911 Call Reveals New Clue In Hayden Panettiere’s Shocking Death At 36

Audio from the 911 call related to the death of “Nashville” actress Hayden Panettiere, 36, shows that she was discovered unresponsive from an apparent cardiac arrest.

According to a report from entertainment site TMZ, law enforcement received a call about an “unresponsive female” at 1:51 p.m. Sunday and were dispatched to a Greenville, South Carolina apartment. Responding paramedics administered “advanced cardiac life support” but were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts to revive her.

Law enforcement officials stated that there was “no sign of foul play,” but said that an autopsy would be conducted on Monday to determine cause and manner of death.

Fans are still reeling from the unexpected death of the 36-year-old actress, which was announced late Sunday night. Panettiere had just released her tell-all memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” earlier this year. Her death occurred 5 days before her 37th birthday.

The former child star began acting in commercials when she was just 11 months old and later transitioned to films and television shows. Panettiere was best known for her breakout role as Claire Bennet, a high school cheerleader with healing powers, on the NBC superhero series “Heroes.”

She later earned two Golden Globe nominations for her co-starring role in the drama series “Nashville.” The Hollywood star also landed major roles in other movies such as “Remember the Titans,” “Raising Helen,” “Ice Princess,” and “Scream 4.”

Panettiere had a younger brother, Jansen, who died suddenly in February 2023 at the age of 28 from cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart) coupled with aortic valve complications.

In 2014, the “Heroes” star gave birth to a daughter, Kaya, whom she shares with former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko. Panettiere detailed having severe postpartum depression and addiction following the baby’s birth and ultimately signed over full custody to Klitschko so that she could seek treatment.

The actress said that at the time, she was not capable of caring for her child — and said that because Kaya already had an established life in Klitschko’s native Ukraine, the move was in her best interest.

More recently, Panettiere was involved in an on-and-off relationship with Brian Hickerson, a real estate agent and aspiring actor, from around 2018 until 2022. During that time, he was arrested multiple times for domestic violence against her, first in 2019 and again in February 2020 in Wyoming, where he reportedly punched her in the face. The first charges were later dropped.

In July 2020, he was arrested in Los Angeles, where Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend and was sentenced in 2021 to jail time, four years of probation, domestic violence classes, fines, and a multi-year protective order.

In her memoir, Panettiere described the relationship as traumatic, detailing how verbal arguments escalated into physical abuse. She said she found it “very embarrassing” as someone who saw herself as a strong and resilient woman.

Panettiere also recently revealed several incidents during her career involving unwanted sexual advances from major Hollywood directors and actors when she was in her late teens. She said a trusted friend led her into what felt like a trap involving a “very famous” naked man while she was out on a boat.

“The fact that I was 18, even though I’d lived such a huge life and I thought I was oh so mature at 18 … scientifically, our frontal lobes don’t develop until we’re what, 25, 26?” Panettiere told podcast host Jay Shetty of the incident during a May interview, as The Daily Wire previously reported. “So even though I felt like I could make healthy decisions, safe decisions, I wasn’t capable of being fully aware of what was going on around me.”

“It wasn’t until I found myself in predicaments that I realized — my perspective completely shifted, and I realized that I was in danger,” she went on. “But by the time I’d realized I was in danger, I was quite literally out to sea.”

“It took me by surprise,” Panettiere added. “It was somebody led by somebody that I had grown to trust and see as a protector and somebody who had my back.”

The actress detailed her addiction struggles in her memoir, noting how doctors told her she would be dead in five years if she didn’t stop drinking. Panettiere most recently spent eight months in rehab for drug and alcohol addiction in 2020.