Hayden Panettiere‘s costars and collaborators are taking to social media to pay tributes to the actress following her death at age 36. Representatives for the two-time Golden Globe nominated star of such TV series and films as Heroes, Remember the Titans, and Nashville confirmed that the actress passed away on Sunday. No cause of death has been revealed.
“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.”
On Monday, Panettiere’s Nashville costar, Connie Britton, posted a memorial to the actress on Instagram. “This was Hayden. Bursting with brilliance, shining so bright,” the actress wrote. “I have no words for this sad song, just heartbreak. I love you girl. Sleep easy now.”
Britton and Panetierre shared the screen during Nashville‘s four-season run on ABC, and followed the series when it migrated to CMT in Season 5 in 2016. The Friday Night Lights star parted ways with the show after the first half of the fifth season, while Panetierre remained with Nashville until its 2018 series finale.
Viola Davis also saluted Panetierre with an emotional Instagram note. The Oscar-winning Fences star shared the screen with the young actress in the 2006 indie drama The Architect, alongside Anthony LaPaglia. “What an amazing talent you were,” Davis wrote. “I wish the world had more time with you because I had a burning curiosity about who you were becoming.”
Panettiere joined the Scream franchise in Scream IV and went on to reprise her role as Kirby Reed with appearances in the fifth and sixth chapters. Fellow series veterans David Arquette and Melissa Barrera posted tributes on their Instagram stories with Arquette writing, “Sending my love to Hayden and her family,” while Barrera said: “Rest in peace sweet Hayden.”
Panettiere’s longtime friend Bethany Joy Lenz wrote about first meeting the actress as a child star on the set of the soap opera Guiding Light. “She understood scenes and nuance and human struggle like not child I’d ever seen on camera,” Lenz remembered.
Writer-director Bryan Fuller — who penned some of the best episodes of Heroes — quoted that show’s signature tagline in his tribute, writing: “Save the cheerleader, save the world.”
“It was an honor and an inspiration to write Clare Bennet’s storyline in Season 1 of Heroes,” Fuller continued. “Hayden was more than actress she was a muse.”
Panettiere’s Heroes costar Dania Ramirez — who joined the show in Season 2 — said of the actress: “I know that the ones who got to feel your gifts will forever feel blessed and grateful for you.”
And Rosie O’Donnell spoke with the majority when she wrote, “Heartbroken.”
See other tributes to Panettiere below
