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Hayden Panettiere passed away at age 36 on Sunday, August 16, 2026, just days before what would have been her 37th birthday. The world lost a truly luminous soul this weekend with the passing of Hayden Panettiere. From the moment she stepped onscreen as a child actor, she captured hearts with a rare mix of talent, warmth, and grit, whether she was saving the world as the indestructible cheerleader Claire Bennet on "Heroes," belting out heartbreak as Juliette Barnes on "Nashville," or holding her own alongside Denzel Washington in "Remember the Titans" Her father, Skip Panettiere, said it best in the statement announcing her death: "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" See less