Hayden Panettiere's Family Life Revisited After Her Shocking Death at 36

Hayden Panettiere's death was her family's second major loss in three years.

The Panettiere family confirmed the Heroes alum's death in a statement to ABC News on August 16, with a representative saying an investigation into the circumstances remained ongoing.

"It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden," her father, Skip Panettiere, said. "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."

He also asked for privacy as the family "takes time to process this unimaginable loss."

In a press release, the Greenville County Coroner's Office said Hayden was found "unresponsive" and in cardiac arrest at a residence in Greenville, S.C. Responders "initiated advanced cardiac life support measures" but the "efforts were unsuccessful," and she was "pronounced deceased at 2:32 PM."

In the wake of Hayden's death, OK! looks back at her family life and the profound losses her loved ones have faced over the years.

Hayden's father, Skip, is a retired firefighter who worked with the New York City Fire Department.

He married Lesley R. Vogel in 1987, and they had two children: Hayden, born on August 21, 1989, and Jansen Panettiere, born on September 25, 1994. They separated in 2008 after 21 years of marriage.

Lesley filed for divorce in 2012 amid domestic issues, and the divorce was finalized in 2016.

The following year, Skip married his second wife, Mekdem Panettiere, after two years of dating.

"My dad got remarried a few years ago to my amazing stepmother at the church I grew up going to which is next door to the house I grew up in," Hayden shared on Instagram in June 2020.

Prior to Hayden's death, she revealed she had a "great relationship" with Skip.

"I actually went and lived with him and my stepmom for a while, where I was born and raised in Rockland County, and felt like being at home regrounded me," she told Us Weekly in a May 2026 cover story. "Being around family reminded me of who I am at my core."

Hayden's mother, Lesley, was born in Louisville, Ky., on April 16, 1956. She previously worked as a soap opera actress and producer, whose credits include Loving, Sister Sensei and Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List.

Lesley steered Hayden into modeling almost from the start, taking charge of her career as a manager while she was still a child. However, their professional relationship ended when the Guiding Light star was 19, and the two later became estranged for years.

"After 20 years of trauma, I took the advice of professionals and chose the no-contact route," Lesley told Page Six in May. "As many parents of entertainment children [know], we are all too familiar with the painful observation of watching the self-destructive paths they sometimes choose. No parent hopes for this scenario; we want our children to be the best of themselves and live a peaceful, joyful life!"

That same month, Hayden acknowledged that she and Vogel didn't "have a relationship" at the time, though she said she had left "the door open" to reconnecting someday.

"It's hard for me to say, but I've chosen to be brutally honest," she admitted to Us Weekly.

Like Hayden, Jansen started his career young, playing his first onscreen role in a 2002 episode of Even Stevens when he was 7. He then landed roles in Tiger Cruise, The Last Day of Summer, Love and Love Not, Summer Forever and How High 2.

Jansen, who also struggled with substance abuse, died of an undiagnosed heart condition on February 19, 2023. He was 28.

"He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him," she told People in 2024. "When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul."

Hayden and her ex-fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko, welcomed her daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, on December 9, 2014.

Following the former couple's split in 2018, the Nashville actress relinquished full custody of Kaya to the former professional boxer, which she said was "incredibly difficult."

"The fact that my child wasn't going to be with me all day, every day was...you can't put words to it. It's just a really intense feeling or multiple feelings really layered together," she shared on Jay Shetty's podcast "On Purpose."

Hayden also decided that Kaya would live with her father in Ukraine amid her struggles with addiction.

"By the time I finally got healthy, I felt like it would have been unfair of me to and selfish of me to try to pull her out away from this life that she had created," said the actress.