Former child star Evan Rachel Wood has paid tribute to Hayden Panettiere while issuing a stark warning against parents allowing their children to act in Hollywood. Panettiere died at age 36 after suffering cardiac arrest at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina on Sunday, August 16. Her on-and-off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach were present at the time. The authorities have since confirmed there were no signs of foul play or physical trauma. The cause and manner of death are yet to be determined as further investigation is ongoing. While Panettiere was best known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, her mother, Lesley Vogel, took her to an audition when she was less than a year old. By four, she had a recurring role on the soap One Life to Live. Credit: ABC Panettiere was candid about the struggles she faced in the Hollywood system and the strained relationship with her mother, opening up in her May 2026 memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning. Although they never starred alongside one another, Evan Rachel Wood has also spoken about the pressure and systemic issues that come with acting from such a young age, having taken on roles from the age of around five. In an Instagram Story, the actress and singer shared photos of Panettiere alongside other former child stars who recently died, Michelle Trachtenberg and Daveigh Chase. Alongside this, Wood wrote, “I think of the Tori Amos lyric, ‘She’s been everybody else’s girl, maybe one day she’ll be her own’… “What becomes of a young girl who is spread thin for the whole world before she even knows herself yet? What are the choices they might make to re-evert a sense of control over their lives and identities? How many more women must die after we’ve discarded them for not being so cute and malleable anymore?” Evan Rachel Wood posted on IG about Hayden Panettiere. 💔 pic.twitter.com/Xg5kzeuAIW — 🦋 Manson Infowars 💖 ✨ (@MansonInfoWars) August 18, 2026 In a separate slide, she wrote a stark warning: “Don’t. Send. Your children. To Hollywood.” Her post also highlighted a quote from Vogel, who broke her silence on her daughter’s death on Tuesday and spoke about Hickerson. “This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson,” the quote reads. “There is a lot of history in the past that Brian has enabled Hayden many times, and this is why her father and I had been concerned for a long time about him.” Hickerson – an aspiring actor and real estate agent – had an on-and-off relationship with Panettiere dating back to 2018, during which he faced multiple allegations of domestic violence involving the actress. In April 2021, Hickerson pleaded no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse or girlfriend. He was sentenced to 45 days in jail, four years of probation and ordered to attend 52 domestic violence classes. Credit: Teton County Sheriff Wood then shared a quote from author Sarah JH, which reads, “Hayden Panettiere speaking openly about what she survived has been sitting heavy with me. Because sometimes people don’t understand why someone waits years to talk about abuse, manipulation, or exploitation. “But silence isn’t always proof that nothing happened. Sometimes silence is survival. Sometimes you need distance. Sometimes you need safety. Sometimes you need to become the version of yourself who can finally put words to what happened. “You can be strong and still be hurting. You can be healing and still have hard days. You can tell your story and still be learning how to carry it.” Featured image credit: Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock/NBC Post navigation Next storyPrevious story
