Hayden Lesley Panettiere was an American actress and singer. Born on August 21st, 1989, in Palisades, New York, Panettiere’s acting career began at 11 months old in a 1990 commercial. By age 5, she had appeared in more than 50 commercials. Panettiere continued building her career as a child star, with some of her first prominent roles in soap operas like One Life to Live and Guiding Light through the mid-90s. In 1998, she became the sixth-youngest Grammy nominee for the spoken-word album for A Bug’s Life Read-Along.

She would later gain wide recognition for portraying Claire Bennet in the superhero series Heroes. She also voiced Kairi and Xion in the Kingdom Hearts video game franchise and Sam in the horror game Until Dawn. Panettiere died in her apartment in Greenville, SC, on August 16, 2026. She suffered cardiac arrest, but later it was reported that her death was due to contaminated oxycodone. She is survived by her ex-husband, Wladimir Klitschko, and their daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko.

Panettiere is deeply missed by her fans and co-stars.