Three months before her death, Hayden Panettiere was publicly revisiting her past in an attempt to also look ahead.
After spending more than three decades onscreen in film and TV projects like “Nashville,” “Heroes” and “Remember the Titans,” Panettiere had plenty of stories to tell. And in her memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,“ she didn’t hold back.
In interviews and the book itself, she candidly shared what it was like growing up in Hollywood, becoming a mother, enduring an abusive relationship, battling addiction, and most painful of all, giving up custody of her daughter.
And after years marked by personal loss and public struggles, all the time she spent taking stock of what she’d endured, she was looking forward.
“I feel like I have a lot more life to live,” she told podcast host Jay Shetty.
But on Sunday, Aug. 16, 36-year-old Panettiere was found unresponsive in Greenville, South Carolina. Police and emergency medical personnel responded to a 911 call for a woman in cardiac arrest. At the Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex they attempted but failed to resuscitate Panettiere, and she was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m.
Police said they haven’t uncovered evidence of foul play or suspicious circumstances, but Panettiere’s death is still under investigation, and the DEA is now reportedly looking into the case, according to ABC News.
What went so horribly wrong?
The months leading up to Panettiere’s death tell a complicated story about an actress in the midst of a personal reckoning, promoting a memoir about the darkest chapters of her past, while also returning to acting and reconnecting with a former partner whose place in her life had long been fraught.
Hayden Panettiere’s complicated history with Brian Hickerson
As recently as 2025, Panettiere was excited to be back to work. She showed up to the set of “A Breed Apart,” “incredibly sweet and gracious and excited to work,” director Griff Furst said in an Instagram video. “But she was not OK and the energy in her room was pretty dark.” She was also with her boyfriend Brian Hickerson, he said.
Hickerson was Panettiere’s on-again, off-again boyfriend. They started dating in 2018, the same year she and her former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko ended their relationship after nearly a decade together. Struggling with an addiction to alcohol and opioids, she relinquished custody of 4-year-old Kaya to Klitschko.
As Panettiere’s relationship with Hickerson continued, it grew more volatile. In May 2019, Hickerson was arrested in LA following an alleged domestic violence incident. Though the case was later dismissed, it wouldn’t be the last time authorities were involved. In 2020, LA prosecutors charged him with eight counts stemming from several alleged incidents involving Panettiere between 2019 and 2020.
Panettiere addressed it in an Instagram post. “I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need and deserve,” she wrote. “I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again.”
Then in 2021, Hickerson was sentenced to 45 days in county jail, four years of probation and domestic violence classes and was ordered to stay away from Panettiere for five years.
But after his release, the two were spotted together in Los Angeles. Hickerson said at the time that they were not romantically involved and were instead “working on a friendship.” Panettiere later confirmed that she had allowed him back into her life after both had sought treatment.
Hayden Panettiere’s return to Hollywood takes a darker turn
Panettiere worked on two films in 2025. On Jan. 9, 2026, the first debuted.
“Sleepwalker,” what would become Panettiere’s final completed movie, is a psychological thriller with Panettiere as Sarah Pangborn, an artist grieving the death of her daughter after a car crash that also leaves her abusive husband in a coma. The movie costarred Beverly D’Angelo, Justin Chatwin and Mischa Barton. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Chatwin – who also worked with Panettiere on “Heroes” – said he believed she had been struggling while filming the project.
“It was an awesome shoot, but it was about domestic abuse and it was subject matter that may have hit close to home, because she did mention it,” he said.The material was dark, Panettiere said. “I’m really drawn to characters that have been through trauma. It’s something that I relate to,” she said in an interview with Moviefone at the time of the release. She also discussed how she wanted to shield the child actors in the film. “Having been one myself, I’m very, very protective of them. Especially with a dark subject matter like this.”
On average, it takes a woman seven attempts to leave an abusive relationship, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Panettiere was still caught in that cycle with Hickerson.
On March 3 she was seen at Los Angeles International Airport on crutches with Hickerson beside her. Panettiere told photographers that she was recovering from pinched nerves in her lower back.
At the time, Panettiere didn’t publicly address her relationship with Hickerson, though sources told TMZ that Panettiere and Hickerson were “just friends.” Whatever caused her back problems, it was serious. Her hairdresser and close friend Erick Orellana told Page Six Panettiere’s health issues were “really severe” and impacting her mobility: “At one point, it was even hard for her to move her legs.”
