American actress Hayden Panettiere has died at the age of 36 after being found unresponsive in her apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday afternoon.
Emergency services responded to a 911 call placed by an acquaintance at 1:51pm from Judson Mill Lofts on Easley Bridge Road, where dispatchers initially reported a cardiac arrest before noting a suspected overdose. Paramedics and police officers performed chest compressions on the former child star, but she was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:32pm.
A mattress inside her loft apartment was found with Narcan, a nasal spray medication used in emergency situations to reverse the physical effects of an opioid overdose, according to a report by TMZ. Panettiere was due to celebrate her 37th birthday this Friday.
Police probe scene at Greenville lofts
A spokesman for the City of Greenville Police Department confirmed that officers and emergency medical personnel responded to the property at 701 Easley Bridge Road following the emergency call. Police said a preliminary investigation conducted alongside the Greenville County Coroner's Office found no initial indications of foul play or suspicious circumstances surrounding her death.
The Judson Mill Lofts complex occupies a historic textile mill originally constructed in 1912, which was recently redeveloped into residential space featuring studio to three-bedroom apartments renting between $1,295 and $3,485 per month. Greenville is located in upstate South Carolina, near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Official authorities noted that no formal cause of death has yet been determined while the joint investigation by local police and the county coroner remains ongoing.
Memoir release and Jay Shetty interview
Her death comes just three months after she expressed optimism for her future while promoting her tell-all memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning. Speaking in May on the On Purpose podcast hosted by author and former monk Jay Shetty, Panettiere reflected on starting a fresh era in her personal life.
When asked what title she would give to her newest life chapter, the actress told Shetty that she felt she had finally shaken off all of her darkness and negativity. She added that closing one door opened another filled with exciting possibilities, declaring that she felt she had a lot more life to live.
Family life and representatives' statement
Following her death, representatives for Panettiere released a statement paying tribute to her life and screen work. "It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden," her team stated. "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."
Panettiere is survived by her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya. The actress experienced a life-threatening birth when bringing Kaya into the world, and later awarded full legal custody of her daughter to her former fiancé, Ukrainian former world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Child stardom, television success and film credits
Panettiere began her career as a child actress in daytime soap operas before expanding into major feature film and television roles. She voiced the character Dot in Pixar's 1998 animated release A Bug's Life and starred alongside Academy Award winner Denzel Washington in the 2000 biographical sports drama Remember The Titans.
Her early feature film credits also included the 2004 comedy-drama Raising Helen and the 2006 cheerleading comedy Bring It On: All Or Nothing. She later joined the popular Scream horror franchise, portraying fan-favorite character Kirby Reed in both Scream 4 in 2011 and Scream VI in 2023.
On television, Panettiere achieved international prominence playing Claire Bennet, a high school cheerleader with regenerative healing powers, on the NBC superhero series Heroes. She later starred for six seasons as country music singer Juliette Barnes on the drama series Nashville, earning two Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress and landing 11 tracks on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts with her recorded vocal performances.
