Were Michelle Trachtenberg and Hayden Panettiere Friends? Inside Their Bond and Tragic Deaths

Hollywood lost two of its brightest former child stars with the deaths of Michelle Trachtenberg and Hayden Panettiere.

The late actresses, who famously worked together in the 2005 film Ice Princess, died roughly 18 months apart: Trachtenberg on February 26, 2025, and Panettiere on August 16, 2026.

"In what was often a tough and technically complicated shoot, and my first Hollywood movie, they were delightful to work with and great to have around," Ice Princess director Tim Fywell said of Trachtenberg and Panettiere in a statement. "I remember them both with huge affection, how they were 20-odd years ago, at that relatively uncomplicated time of their lives, two shining talents, gone far too soon."

Following their deaths, OK! looks back at Trachtenberg and Panettiere's friendship, which endured beyond their time working together.

Before becoming costars, Trachtenberg and Panettiere had already built a friendship away from the cameras. They remained close until the Gossip Girl actress' death in 2025, which was tragically followed by Panettiere's own passing the following year.

Nearly a year before her death, Panettiere revealed her friendship with Trachtenberg began long before they shared the screen.

"Actually, her grandmother lived across the street from my grandparents in Brooklyn. So I knew Michelle way before that … like Harriet the Spy days," Panettiere told Entertainment Weekly in September 2025. "We not only grew up in the same industry, but grew up knowing each other's families, relatively closely, just because of the distance. We would have block parties. So I have memories of her and I from long ago."

Ice Princess was the only screen project Trachtenberg and Panettiere appeared in together.

In the same September 2025 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Panettiere said it was "great to work" with Trachtenberg.

She added, "It was great to work with Kim Cattrall who was in that, who is amazing, is phenomenal. It was such a unique experience. I mean, we had to learn how to figure-skate in six weeks, which is no easy feat. But it was so much fun. We had a lot of fun and I'm very grateful that I have the memories that I have with her."

Trachtenberg was found dead at her Columbus Circle apartment on February 26, 2025, at the age of 39. The New York City medical examiner's office later determined she died from complications of diabetes mellitus and ruled her death natural.

Roughly 18 months later, Panettiere was found "unresponsive" and "in cardiac arrest" at a residence in Greenville, S.C., around 1:51 p.m. local time on August 16. Responders "initiated advanced cardiac life support measures," but "resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful." She was declared dead at 2:32 p.m.

The Greenville County Coroner's Office said Panettiere's cause and manner of death "remain pending further investigation and the completion of additional studies."