Tragic “Heroes” and “Nashville” star Hayden Panettiere’s body was found by a friend who told 911 she was unconscious from an apparent cardiac arrest, according to police sources.
Panettiere’s unidentified pal called 911 at 1:51 p.m. Sunday from a Greenville, SC, apartment to report an “unresponsive female” in “cardiac arrest,” TMZ reported.
Responding paramedics tried to resuscitate the 36-year-old Palisades, NY, native with “advanced cardiac life support,” which can include breathing tubes, defibrillators, and emergency medication such as IV drugs.
Medics also performed chest compressions, but the actress was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m. – just five days before her 37th birthday.
It’s not clear who placed the 911 call. Police revealed Sunday she was found by an “acquaintance,” without revealing their identity.
She flew out of Los Angeles with her on-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson on Saturday, according to reports. However, it was not clear if he was the friend who found her.
Cops said there were no “signs of foul play” and an autopsy will be carried out Monday.
The actress’ shocking death came just three months after she published her deeply candid memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” in which the former child star opened up about her harrowing battles with alcohol and opioid addiction, postpartum depression, domestic abuse and the pressures of growing up in Hollywood.
Panettiere had been working since she was a baby, appearing in commercials at just 11 months old before landing roles on the soaps “One Life to Live” and “Guiding Light.”
She became one of the youngest actors to be nominated for a Grammy Award for voicing Princess Dot in the 1998 movie “A Bug’s Life” at 9 years old.
Panettiere later appeared in movies including “Remember the Titans” at 10 years old, before becoming a household name as Claire Bennet on “Heroes,” which premiered in 2006.
She also starred in several coming-of-age films and teen rom-coms in the early 2000s, including Disney’s “Ice Princess,” “Racing Stripes,” and “Bring It On: All or Nothing,” and “I Love You, Beth Cooper.”
In recent years, Panettiere opened up about her battle with drug and alcohol addiction.
In 2022, she revealed she was just 15 when she was offered “happy pills” before going onto the red carpet.
“They were to make me peppy during interviews,” she told People.
“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 had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction.”
She also battled postpartum depression after welcoming her daughter Kaya, whom she shared with then-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko in December 2014.
She checked into a rehab facility in October 2015.
Panettiere checked into rehab in 2020 and spent eight months receiving treatment for her alcohol and drug addiction.
She recalled in “This is Me: A Reckoning,” that doctors told her she risked being dead within five years if she didn’t stop drinking.
