Hayden Panettiere’s Friend Reveals ‘Really Severe’ Health Struggles Before Her Death

Hayden Panettiere spent more than two decades in the public eye, growing from a beloved child star into one of television’s most recognizable leading women. Her death this week at age 36 has left fans and colleagues across the industry reeling, prompting an outpouring of tributes from those who knew her both on screen and off.

Panettiere was found unresponsive on Sunday, August 16, at a home in Greenville, South Carolina, where she had reportedly been staying temporarily. Emergency responders administered advanced life support measures, but she could not be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene. The Greenville Police Department and the Greenville County Coroner’s Office have both confirmed an investigation is ongoing, though authorities have said there are no signs of foul play.

In the days since, new details have emerged about the health struggles Panettiere had reportedly been quietly battling in the months leading up to her death. Her longtime hairdresser and close friend, Erick Orellana, described her condition as “really severe,” recalling that she had been dealing with intense back pain earlier in the year that at times made it difficult for her to move her legs at all.

That account lines up with public sightings from earlier this year. Panettiere was photographed using crutches while walking through Los Angeles International Airport in March alongside her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and she later opened up about the injury herself, telling Women’s Health in May that she’d been dealing with nerve damage in her lower back for roughly a year and had, at one especially frightening point, lost feeling and mobility in her legs entirely.

According to Orellana, Panettiere appeared to be improving in the weeks before her death, and he described her as “starting to be on the mend.” Other sources close to the actress have said she also dealt with anxiety at times and occasionally took medication to manage it, though the full picture of her health in her final days remains unclear pending the ongoing investigation.

Dispatch audio from the 911 call has reportedly referenced both “overdose” and “cardiac arrest,” though officials have not released an official cause of death. Panettiere’s representative confirmed to reporters that an overdose appeared to be a possibility, while stressing that no further information was available at this time.

The news arrives just months after Panettiere published her memoir, ‘This Is Me: A Reckoning,’ in which she candidly discussed postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma, and the grief of losing her younger brother Jansen, who died in 2023 at age 28. She had spoken previously about how deeply that loss affected her, telling interviewers in the years after his death that she never expected to fully move past it.

Panettiere’s father, Alan “Skip” Panettiere, shared a statement on behalf of the family, describing his daughter as “an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her.” He asked for privacy as the family processes what he called an “unimaginable loss.”

Tributes have poured in from across the industry since news of her death broke. ‘Nashville’ co-star Connie Britton remembered her as someone “bursting with brilliance, shining so bright,” while other former castmates and friends, including Kelly Osbourne, shared personal reflections on Panettiere’s warmth and openness about her own struggles.

Best known for her breakout role in ‘Heroes’ and her years starring in ‘Nashville,’ Panettiere also appeared in films including ‘Remember the Titans,’ ‘Bring It On,’ and multiple ‘Scream’ installments, most recently reprising her role as Kirby Reed. She was scheduled to turn 37 just days after her death.

As details continue to emerge from the ongoing investigation, fans and colleagues alike are left honoring the legacy of an actress who spent much of her adult life speaking openly about pain most people choose to hide.

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