Actress Hayden Panettiere, former fiancee of Volodymyr Klitschko, has died
American actress Hayden Panettiere, known for the TV series "Heroes" and "Nashville", has died at the age of 36. The actress's death was confirmed by her representative on August 16.
Details of the circumstances of death are not being released at this time. The cause of death has also not been announced.
Panettiere began acting as a child and gained worldwide popularity after the release of the series "Heroes", where she played schoolgirl Claire Bennet, who has the ability to regenerate. Later, one of her major roles was singer Juliette Barnes in the musical drama "Nashville". For this work, the actress was twice nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
She also appeared in the films "Scream 4", "Scream 6", "Remember the Titans" and "I Love You, Beth Cooper".
Relationship with Volodymyr Klitschko
In Ukraine, Panettiere was also widely known for her long-term relationship with former world boxing champion Volodymyr Klitschko. They were engaged, and in December 2014 the couple had a daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko.
Panettiere and Klitschko later separated. Their daughter lived mostly with her father. A few months before her death, the actress said that she maintains constant contact with Kaya, who was 11 years old, regularly seeing her and communicating via video calls.
In May 2026, Panettiere released a memoir titled "This Is Me: A Reckoning", in which she openly talked about the difficult periods of her life, postpartum depression, alcohol problems and addiction treatment. At the same time, no connection between these problems and the actress's death has been officially established, and the cause of death remains unknown.
Hayden Panettiere is survived by her 11-year-old daughter Kaya. Her younger brother, actor Jansen Panettiere, died in 2023 at the age of 28 due to heart problems.
