Hayden Panettierehad high hopes for her daughterKaya’s future.
Just months before theHeroesalum’s tragic death at age 36, she detailed what she wanted for her and exWladimir Klitschko’s daughter in the future.
“I started getting calls from my 11-year-old being interested in the industry so that’s more of a nail bitter,” Panettiere shared in an interview with E! News in May. “I always want to support whatever she wants to do but I am trying to guide her toward, ‘Let’s not rush into anything.’”
Indeed, while Panettiere started her career as an actor at just 11 months old, she had a different trajectory in mind for her daughter.
“‘Why don’t you try a few things out and have a college experience,’” Panettiere recalled telling her. “She still has the ability to fly under the radar and once you give that up you don’t get it back. Once you’re out there and you’re famous and known, there is no getting your privacy back.”
Meanwhile, Panettiere noted how her memoirThis Is Me: A Reckoningcould provide an important guide for her daughter in the future when it comes to exploring her struggles with postpartum depression.
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“She keeps asking about the book—she wants to read it,” theBring It On: All of Nothingalum mused. “My fear is that I don’t ever want her to feel like the postpartum depression aspect was her fault in any way. I don’t know what the emotions are going to be around that but I want her to take away that it’s OK to be imperfect and flawed and you’ll actually realize that you’re not alone in any of your struggles and you don’t have to stay quiet and be sick like I was.”
In fact, Panettiere’s daughter served as the only motivation whilebattling an especially intense bout of postpartum depression, which she explored in her memoir.
“I have a beautiful, healthy little girl,” Panettiere detailed. “I am in a beautiful place. I have a blessed life and all I want is to be happy.”
Elsewhere in her book, Panettiere—whose fatherSkip Panetteireconfirmed was found dead on Aug. 16—shared that she felt her life was completed by her daughter’s birth in 2014. When going through a near-fatal c-section, theNashvillealum noted her then-newborn got her through it.
“I knew I was knocking on death’s doorstep,” Panettiere said, “and I had just the most motherly moment where I said, ‘God please just let me hear my daughter cry. I just want to know she’s OK. If it’s my time to go, I’m OK with that. I’m ready.’ I wasn’t afraid at all.”
For a deeper look at Panettiere’sbond with her daughter, keep reading…
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“I was lucky enough to play your sister for 3 years. I related to you so much in so many ways. Ways that I never even told you,” Snow shared on her Instagram Story.”Your talent was remarkable & so was your determination to be a bold, bright shining light. And you were. Always supportive, curious, funny and brave.”
She added, “You will always be remembered undoubtedly for your undeniable strength and spirit.”
Duff ended with, “Sending a heart full of love to your family, the many people you impacted and everyone who loved you. rest easy.”
“Rest in peace sweet Hayden,” Cattrall wrote on Instagram. “Gone far too soon.”
“Hayden was always such a sweetheart- so rad – down to earth, kind, and consistently the same every time I saw her,” Manning wrote. “We shared so many funny little moments over the years… I don’t really have words for what has happened and she is suddenly gone. I’m just grateful I got to know her and have memories like this.”
“Perhaps most quietly powerful, she spoke openly about what so many are taught to hide: domestic violence, postpartum depression, addiction, recovery, and abuse,” she wrote. “She did not share these things for ease or attention, but because she understood what her silence could cost others.”
She added, “Her activism was not polished or performative. It was instinctive, human, sometimes messy, often vulnerable, and always sincere. She was willing to be uncomfortable, to be misunderstood, and to speak before the world was ready to listen.”
“I just wanted to acknowledge the tremendous loss, not only for the Kingdom Hearts family, but of course all of the close loved ones and the millions of lives that Hayden reached,” they said in an Instagram video. “Sending so much love to Hayden’s family, I’ll be thinking of Hayden and the legacy that she has left. Sending lots of love to the Kingdom Hearts community too and how we’re sharing in this loss.”
“Hayden Panettiere was a beautiful talent and beautiful soul,” the Scandal alum wrote. “Sending her family my love, thoughts and prayers.”PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images
“I first met Hayden when she was 16, and she was already a veteran actor with such bright spirit, and an older soul,” he wrote on Instagram. “I remember her as a fierce protector of animal rights and a ‘cheerleader’ for kindness, justice, and people being treated fairly – something that I’ve always appreciated.”
He also shared a reminder to online users, emphasizing, “Life can be so short… let’s send some love out to the world, our loved ones, and to those who need it most today.”
“I directed this video for @haydenpanettiere with @imsebastianstan,” he explained on Instagram. “When I saw her at Paris’ a couple months ago, we were cracking up over all the funny stuff we talked about between shots, pranking Klitschko in Miami, and how tiny she was. Such a sweet, tiny little bundle of joy. Your memory will always be a blessing.”
“My thoughts are with your daughter and those who truly love you,” she added. “I know that the ones that got to feel your gifts will forever feel blessed and grateful for you.”
“I’m crushed,” Bethany wrote in an Instagram post. “I knew the wild little blonde. Was she nine? Ten? I was eighteen. She ran through the Screen Gem studio hallways at 222 E44th St. laughing and playing games in between blocking and camera rehearsals. Long, unruly curls trailing behind her. She knew her lines and everyone else’s. Her intelligence was astonishing.”
Noting that the pair would “connect on and off over the years,” Bethany detailed feeling joy when they “were lucky enough to cross paths.”
“I dont understand how this is real,” she continued. “Everything seemed to be turning around. She was coming BACK to life, wasn’t she? It’s too young and there’s still so much more life. And her daughter…. Hayden, you are surround by love. I’m sorry for every moment I didn’t reach out or check in. This can’t be real..”
“Julius [Tennon] and I loved working with you,” Viola wrote in her Aug. 17 Instagram post, “an old, wise soul with such a deep heart. I wish the world had more time with you because I had a burning curiosity about who you were becoming. I saw this beautiful Phoenix rising from the ashes. Your tests became your testimony, and your testimony became your legacy.”
“You will be remembered,” the Fences star added. “Rest well, Hayden. Sending healing prayers to your family, your daughter, and all who loved you. May they always speak your name.”
Osbourne praised Panettiere as being “such a good friend.”
“I will never forget you, Hayden, and I will always believe you deserved better,” the Osbournes alum added. “Rest in peace, sweet princess. You will never be forgotten.”
“You were so special,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories alongside a clip of her podcast episode. “May you always be protected and peaceful.”
“Devastated,” she captioned a photo of the pair on Instagram. “We first met on the LIRR traveling to NYC for auditions when we were both kids. Every time our paths crossed, my heart always filled up. She was special. She was a Sprite of a being and such a talent. Truly a light…..Love you, Hayden.”
