‘I lost half of my soul’: Hayden Panettiere shared heartbreak after brother died in 2023 aged 28

Hayden Panettiere has sadly died aged 36, and it’s the second tragic loss her family has faced after her brother died at just 28 years old three years ago.

The actress and singer, known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, died on Sunday, 16th August. Authorities were called to a property in South Carolina following a report of an unresponsive female, and Panettiere was sadly pronounced dead at the scene, the Greenville Police Department told NBC News. The case is still under investigation.

“On August 16, 2026, at approximately 1.51pm, officers from the Greenville Police Department, accompanied by EMS personnel, responded to a report of an unresponsive female at Judson Mill Lofts, located at 701 Easley Bridge Road,” police said. “Upon arrival, medical assistance was administered; however, the individual, later identified as Hayden Panettiere, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

“The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. An acquaintance of Ms Panettiere placed the 911 call. At this time, no further details are available for release.”

It comes just three years after her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, passed away on 19th February 2023 at the age of 28. He died suddenly at his home in New York due to an undiagnosed heart condition. Jansen was also an actor, known for The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry, The Perfect Game and The Martial Arts Kid.

Speaking about his death for the first time to PEOPLE in 2024, Hayden heartbreakingly said: “He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him. When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul.”

Credit: Jim Smeal/BEI/Shutterstock

On the Jay Shetty podcast earlier this year, she added: “There’s nothing in my life that feels like losing my other half. He was born to be the yin to my yang. We were so close. Especially being the older sibling, it’s your job to protect them and keep them safe, and not being able to is, I mean, heartbreaking doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

Most Read

I was Peter Pan at Disney World, and my stalker’s ‘disturbing’ questions were only half of it

The male reality TV stars whose nudes were leaked, and the Love Islander who now does gay p*rn

A deep dive into what the hell is going on with the 27-year-old and Peter Pan at Disneyland

“I would need a dictionary to go through all the words for all the feelings that you go through in your mind. I know time is the best healer, but it’s been three years and every year the heartbreak has changed. But losing him and realising how much of life I was going to have to go through alone and without him, where I always saw him as being there.

She continued: “There have been so many times I want to call him all the time. He was my best friend, and when he first died I remember screaming, ‘I don’t want to live in a world where he doesn’t exist. That’s something I don’t think I’ll ever get over. I feel him with me. I know that he’s protecting me from where he is and was needed elsewhere, but I wish he could be sent back to me.”

Hayden’s father Skip announced her death in a statement, saying: “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. 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.”

After losing two children in three years, he called it an “unimaginable loss”. 

As well as acting, Panettiere often sang the soundtracks for the films she was in, and was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1999 for A Bug’s Life. She also sang in The Dust Factory, Ice Princess, Girl Next and Bridge to Terabithia and Nashville.

For more like this, like The Tab on Facebook.

Featured image credit: Picture Perfect/Shutterstock