Tributes for actress Hayden Panettiere have continued to pour in following her death aged 36. A representative for the US star – best known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville – confirmed her death on Monday, saying her family would remember her as an ‘incredible light’ who brought ‘immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her’.
Her friends and colleagues in Hollywood have also described her as ‘astonishing’ while sharing memories of working with Panettiere, who had been acting since she was a baby, landing her first major role aged four on US soap opera One Life to Live. Panettiere’s next big parts were in 2000 sports movie Remember the Titans, opposite Denzel Washington, and voicing the character of Dot in Pixar’s A Bug’s Life. She then found mainstream fame as cheerleader Claire Bennet in the smash-hit TV show Heroes, before joining TV series Nashville as aspiring country singer Juliette Barnes for six seasons, which earned her two Golden Globe nominations.
Heroes Co-Star Remembers Her as a 'Pro'
Sendhil Ramamurthy was one of the first of her Heroes co-stars to pay tribute, calling her loss ‘such a rough one’. He shared how the first time they met was at the final screen test for the popular show, admitting he was so nervous he was ‘sweating through his shirt’ before he even started.
‘I went straight to the bathroom to compose myself and then went to sign in, expecting to find a bunch of fellow nervous-as-hell actors,’ he wrote. ‘Instead I found Hayden belting show tunes in the waiting room. Not a nerve in sight.
‘I had to leave immediately. I spent the rest of the time in the hallway sweating. Hayden was already a pro. I was nearly twice her age and she had 3x as much experience. I learned a lot from her.’
Ramamurthy, who played geneticist Mohinder Suresh on the show, said Panettiere would stand up for background actors, knew every crew member by name and was ‘so generous with her time’.
He shared a snap of them together the day after the Golden Globes, explaining: ‘I wasn’t feeling well. Hayd kept going on and on at me about drinking fluids and made sure I had plenty of Gatorade. That’s how I will remember her: a kind, joyful, professional, shi*talker, who even at a young age, understood the importance of hydration.
‘Sending love to her family, friends, and my fellow cast mates, RIP Hayd. You will be missed ❤️’
Film Co-Stars Share Memories
Sex and the City icon Kim Cattrall, who starred alongside her and the late Michelle Trachtenberg in Ice Princess, shared a picture of them together and wrote: ‘Rest in peace sweet Hayden. Gone far too soon ?’
Oscar winner Viola Davis – who featured alongside Panettiere in the 2016 courtroom drama film Custody – shared a tribute to her former co-star on Instagram. ‘What an amazing talent you were….so gifted. Julius and I loved working with you….an old, wise soul with such a deep heart,’ the Fences and Woman King actress wrote.
‘I wish the world had more time with you because I had a burning curiosity about who you were becoming. I saw this beautiful Phoenix rising from the ashes. Your tests became your testimony, and your testimony became your legacy.
‘You will be remembered. Rest well. Sending healing prayers to your family, your daughter, and all who loved you. May they always speak your name…’
Davis’ husband Julius Tennon also appeared in the film with them, playing a court officer.
Long-Time Friend and Other Tributes
Bethany Joy Lenz – a long-time friend of Panettiere – said she was ‘crushed’ by her death. Sharing photos of the actress on set when she was young, as well as photos of them together over the years, the One Tree Hill star wrote: ‘There is nothing that posting pictures on the internet can do. I avoid it usually in moments like this.
‘But I’m here with my head in my hands and I don’t know what else to do in aside from praying for her soul, which I have done and will continue.
‘I’m crushed. I knew the wild little blonde. Was she nine? Ten? I was eighteen. She ran through the Screen Gem studio hallways at 222 E44th St. laughing and playing games in between blocking and camera rehearsals. Long, unruly curls trailing behind her.
‘She knew her lines and everyone else’s. Her intelligence was astonishing. She understood scenes and nuance and human struggle like no child I’d ever seen on camera. And she’d sit with you for a great conversation, then giggle and go play.
‘We’d connect on and off over the years, like the cousin in the family reunion who got famous and life moved her away – but I always felt such joy seeing her when we were lucky enough to cross paths. We’d make a pact to talk soon. Lunch. Dinner. Somewhere we could curl up into a corner – but we never quite made it happen. I mostly stayed up to date through mutual friends.’
Lenz went on to write that she ‘didn’t understand how this is real’. ‘Everything seemed to be turning around. She was coming BACK to life, wasn’t she? It’s too young and there’s still so much more life. And her daughter…. Hayden, you are surround by love. I’m sorry for every moment I didn’t reach out or check in. This can’t be real.’
Concluding her tribute, she added: ‘These are moments of how I knew you, in glimpses over 27 years. I don’t know how to process this. I am praying for you to know the peace of God now and always.’
Commenting on Instagram, Panettiere’s Scream 4 co-star David Arquette wrote, ‘I love you Hayden,’ while Melissa Barrera, who appeared in Scream VI with Panettiere, said in an Instagram Story with a broken heart emoji: ‘Rest in peace sweet Hayden.’ Actress Selma Blair commented on her last photo with the heartbreaking plea: ‘I love you. Don’t be gone. Don’t be gone. Please. Please.’
TV producer and writer Bryan Fuller shared a photo of Panettiere as Claire on Heroes on Instagram, writing in the caption: ‘SAVE THE CHEERLEADER, SAVE THE WORLD.
‘It was an honour and an inspiration to write Claire Bennet’s storyline in season one of Heroes. Hayden was more than an actress she was a muse. Wise beyond her years and already saddled with so much of a life, she left an indelible mark on me as a writer and a storyteller.’
‘Incredibly sad news,’ he added.
The statement from Panettiere’s father, Skip, announcing her death 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’.
