How brave Hayden Panettiere battled trauma of child fame, Klitschko custody heartache & brother’s tragic sudden death

INNER demons plagued brave Hayden Panettiere‘s life for decades as she dealt with years of childhood trauma, addiction and family heartache. A debilitating drug addiction, her younger brother’s death, losing her only child in a custody battle and domestic abuse all plagued the beloved actress as she fought to become a Hollywood and TV superstar. Hayden Panettiere, pictured here in 2022, tragically died at the age of 36 on Sunday Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Hayden on set for 2004 film Racing Stripes which came out around the same time she was first given ‘happy pills’ which led to drug and alcohol addictions Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Hayden was forced to give up custody of her only daughter Kaya when the girl was 11 years old after an on-again, off-again relationship with ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko Credit: Twitter Tragedy hit in 2023 after the death of her younger brother Jansen who was aged just 28 Credit: Getty The Heroes and Nashville actress was found unresponsive in an apartment in South Carolina on Sunday before being pronounced dead at the age of 36. Detectives have said a preliminary investigation hasn’t indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter Thank you! Her cause of death remains unknown as investigations continue. Hayden was less than a year old when millions of people first saw her on TV with the actress staying in the spotlight her entire life. Read more in Hayden Panettiere It comes as… Hayden Panettiere has died aged 36, her father announced The actress’s death had ‘no signs of foul play’ after an ‘acquaintance’ found tragic star unresponsive Tributes have been paid by Hollywood celebrities including Cruel Intentions actress Selma Blair and Sister Sister star Tia Mowry In a heartbreaking final interview Hayden opened up about her struggles but declared: ‘I have a lot more life left to live’ Hayden’s tragic final post shows the actress smiling with close pal as she hailed ‘good times and good friends’ The star told fans to ‘be brave’ in her last public appearance while promoting her new memoir The diminutive 5ft star was born in New York in August 1989 and quickly became one of America’s most promising stars after a starring role in the Pixar film A Bug’s Life. But away from the beaming studio lights, Hayden was fighting several painful battles behind the scenes. Most read in Showbiz Klitschko asked for full custody of the couple’s child because he was worried about Kaya while she was in her Hayden’s care Credit: Getty Recent boyfriend Brian Hickerson was arrested, convicted and jailed for domestic abuse against the actress in 2020 Credit: Splash She was forced to give up custody of her only daughter when the girl was just 11 years old after an on-again, off-again relationship with ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko. A few short years after, Hayden started dating Brian Hickerson in a similar tumultuous relationship. The pair were together from 2018 to 2020 before Hickerson was arrested, convicted and jailed for domestic abuse against the actress. He served only one day of a 45-day jail term and the couple reconnected in 2021 before reportedly getting into another physical spat at a bar in West Hollywood. Hickerson recently confessed to a horrifying domestic violence incident saying: “I was drunk. “ “Hayden was standing across the room and I had a phone in my hand and I said, ‘Uh, Hayden I’ll give you ten seconds to run as fast as you can before I throw it at you.'” Hayden and Hickerson were believed to have been together on the day before her death with US media reporting they had flown out of Los Angeles on Saturday. The actress recalled earlier this year about a traumatic experience which saw a glamorous boat party take a sinister turn. A young Hayden Panettiere during an interview with TV host Jay Leno in 1996 Credit: Getty The mum-of-one walking the red carpet in 2014 while pregnant Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Hayden told On Purpose with Jay Shetty she was lured down into a cabin and ordered to get into bed with a very famous – and entirely naked – older male actor. She was just 18 years old at the time and said: “It was as close to being human trafficked as I have ever experienced.” Describing the evening as a “betrayal”, Hayden said nothing happened in the room as she managed to escape and hide away. Tragedy later hit the actress in 2023 after the death of her younger brother Jansen who was aged just 28. Also a budding actor, Jansen suddenly died after suffering from cardiomegaly, known as an enlarged heart, coupled with aortic valve complications. Hayden, who is believed to have seen his body before police arrived, told People magazine she felt like she had “lost half of her soul” when Jansen died. Hayden’s heartbreaking health battles and career-long issues stem from when she was a 15-year-old girl and already a top star on the big screen. She was given “happy pills” by a member of her team just before walking on the red carpet to help make her upbeat during interviews. She opened up about how this one decision impacted on her life for the next two decades as she started to suffer with substance abuse issues. Explained in her latest memoir, the star said: “I was groomed. I was like a little soldier and I always have been. No was never an option. Hayden heartbreakingly declared she had ‘a lot more life to live’ in one of her final interviews before her sudden death Credit: Youtube/Jay Shetty Podcast Hayden pictured in American TV series Heroes as Claire Bennet Credit: Getty “I took my marching orders. I started self-harming in the form of substance abuse. “I lived to make other people happy and I was the last one on the list.” In July 2022, Hayden told People she was quickly led down a dark path of opioids and alcohol. She said: “I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction. “I was on top of the world and I ruined it.” The actress said her addiction issues severely worsened after the birth of her child in 2014. Hayden described childbirth as the “hardest thing” she had ever done with the delivery causing major concerns. Doctors called a “code crimson” during the childbirth as Hayden underwent a three-hour surgery after severe bleeding following a C-section. She later learned her uterus had become infected but thankfully young Kaya was born and healthy. But in the coming weeks, Hayden struggled to bond with Kaya, admitting she “felt nothing” when she first held the newborn. In a heartbreaking statement she said years after: “It was nothing. A total blackout of emotion, like my soul was dead. “I wasn’t myself, yet the problem was I didn’t know what I was supposed to be.” The star’s final post showed her smiling alongside a close friend Credit: Instagram Hayden had to give up custody of her daughter Kaya when she was just 11 years old Credit: Twitter To help cope with the postnatal depression, Hayden admitted she turned to alcohol. Hayden ended up having to go to the hospital after her liver “gave out”. A year after giving birth, she underwent her first stint in rehab while still filming for the hit show Nashville. Years later, Hayden admitted she couldn’t stop drinking as she returned for treatment in 2021, enrolling in a 12-month program. It took eight months of “intensive therapy” to help her move on past her addiction. During these struggling times, Hayden and Ukrainian boxer would call it quits on their nine-year relationship when Kaya was 11. The actress was just 19 when she fell for the 33-year-old heavyweight world champion but the pair would break things off on several occasions before rekindling. When they separated, both announced the couple would co-parent their daughter between Europe, as Klitschko lives in Ukraine, and America. A short time later, Klitschko asked for full custody because he was worried about Kaya while she was in her Hayden’s care. The actress initially fought the move saying she had hired several nannies to support her but she ultimately gave the boxer full custody a few months later. Writing in her powerful memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, released just months before her death, Hayden said: “I remember every second of that day. “Every f***ing second. No mother could forget a single thing about the day she signed her child away.” She added in a separate interview: “It was the hardest thing I could do. But the best thing for my daughter was to make sure she was okay.” The actress had a major falling out with her own mother when she was just 19 years old. Lesley Vogel was Hayden’s manager throughout her childhood and even helped her land a first TV role in an advert when she was just 11 months old. But when the Heroes actress turned 19, she asked Lesley to step down and just be a parental figure, to which she responded: “You owe me.” Comment now