have been filed, and Hickerson has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with her death.
The couple’s relationship had a complicated history, including prior domestic violence charges against Hickerson that resulted in jail time and probation. Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, spoke publicly after the death, expressing long-standing concerns about the relationship and noting that Hickerson was present when her daughter died.
Panettiere’s career began when she was still a toddler, with early appearances in commercials and soap operas before she gained national attention as a child in Remember the Titans. Heroes made her a star in the mid-2000s, and Nashville later showcased her musical side, earning her two Golden Globe nominations and a devoted following. She also appeared in the Scream franchise and remained a familiar face in both film and television.
In recent years she had been candid about personal struggles, including addiction, trauma, and the pressures of growing up in the public eye. Those experiences formed the core of her 2026 memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning. She is survived by her daughter, Kaya, and her parents.
Her father, Skip Panettiere, released a statement calling her “an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her.” The family has asked for privacy as the investigation continues.
