Hayden Panettiere remembered by co-stars and friends after her death
Co-stars and friends of Hayden Panettiere are remembering her for her friendship, intelligence and talent after her shocking death on Sunday.
Updated on: August 17, 2026 / 12:08 PM EDT / CBS News
Panettiere, who had already appeared in dozens of commercials by the time she was 5 years old, starred in "Remember the Titans," "Heroes," "Bring It On," "Nashville" and more.
"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," her father, Skip Panettiere, said in a statement sharing the news of her death Sunday.
"I'm crushed," Bethany Joy Lenz, who starred in "Guiding Light" with Panettiere in the late '90s, wrote in a lengthy post on Instagram .
Lenz recalled knowing a young Panettiere, running through the hallways of the studio where they filmed, "laughing and playing games in between blocking and camera rehearsals."