Death of actor Hayden Panettiere
The death of actor Hayden Panettiere at age 36, including initial reports of her death, tributes from former partner Wladimir Klitschko, police statements that she was with on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother at the time, and the subsequent coroner's autopsy finding that she died of an accidental overdose involving fentanyl.
Current state
Actor Hayden Panettiere, 36, died in a Greenville, South Carolina apartment. The Greenville County Coroner's Office has ruled her death an accidental overdose involving fentanyl, with no signs of foul play. Police said she was with on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach, who made the 911 call.
4 sources · 10 reports · Updated 25 Sept 2026
What changed
The coroner ruled Hayden Panettiere's death an accidental overdose involving fentanyl, resolving the earlier uncertainty over cause and manner.
Developments
- Key development
The coroner's office ruled Panettiere's death an accidental overdose involving fentanyl.
- Key development
A police report identified Panettiere's on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach as being at the apartment and making the 911 call, and officials said there were no signs of foul play.
- Key development
Hayden Panettiere died aged 36; her death was confirmed by her father and representative.
Earlier coverage
- Hayden Panettiere died of an accidental overdose, coroner's office says Hayden Panettiere died of an accidental overdose involving fentanyl, the coroner's office said in its autopsy report. Lillia Luciano reports.
- Hayden Panettiere was with on-and-off boyfriend when she died, police say Actor Hayden Panettiere was with her on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach when she died over the weekend, police say. A police report also reveals what authorities found when they arrived on scene at the apartment in Greenville, South Carolina. Mark Strassmann reports.
- Wladimir Klitschko pays tribute to ex-partner Hayden Panettiere: ‘She left this world too soon’ Boxing champion says he will raise their daughter, Kaya, to remember the late actor’s ‘immense talent’ Hayden Panettiere ’s daughter will be raised to remember her mother’s “immense talent” and “incredible career”, according to a tribute posted on social media on Tuesday by Wladimir Klitschko, the ex-lineal world heavyweight boxing champion and the late Hollywood actor’s former partner. Their daughter, Kaya, has bee…
- Hayden Panettiere: an actor so magnetic that entire shows were rewritten for her She starred in her first soap opera at 4 – then the hit show Heroes was totally reworked to allow her character, Claire the regenerating cheerleader, to live on. We celebrate the star, who has died age 36 • Hayden Panettiere – a life in pictures When Hayden Panettiere arrived as Claire Bennet in Heroes, in 2006, she was 17 but not a newcomer. She’d starred in Tiger Cruise, a Disney Channel movie, two years before an…