Weather 
Hollywood is mourning the tragic loss of Hayden Panettiere at age 36.
The Heroes and Nashville alum’s representative confirmed to Us on Sunday, August 16, that the actress had died. Details surrounding Panettiere’s death were not immediately available.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” Panettiere’s father, Skip Panettiere, said in a statement. “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.”
Skip asked for privacy “as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”
As news broke late Sunday, celebrities from around the world have expressed their grief and memories of the late actress.
Keep scrolling to see which stars have reacted:
Alyssa Milano
Milano praised Hayden for advocating for animal rights, postpartum depression, addiction, recovery, abuse and more, writing via Instagram, “I hope people remember this part of her and that it doesn’t get lost in the noise, the headlines, or the flattening of public figures into story and spectacle.”
“Hayden understood something simple and difficult: visibility is not just something you are given, but something you can give away,” Milano wrote. “And she gave hers, again and again, in service of things larger than herself.”
She continued, “Perhaps most quietly powerful, she spoke openly about what so many are taught to hide: domestic violence, postpartum depression, addiction, recovery, and abuse. She did not share these things for ease or attention, but because she understood what her silence could cost others.”
Milano concluded her post by writing, “Rest in peace, Hayden. You deserved so much more time and your courage deserves to be remembered.”
Connie Britton
“This was Hayden. Bursting with brilliance, shining so bright,” Hayden’s Nashville costar captioned a number of photos of the two of them through the years. “I have no words for this sad song. Just heartbreak. I love you girl. Sleep easy now. 💔.”
Ashley Tisdale
“Today is heavy 💔,” Tisdale wrote via her Instagram Story. “We lost one of the most talented and beautiful actors. Hayden was the girl growing up that you aspired to be. She was talented, smart, and later in life shared her flaws and struggles to make people feel less alone. She shared so much of herself for so long. Rest in peace.”
David Arquette
“💔 I love you Hayden 🕊️,” Hayden’s Scream 4 costar commented on Variety’s Instagram post about the actress’ death.
Melissa Barrera
The Scream VI actress wrote via her Instagram Stories, “Rest in peace sweet Hayden.”
Selma Blair
“I love you. Don’t be gone. Don’t be gone . Please. Please,” the actress commented on Hayden’s final Instagram post shared on July 27, less than three weeks before her death.
“I’m dying. Please be here,” she wrote in another comment.
“I love you whale tail my friend,” Blair wrote in a third comment.
Rosie O’Donnell
“Oh my god – heartbroken #hayden 😭,” O’Donnell wrote via Instagram alongside a picture of Hayden.
Hayden Panettiere reflected on “good times” in her final Instagram post prior to her death. “Good times and good friends @randallslavin ✨,” the Nashville alum captioned a black-and-white photo of herself with photographer and director Randall Slavin. The July 27 post captured Panettiere winking at the camera while Slavin, 56, wrapped his arm around her. […]
Bethany Joy Lenz
“There is nothing that posting pictures on the internet can do. I avoid it usually in moments like this. But I’m here with my head in my hands and I don’t know what else to do in aside from praying for her soul, which I have done and will continue,” the One Tree Hill alum shared in a lengthy Instagram tribute.
Lenz continued, “I’m crushed. I knew the wild little blonde. Was she nine? Ten? I was eighteen. She ran through the Screen Gem studio hallways at 222 E44th St. laughing and playing games in between blocking and camera rehearsals. Long, unruly curls trailing behind her.”
“She knew her lines and everyone else’s. Her intelligence was astonishing. She understood scenes and nuance and human struggle like no child I’d ever seen on camera,” Lenz said. “And she’d sit with you for a great conversation, then giggle and go play. We’d connect on and off over the years, like the cousin in the family reunion who got famous and life moved her away — but I always felt such joy seeing her when we were lucky enough to cross paths. We’d make a pact to talk soon. Lunch. Dinner. Somewhere we could curl up into a corner — but we never quite made it happen. I mostly stayed up to date through mutual friends.”
“I don’t understand how this is real. Everything seemed to be turning around. She was coming BACK to life, wasn’t she?” the actress wrote. “It’s too young and there’s still so much more life. And her daughter…. Hayden, you are surround [sic] by love. I’m sorry for every moment I didn’t reach out or check in. This can’t be real.”
“These are moments of how I knew you, in glimpses over 27 years. I don’t know how to process this. I am praying for you to know the peace of God now and always,” Lenz concluded.
Jay Shetty
“I can’t believe it. Our friendship had just begun and I was so moved by the conversation we shared earlier this year. My love and condolences to her family and fans 🙏🙏🙏,” the podcaster wrote under Variety’s Instagram post.
Greer Grammer
“Oh my god 😔 this is just absolutely devastating. I can’t believe it,” the actress commented on Variety’s Instagram post.
Viola Davis
“What an amazing talent you were….so gifted. Julius and I loved working with you….an old, wise soul with such a deep heart,” the Oscar winner said of her Architect and Custody costar via Instagram. “I wish the world had more time with you because I had a burning curiosity about who you were becoming. I saw this beautiful Phoenix rising from the ashes.”
