Celebrity3 min(s) read
Published 16:24 17 Aug 2026 GMT
Actress Hayden Panettiere has died at the age of 36 following an emergency response to a loft apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday. Officers and paramedics responded to a 911 call placed around 1:50PM by an acquaintance who reported finding her unresponsive.
Dispatch audio from the initial 1:51PM call indicated that the actress was suffering from a suspected cardiac arrest, while a male voice on the call mentioned a potential overdose. First responders performed chest compressions at the scene, but Panettiere was pronounced dead roughly 40 minutes later.
Authorities from the Greenville Police Department and the Greenville County Coroner's Office have opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding her passing. A representative for the actress confirmed that local officials are looking into the situation, while her father, Skip Panettiere, released a statement honoring his daughter.
"It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden," her father 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."
Per The Daily Mail, Panettiere flew from Los Angeles to South Carolina the day before her death alongside Brian Hickerson. The two shared a turbulent, on-again, off-again relationship between 2018 and 2022 that involved multiple domestic violence incidents. Hickerson served 45 days in county jail in 2021 after pleading no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend.
Although Hickerson expressed a desire to marry the actress during an interview earlier this year, Panettiere dismissed the possibility during a brief interaction with reporters in May, stating via Us Weekly, "I don't think that's going to happen".
Panettiere had recently addressed her past struggles with substance abuse, postpartum depression, and domestic violence in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning. Speaking about her past relationship with Us Weekly, she reflected on how difficult it was to process those experiences.
"It's a very embarrassing subject. I've always seen myself as such a resilient and strong woman," Panettiere said. "The idea that I could allow something like this to happen to me blew my mind. It blew the minds of the people that knew me best."
In addition to the police investigation, local authorities noted that preliminary inquiries have not shown any immediate evidence of foul play.
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