‘Nashville’ and ‘Heroes’ Alum Hayden Panettiere Dead at 36: ‘An Incredible Light’

Nashville and Heroes alum Hayden Panettiere has died.

A representative for the actress confirmed the news to Us the late hours of Sunday, August 16. She was 36 years old.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. 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,” the representative told Us in a statement. ABC News was first to report.

Details into Panettiere’s death were not immediately available.

The actress is survived by her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya, whom she shared with ex Wladimir Klitschko.

Panettiere’s life in the spotlight began at just 8 months old when she signed with Wilhelmina Models. She had opened up about her life extensively in her recent memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, released in May.

In her book, the actress details years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of an ex, as well as rehab stints, alcoholism and undiagnosed postpartum depression after the birth of Kaya.

During a sit-down interview with Us in May that discussed her book, Panettiere revealed that the project was “very scary” to complete.

“I talk about traumatic moments and things that people don’t even know about. The abuse I went through at the hands of people that were supposed to be there to protect me. Admitting to all of the things that I did. I knew if I was going to do this, I wanted to be brutally, painfully honest,” she said at the time. “When I was honest about postpartum depression on Live With Kelly and Michael [in 2015], the repercussions were shocking. After that interview, I had no idea when I walked off that stage that I was going to get the call saying, ‘Neutrogena wants to fire you. They’re not OK with this.’ And you’re going, ‘Wait a second, of all the things, how can they judge me about something that is so human and so real?’”

The book also delved into Panettiere’s relationship with her mother, Lesley, who also served as her manager, detailing the pressure she felt under her mom’s direction. “I feel like this is the first time [through the book] that I’ve been able to [talk to her]. I was so scared of her that approaching her and being honest about my feelings was not going to get me any positive reaction,” she told Us at the time. “This is my way of doing it.”

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