Davis added, “Your tests became your testimony, and your testimony became your legacy. You will be remembered. Rest well, Hayden. Sending healing prayers to your family, your daughter, and all who loved you. May they always speak your name….♥️🙏🏿🕊.”
JoJo
“This is such devastating news. I am so sorry to hear of her passing. Oh My God,” the singer and former child actor shared via her Instagram Story.
Matt Lanter
“So sad to hear of Hayden’s passing. She played my girlfriend on Commander in Chief then I went over to her show and played her boyfriend on S1 of Heroes,” the actor wrote via Instagram. “We always had a great time on set and tons of laughs… ❤️ Man, just too young.”
Kelly Osbourne
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of someone who meant so much to me. We understood each other in a way few truly can—recognizing how difficult it is to grow up in the spotlight, and how isolating it can feel even when surrounded by so many people,” Osbourne wrote via her Instagram Story. “My heart grieves for someone so special to this world and such a good friend to me. I will never forget you, Hayden, and I will always believe you deserved better. Rest in peace, sweet princess. You will never be forgotten.”
Kim Cattrall
“Rest in peace sweet Hayden,” the Ice Princess actress wrote via Instagram. “Gone far too soon 💔.”
Derek Hough
“Heartbroken to hear about Hayden’s passing. The little time I got to spend with her, she was so sweet, so kind. I’ve always admired her work and the joy she brought people,” the Nashville star wrote via Instagram. “She was actually pregnant when we filmed together. Looking at this photo now, having recently become a father myself, breaks my heart.”
Alyson Stoner
“From one Kairi to another… One sky, one destiny. 🕊️ My deepest condolences to Hayden’s family, community, and the many lives Hayden reached. May you rest in freedom, Hayden,💕✨” the actress shared via Instagram with an emotional video. “And sending love to my fellow KH community worldwide who have cherished Hayden’s work as Kairi through the decades. Take care.”
Christian Siriano
Taryn Manning
“This one hurts. 💔 Hayden was always such a sweetheart- so rad – down to earth, kind and consistently the same every time I saw her,” the actress wrote via Instagram. “We shared so many funny little moments over the years, and this photo brings it all back. We were in Washington, D.C., surrounded by very suited- slightly strange men, and somehow we just kept catching each other’s eyes and laughing uncontrollably at the weirdness. And then we dipped out and ate a dinner 😂. That was Hayden – down to clown – easy, funny, real. Just such a dear, a rad rad human. I don’t really have words for what has happened and she is suddenly gone. I’m just grateful I got to know her and have memories like this.”
Beth Chamberlin
“Hayden played my daughter for 3 years. She was the most brilliant child actor I’ve ever seen,” the Guiding Light actress shared via Instagram. “The things she could do, the way she could remember 20+ pages of dialogue, day after day. Even on days where the director would come out between dress and tape and make huge cuts to the scenes, Hayden, never once forgot a line or missed her blocking. The adults would, but not Hayden. I felt blessed to work with her. And always perfect in her playing of the scene.”
Dania Ramirez
“My heart aches so much right now. I love you and will always miss you,” the Heroes star shared online. “I take comfort in knowing that I am with you in life and in death because your love and energy has always transcended this dimension. My thoughts are with your daughter and those who truly love you. I know that the ones that got to feel your gifts will forever feel blessed and grateful for you 🙏🏽💫.”
Emma Roberts
“Rest in peace my sweet friend,” the Scream 4 star wrote. “You are so loved and you will be forever missed ❤️.”
Nico Tortorella
“I keep trying to write something, but there are too few words for you,” the Scream 4 actor wrote online. “I love you. I miss you. And I’m sorry. I hope you and Jan are somewhere bigger than all of this.”
Charles Esten
Panettiere’s Nashville costar offered condolences on behalf of himself and his wife, Patty Hanson.
“Patty and I are stunned and saddened at the loss of our dear and beautiful friend Hayden,” Esten wrote via Instagram on August 17.
The actor then shared a charming story about his early interactions with Panettiere before he was officially cast as songwriter Deacon Claybourne on Nashville. (Panettiere portrayed country music star Juliette Barnes on Nashville, which aired from 2012 until 2016 on ABC and then from 2016 until 2018 on CMT.)
“I will never forget the first time I met her,” Esten began. “In a sound stage office in Hollywood, I was finishing up my very first Nashville audition. I had read two Deacon scenes before pulling out my guitar and singing two songs. I said my goodbyes and, hoping I’d done well, went to open the door to leave. Instead of swinging all the way out, the door bumped into somebody. Kinda hard.”
Esten went on, “To my complete surprise, it was Hayden Panettiere, who — in full Juliette Barnes mode — had been listening with her ear to the door. Instead of looking even a little bit caught, her face instantly bloomed into the most beautiful smile. Eyes twinkling, she clapped her hands and said, ‘That was so good!!’”
“I can promise you that in that moment, there was nothing in the world I needed to hear more than that,” he remembered. “I told her that, along with my Heroes-watching family, I was already a big fan of hers, and that I was grateful for the very kind words. It was her turn to go in, so as I went to leave, I said a jokingly cocky, ‘See you on the set!’”
