HAYDEN PANETTIERE, HEROES AND NASHVILLE STAR, DIES AGED 36

Hayden Panettiere has died aged 36. Her father, Skip Panettiere, confirmed her death in a statement to ABC News, describing her as "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." No cause of death has been announced.

Panettiere rose to prominence as a teenager playing Claire Bennet in NBC's science-fiction drama Heroes, which ran from 2006 to 2010. She later starred as aspiring country singer Juliette Barnes in the musical drama Nashville from 2012 to 2018, a role that earned her two Golden Globe nominations. She also appeared in the Scream film franchise. In May this year, Panettiere published her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, in which she discussed her experiences with addiction, postpartum depression, abusive relationships and the loss of custody of her daughter, Kaya, whom she shares with former heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

The actress had previously spoken publicly about her struggles with postpartum depression following her daughter's birth in 2014. In an interview with E! News in 2023, she stated that she wished she had been informed about postpartum depression before experiencing it, and that she wished to have known to look out for the condition.