Still, by the time her book debuted on May 19, she had new strength. She said she was single and looking forward to the future. “I finally feel like I have shaken off all of this darkness and this negativity,” she told Shetty. “In this moment, I feel more trust in myself than I have in years.”
Hickerson also seemed to acknowledge their relationship was over. Responding to the details of her book, he addressed being arrested for abusive behavior, telling TMZ, “I miss Hayden every day,” and still had dreams of marrying her. TMZ later caught Panettiere outside of an airport and asked her about Hickerson wanting to marry her. She laughed it off and replied, “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
‘Nashville’ actress looked ahead after confronting her past
One relationship she hadn’t made peace with: her mother, Lesley Vogel. In her book, Panettiere described the pressure she felt to support the family and called Vogel a “momager.” Vogel denied the characterization, accusing Panettiere of launching a “smear campaign” and detailing their conflicts “to sell books.”
After the press from her book died down, Panettiere seemed to be feeling nostalgic. On July 23, less than a month before her death, Panettiere shared what would become her final Instagram post. It was an old photograph of herself with photographer Randall Slavin that had been taken more than a decade earlier.
“Good times and good friends,” she wrote.
Less than a month later, Panettiere and Hickerson were together again. Not everyone in Panettiere’s life was privy to this information. TMZ also reported that the two kept their connection a secret, with Hickerson even telling the outlet, “It’s not about who you spend Saturday night with, it’s who you spend all day Sunday with and Hayden Panettiere is the Sunday girl.” The comment takes on a haunting resonance three months later, after Panettiere was found unresponsive on a Sunday.
The pair reportedly landed in South Carolina the day before Panettiere died, according to E! News.
Once in Greenville, Panettiere stayed at an apartment at Judson Mill Lofts, a sprawling redevelopment of a former textile mill west of downtown. In a statement to TMZ, Hickerson’s brother, Zach Hickerson, confirmed the unit was an Airbnb that he and Brian were staying at.
Her final day: Authorities investigate Hayden Panettiere’s death
The following afternoon, Greenville police and emergency personnel responded to a 911 call around 1:51 p.m., according to the Greenville Police Department.
Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson, were both at the residence when authorities arrived and Zach Hickerson told investigators that Panettiere was Brian’s girlfriend.
First responders attempted CPR and advanced cardiac life support but were unable to revive Panettiere.
As investigators documented the scene, Brian Hickerson showed police a bag containing medications Panettiere had allegedly been taking, according to the police report obtained by USA TODAY.
In a statement to TMZ, Zach Hickerson described finding Panettiere on Sunday when he returned to the Airbnb after attending church.
“When I left church I called and texted both of them. When I didn’t reach Brian or Hayden, I just assumed maybe they fell back asleep so I drove over and went to the Airbnb. When I got there I knew the code to the building but not the door code to the Airbnb,” he said.
He knocked “loudly” on the unit door which he said “apparently woke Brian up from a nap they were both taking on the pull out couch bed in the living room.”
“When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realized she was unconscious,” he continued. Zach Hickerson said he then called 911, Brian Hickerson gave Panettiere Narcan and they both performed CPR until medics arrived.
Authorities found no visible signs of trauma, and the Greenville County Coroner’s Office said an autopsy found no traumatic injuries that contributed to Panettiere’s death. Greenville police also said their preliminary investigation found no indication of foul play or suspicious circumstances. Her exact cause of death remains undetermined, pending toxicology results which could take up to eight weeks.
Hickerson’s attorney Sloan Ellis said in a statement to USA TODAY, “Hayden’s death remains under investigation and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed. As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play. Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”
Panettiere spent much of her final months trying to explain, in her own words, what she had survived and how she hoped to move forward.
“I hope people will feel like they are not alone and that they can overcome any obstacles and get back up,” she told BuzzFeed back in May. “It’s all about how you get back up, dust yourself off, and keep moving.”
Until investigators complete their work, the circumstances surrounding how that chapter ended remain unresolved.If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, you can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Krystie Lee Yandoli is a senior entertainment reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kyandoli@usatoday.com, and follow her on Instagram, Threads, and X.