He added, “I was, of course, many auditions away from landing that incredible role. But when I finally did, and showed up in Nashville to start work, she walked right up to me, pointed in my face, and with that magical grin said, ‘See you on the set!’”
Esten continued his statement by acknowledging “the loss” that so many were feeling.
“She was, of course, extraordinarily talented, infusing her larger-than-life character with all the heart, charisma, humor, whip-smart intelligence, and flat-out magic that were, alongside whatever troubles and pain she carried, a part of her own personal palette,” he wrote. “What a great gift it was to act with her, sing with her, and to just be her friend. She was always extremely kind to my family, especially my wife, Patty, who I’m certain she liked even more than me.”
“Together, we are heartbroken that she is gone, and praying for her family, and for all those who, like us, will miss and mourn her so dearly,” he concluded. “God bless you, Hayden. Rest In Peace and Light.”
Blake Lively
The Gossip Girl alum touched on the tragedy of losing her former Gossip Girl costar Michelle Trachtenberg and Panettiere within the same year. (Trachtenberg died at age 39 in February 2026 due to complications of diabetes mellitus.)
Sharing a clip of Trachtenberg and Panettiere in their 2005 comedy Ice Princess, Lively urged people to “be kind” — pointing out that everyone has private struggles.
“You never know what others are going through,” Lively wrote via Instagram on August 17. “Thank you to both of these women for all the joy you brought so many.”
Masi Oka
Panettiere’s Heroes costar, best known for playing Hiro Nakamura, shared via X, “Absolutely heartbroken to hear about Hayden. I had the privilege of working closely with her, and I’ll always remember her for her beautiful spirit, immense talent, and the joyful energy she brought to everything she did and the people around her. She was way wiser beyond her years and now gone too soon…”
“My heart goes out to her family and everyone who loved her. Rest in peace, Hayden,” he added.
Jimmy Jean-Louis
“SAVE THE CHEERLEADER, SAVE THE WORLD. It was an honor to protect Claire Bennett for 4 unforgettable seasons. Goodbye Hayden 💔,” the Heroes actor who played “the Haitian” wrote via X.
Greg Grunberg
“This doesn’t make any sense. So talented, so kind, so loving, so funny, so fearless, so professional, so caring, so young, and will be so missed by so many,” the Heroes star wrote via Instagram. “I remember when I first worked with her, preparing myself for a diva. Man, did she shatter that expectation. I learned so much from her. Watching how she carried herself on and off the set. She was wise and kind beyond her years. 💔💔💔.”
Sendhil Ramamurthy
“This is such a rough one,” the Heroes costar wrote via Instagram. “The 1st time I met Hayden was at the final screen test for Heroes. I was so nervous I was sweating through my shirt b4 I even got there. I went straight to the bathroom to compose myself and then went to sign in, expecting to find a bunch of fellow nervous-as-hell actors. Instead I found Hayden belting show tunes in the waiting room. Not a nerve in sight. I had to leave immediately. I spent the rest of the time in the hallway sweating. Hayden was already a pro. I was nearly twice her age and she had 3x as much experience. I learned a lot from her.”
He added, “She stuck up for background actors when they were mistreated, knew every crew members name, and was so generous with her time. Then there was me and Adrian Pasdar, being the responsible adults we are, going to the studio school room where Hayd had to go to class in between set ups, and coming up with excuses to try and boost her out of class.”
Frankie Muniz
“Very sad to hear about Hayden. I got to work with her on many projects and always had an absolutely great time with her,” the actor wrote via Instagram. “I have so many amazing stories and memories with her. I hope she rests in peace.”
Laura Bell Bundy
“This precious angel used to skip around the halls of Guiding Light and occasionally burst into song. The brilliant @haydenpanettiere …. She was 10. I was 18. I was always tickled by her curiosity and her carrying on conversations like a grown adult,” the actress wrote via Instagram. “She was a stunning actor starting at such a young age. So full of energy and spirit. She was adorable and we all knew she’d be a big star. When I saw her in later years at events we were both at, she’d knock me over with her hugs and warmth just like the little girl I knew. I’m just shocked by this news. Sending love to her family and those who loved her. Rest in peace, Hayden 💔.”
Mariska Hargitay
“Holding you in my heart,” the Law & Order: SVU actress shared via Instagram. “Heartbroken about your hard journey. Remembering your light.”
Sam Palladio
“Hayden. I’m totally utterly heartbroken. I remember watching you long before I met you and being spellbound by your talent, your empathy and your skill as a storyteller. I remember vividly getting the call from my agent telling me that you’d been cast in Nashville and my jaw dropped that I’d be getting to meet you, let alone act along side you,” the actor shared via Instagram. “This is going to take a long time to get to grips with this huge loss and my thoughts are with your family and your dear daughter and all the fans that are just as heartbroken as me. For now, I’m sending love to you sweet Hayden. I know we’ll all come together in the following days to pay beautiful tribute. Rest now and be free.”
Caroline D’Amore
“Brokenhearted 💔 I love you so much Hayden,” the Pizza Girl founder wrote via Instagram with a heartfelt message to her longtime friend.
