Shortly after Hayden Panettiere’s sudden death at 36 was announced, some details about her passing were revealed in a preliminary report.
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A spokesperson for the Greenville Police Department shared in a statement to PEOPLE that law enforcement and first responders were called at approximately 1:50 pm local time on Sunday, August 16, about an “unresponsive female.”
“Upon arrival, medical assistance was administered,” the spokesperson explained. “However, the individual, later identified as Hayden Panettiere, was pronounced deceased at the scene.”
They then shared, “The case is under investigation by the Greenville Police Department in conjunction with the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. An acquaintance of Ms. Panettiere placed the 911 call.”
No further details, including the official cause of death, have been revealed.
Panettiere’s Father Issued a Statement Late Sunday Evening
Hours after Hayden’s death, her father, Alan “Skip” Panettiere, issued a statement.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” the statement reads. “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.”
He then asked for privacy, “as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”
Hayden began acting at a young age and became best known for her roles in Heroes, Nashville, and Scream 4. She took a four-year break from acting to focus on her struggles with postpartum depression and addiction. She returned to the big screen in 2023 to reprise her role in Screen 6.
“I had taken four years off. Didn’t know or plan to, but that’s just the way it panned out,” she shared earlier this year. “The things that I’ve done before … It was just different enough that I felt like it was a blank canvas that I could paint onto anything I wanted on. And now try to take my career in a direction that I wasn’t able to go in before.”
The actress said she was able to “jump back into” her career thanks to the support system she gained.
“I feel much more solid and grounded in this world, the crazy world that we live in,” she said. “It’s healthy to continue to keep evolving as a person. Which I always try to do to keep reinventing ourselves and learning more things about ourselves and our wants and needs and dislikes and all the above.”