Hayden Panettiere, the actor whose recent memoir revealed her struggles with mental illness and addiction, has died at 36, The New York Times reports. The cause and manner of death are under investigation.
Panettiere began her acting career as a child, with roles in the soap operas One Life to Live and Guiding Light. She rose to fame in 2006 for her role as the cheerleader Claire Bennet in the NBC series Heroes and later earned two Golden Globe nominations for playing the country singer Juliette Barnes in the ABC drama Nashville. Her most recent roles were in the films Amber Alert, A Breed Apart, and Sleepwalker.
In May, Grand Central published Panettiere’s memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning. In the book, she writes about suffering from postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, and becoming addicted to alcohol and opioids. A critic for Kirkus called the book “a measured account of an acting career and its consequences.”
In an interview with NPR about her memoir, Panettiere said, “If I was going to write about my life and set the record straight, I needed to just—I needed to really go there. I needed to show people the full picture of my life. And if I left out certain parts, I didn't feel like people would be able to get the full image of who I am.”
Admirers and colleagues of Panettiere paid tribute to her on social media. On Instagram, actor Viola Davis wrote, “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, Hayden.”
And Bethany Joy Lenz posted, “These are moments of how I knew you, in glimpses over 26 years. I don’t know how to process this. I am praying for you to know the peace of God now and always.”
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
