NEWSHayden Panettiere Said 'Becoming a Mom' to Daughter Kaya Helped Conquer Her 'Major Fear of Death' Months Before Her Sudden Passing
The 'Nashville' star died at the age of 36 on August 16.
Aug. 17 2026, Published 5:22 p.m. ET
Hayden Panettiere got candid about being a mom to daughter Kaya, 11, and how the birth helped her overcome her fear of dying.
The Heroes star shared her story just a few months before she passed away on Sunday, August 16, at age 36.
Hayden Panettiere Welcomed Kaya in 2014
Hayden Panettiere welcomed daughter Kaya, 11, in December 2014.
"I grew up with this major fear of death,” Panettiere told Us Weekly back in April. “So as a child, that was something that I struggled with.”
The former child star welcomed her daughter in December 2014 with ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko.
Wladimir Klitschko and Hayden Panettiere dated on and off from 2009 until 2018.
“So the fact that I found myself facing it in that moment, actually facing it … on one hand, I should have been terrified,” she explained. "But on the other hand, it was becoming a mother, becoming a parent in that moment [when] a person is born that you are willing to do anything for, to lay your life down for."
The Scream 4 alum recalled praying when Kaya was born, saying: "'God, just let me hear my daughter cry. Let me know that she’s OK, and if it’s my time to go, then I’m OK with that, as long as she’s good.'"
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Hayden Panettiere Gave Custody of Her Daughter to Ex-Fiancé Wladimir Klitschko
Hayden Panettiere only 'wanted what was best for Kaya,' a source said.
Hayden gave full custody of Kaya to Wladimir, 50, in 2018 amid her struggles with addiction and postpartum depression.
The Remember the Titans star and the former boxer were together from 2009 until 2011, later reconciling in 2013 before splitting up for good five years later.
A source told People on Monday, August 17, Hayden only “wanted what was best for Kaya" and was “so incredibly proud” of her preteen.
"She’d talk about her all the time, and you could see how much she loved her. But there was also always sadness there,” the insider noted. “It was heartbreaking for Hayden that she wasn’t able to be part of her daughter’s everyday life.”
The former child actress struggled with addiction and postpartum depression.
“Hayden struggled for a very long time, and she wanted nothing more than to get better and stay sober,” they continued. “It was just incredibly difficult for her. But even when she was struggling, she wanted what was best for Kaya.”
The Bring It On: All or Nothing star also opened up in her recent memoir, This Is Me: Reckoning, about her motherhood journey, penning: “I grieve that I’m not the mother I want to be (trust me, no one should ever have to raise a child on FaceTime) and although I miss Kaya so much my heart aches, I know how blessed I am to be her mom."
Hayden's autopsy revealed there was no suspected foul play, with an 911 audio dispatch mentioning a suspected overdose.
