A day after her shocking death at 36, some details have emerged about former Nashville star Hayden Panettiere’s final hours. According to CNN, the actress was found in cardiac arrest on Sunday (Aug. 16) at a residence in South Carolina, with no official cause of death available at press time.
The Greenville, S.C. County Coroner’s office said in a release on Monday (Aug. 17) that emergency personnel responded to a 911 call from an acquaintance about a “reported cardiac arrest” in the city on Sunday afternoon. Panettiere was reportedly found unresponsive inside the residence where she had been “temporarily staying.”
The coroner said that after medical personnel found Panettiere in cardiac arrest, they tried to resuscitate her, and “initiated advanced cardiac life support” and other life-saving measures with no success; the former Heroes star was pronounced dead about half an hour after the 911 call. The coroner said an autopsy showed no signs of trauma, foul play, or suspicious circumstances that would have contributed to her death, with an official cause and manner of death still pending the results of additional testing. The actress was reportedly pronounced dead 30 minutes after EMS arrived on scene.
“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,” said her father, Skip Panettiere, in a statement.
Actor Justin Chatwin, who co-starred with Panettiere in her final movie, January’s Sleepwalker, spoke to People about the vibe on the set of the psychological thriller filmed in late 2025 in which Panettiere played a woman struggling after the loss of her daughter in a car crash. “We hit it off great and it was an awesome shoot, but it was about domestic abuse and it was subject matter that may have hit close to home, because she did mention it. She opened up to me about a lot of things,” Chatwin said of the actress, who had spoken in interviews about her abusive relationship with ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson.
Panettiere had an 11-year-old daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, with ex-fiancé former boxer Wladimir Klitschko; in 2018, she agreed to give Klitschko full custody of Kaya to Klitschko amid her struggles with postpartum depression and addiction.
Chatwin said Panettiere — who he first met while she was starring in Heroes — seemed “different” during her last movie shoot. “I’ve been sober for 15 years, so I know this world of addiction, and Hollywood — it takes, and it takes from youth,” he said, noting that he could tell Panettiere was “struggling, and I was like, ‘I don’t think it’s this movie.’ There’s a handful of women that I’ve worked with that I really liked, and I really loved working with her, but I also know that she was really lonely.”
A friend of Panettiere’s, Nashville musician Clayton Johnson shared a tribute to the actress on Monday, including the final text she sent him. In the accompanying video, the pair harmonized on his 2025 song “Never Have to Say,” laughing as they messed up the lyrics and looking relaxed and comfortable.
“Sweet Hayden. I spent last night trying to process, to try to find the right words, but there really aren’t any,” he wrote in the caption. “More than anything, I hope you’re at peace now and reunited with [late younger brother] Jansen [who died in 2023 at age 28 of an enlarged heart]. It’s been a couple of weeks since our last phone call, but the last thing you ever texted me was, ‘Honestly, people think it’s a joke to ask for world peace, but that would be me.’ That was you in a nutshell. I’m grateful I got to know you, and I’ll always be grateful for the memories. Fly high, Hayden. ?”
Klitschko paid tribute as well in an Instagram post featuring the couple with their then-infant daughter during happier times. “Our family is going through a time of profound shock and grief. The announcement of Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply,” he wrote. “She left this world far too soon. Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life and the mother of our daughter, Kaya. She built an incredible career through immense talent, while also facing the darker sides of a very demanding industry. Nothing will erase the times we shared or the place she had in our lives.”
He continued, “To our daughter Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was. I extend my deepest condolences to Hayden’s parents, her friends, and her fans, who are also grieving today. Young and talented people like Hayden should not leave this world so soon. I ask everyone to please respect our family’s feelings and privacy during this incredibly difficult time. For now, this is all I wish to say. Thank you to everyone who is supporting my family and expressing their sincere condolences. Rest easy, Hayden. May you find eternal peace. #WeLoveYouHayden.”
Panettiere started dating Klitschko in 2009 after her breakup with former Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia, with the couple announcing their engagement in 2013. Daughter Kaya was born in 2014 and the pair split up in 2018. She started dating Hickerson in 2018 and he was arrested for domestic violence that year after an alleged argument with the actress. Hickerson was charged with felony domestic violence and served with a protective order, though the charges were dropped the next year.
He was arrested again in 2020 after allegedly punching Panettiere in the face and pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse/girlfriend, with six other counts of domestic violence and assault dismissed, according to US. As a result of that incident, Hickerson was imprisoned for 33 days and placed on four years of probation.
Though she was best known as an actress, beginning her career with a commercial shoot at 11 months old for a Playskool toy train in 1990, Panettiere also left behind a significant musical imprint thanks to her run on Nashville from 2012-2018.
She played ambitious country-pop singer Juliette Barnes on the show opposite Connie Britton and her vocals anchored the series’ Billboard-charting companion soundtrack albums on Big Machine Records. She also recorded songs for family films and teen-pop compilations as a teenager, and after taking on the role of Claire Bennet in the NBC modern superheroes saga Heroes, she signed to Hollywood Records and released the 2008 single “Wake Up Call.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, or substance use problems, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7. And if you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 for confidential support.
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