Hayden Panettiere Dies: “Heroes,’ ‘Nashville’ & ‘Scream’ Star Was 36

Hayden Panettiere, who is best known for playing the superpowered cheerleader on NBC’s Heroes, has died at the age of 36. Her rep confirmed the news to Deadline.

“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,” her rep said in a statement to ABC.

Panettiere was a child star who appeared in commercials and had a four-year run as Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live (1994 to 1997), and then on The Guiding Light as Lizzie Spaulding. She made her big screen debut at the age of 9 in A Bug’s Life. The same year she also appeared in The Object of My Affection. In 2000, she played the daughter of a coach in the Denzel Washington starrer Remember the Titans. In 2004, Panettiere landed her first starring roles a the daughter of actor Bill Pullman’s character in Tiger Cruise on The Disney Channel.

Then, in 2006, came Heroes. Panettiere played high school cheerleader Claire Bennet in the NBC drama about superheroes juggling normal life and saving the world. The show was originally supposed to involve new characters each season, but the popularity of the show and audience investment in the character played by Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia was such that the original actors remained through all four seasons of its run.

She soon played a cheerleader again, this time on the big screen in Chris Columbus’ 2009 film I Love You Beth Cooper. While the film underperformed for Fox, it soon became a mainstay on basic-cable movie stations.

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