“Heroes” star Hayden Panettiere’s death had no “signs of foul play,” cops said, revealing she was found by an “acquaintance.”
Panettiere, 36, was found “unresponsive” at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, at around 1:50 p.m. Sunday.
“Upon arrival, medical assistance was administered; however, the individual, later identified as Hayden Panettiere, was pronounced deceased at the scene,” a Greenville police spokesperson told NBC News.
“The case is under investigation by the Greenville Police Department in conjunction with the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.
“The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. An acquaintance of Ms. Panettiere placed the 911 call,” police said.
A cause of death has not been revealed.
“There’s an investigation ongoing,” Kacey Kitchen, the late actress’ publicist, said.
“We should know more tomorrow.”
Police responded to an incident involving the actress Sunday, law enforcement sources told TMZ, revealing the investigation was open.
She boarded a plane from Los Angeles with her on-again, offer-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson Saturday, according to the outlet.
Panettiere, from Palisades, NY, was best known for playing Claire Bennet in “Heroes” and Juliette Barnes in “Nashville.”
She starred in commercials as an infant before landing gigs on soap operas like “One Life to Live” in 1994 and “Guiding Light” in 1997. Panettiere was just 4-years-old when she appeared on the daytime soap “One Life to Live.”
“My introduction to acting was actually at 11 months old,” Panettiere told “Entertainment Tonight” in 2023.
“Playskool Toy Train was my first commercial, but, I don’t know if that would really be an introduction to acting, because I don’t think acting was involved at that point. I didn’t have lines, I was just playing.”
During the 1990s, she played Sarah Roberts in “One Life to Live” and voiced Dot in the 1998 movie “A Bug’s Life.”
Panettiere appeared in shows such as “Ally McBeal,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” and “Malcolm in the Middle” during the early 2000s.
She played Kirby Reed in the 2011 slasher movie “Scream 4,” a role she later reprised in 2023 in “Scream VI.”
“I love you Hayden,” David Arquette, Panettiere’s co-star in “Scream 4,” wrote on social media, reacting to her death.
“Rest in peace sweet Hayden,” Melissa Barrera, who starred alongside Panettiere in “Scream VI”, posted on her Instagram Stories.
Panettiere was open about her struggles with opioid and alcohol addiction and postpartum depression in the years before her death.
“I would have the shakes when I woke up and could only function with sipping alcohol,” she told People in July 2022.
She was hospitalized with jaundice and checked into rehab in 2020, spending eight months there.
“A doctor told me that if I didn’t stop drinking, I’d be dead within five years.”
The actress said she “felt more clear-headed than I’d ever been” when she left rehab in 2021.
Panettiere was a mom to daughter Kaya, 11, whom she shared with the retired heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko.
She struck up a relationship with the ex-sportsman in 2009, becoming engaged in 2013. They separated in 2018.
Her final acting credit came in the 2026 Brandon Auman-directed psychological thriller movie “Sleepwalker,” where she starred alongside Justin Chatwin and Beverly D’Angelo.
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