There were no signs of trauma that would have contributed to the death of 36-year-old actor Hayden Panettiere, who died Sunday in South Carolina, according to an update Monday from the Greenville County Coroner’s Office.
The office issued a statement Monday morning after completion of an autopsy in the death of the actor, who was known for roles in television’s “Heroes” and “Nashville” and had recently published a memoir.
Authorities in Greenville, South Carolina responded at about 2 p.m. Sunday to a report of a cardiac arrest. Emergency responders arrived and found a woman in cardiac arrest, according to the coroner’s update.
Paramedics conducted life support measures, but she was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m.
“An autopsy was completed today,” according to the coroner’s Monday statement. “At autopsy no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death. The cause and manner of death remain pending further investigation and the completion of additional studies.”
Authorities said Panettiere had been temporarily staying at the residence.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” her father Skip Panettiere said in a statement provided by the actor’s representative. Her death drew tributes from other actors and Hollywood stars.
Panettiere revealed this year that she struggled with postpartum depression and addiction, which she said led to her decision to give up custody of her only child, daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, in 2018. She had the child with former partner Wladimir Klitschko, the Ukrainian professional boxer.
Panettiere recently published a memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning.”
In 2024, she described the grief after her younger brother, actor Jansen Panettiere, died unexpectedly of an undiagnosed heart condition a year prior.
Panettiere was born and raised in Palisades, New York. She appeared in TV commercials at 11 months old, according to her Television Academy bio.
Panettiere started working at 11 months old, when she appeared in television commercials, it said. Her early acting credits included soap operas like “One Life to Live” and “Guiding Light,” beginning at age 4. She voiced the young princess ant in “A Bug’s Life,” the animated feature, and eventually appeared in big-screen stories, including “Remember the Titans,” “Ice Princess” and “Bring It On: All or Nothing.”
Panettiere portrayer Claire Bennet on the 2000s show “Heroes” before she starred at Juliette Barnes on TV’s “Nashville,” earning two Golden Globe nominations.