Hayden Panettiere Once Recalled Her Doctor’s Warning That She Would Not Live to See 35 — Weeks Before Her Death

Weeks before the “Heroes” star’s sudden death on August 16, one of her final interviews revealed how close she had once come to a serious health crisis.

On the “Tamron Hall Show,” Hayden Panettiere looked back on the addiction, physical warning signs, and personal struggles that eventually forced her to confront her health.

During the May 21 interview, Panettiere also discussed postpartum depression, domestic abuse, and the pressure of growing up as a child star.

She appeared alongside her publicist and close friend, Kasey Kitchen, whom Panettiere described as someone she trusted to be “brutally, painfully honest” with her.

The Pressure of Growing up in the Spotlight Started Early

Panettiere told Hall that growing up in the public eye affected her sense of identity at an early age. She said she experienced an identity crisis when she was 12 and understood even then that those pressures could affect her later.

Panettiere was already growing up in the public eye by age 12. She later said she experienced an identity crisis at that age and knew those pressures could affect her later. | Source: Getty Images

The conversation then moved to postpartum depression, which Panettiere experienced after giving birth to her daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, on December 9, 2014. She shares Kaya with former heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko.

Panettiere said she struggled at a time when postpartum depression was not widely discussed and when she could not find the support she needed.

Panettiere was photographed with Wladimir Klitschko in 2013, a year before their daughter, Kaya, was born. She later spoke about struggling with postpartum depression and not finding the support she needed. | Source: Getty Images

She said that after an earlier rehab stay, she began self-medicating because she could not find a therapist who understood her experience.

Hall and Kitchen also discussed the domestic violence Panettiere endured during a high-profile relationship. Kitchen described how difficult it was to watch Panettiere go through the situation while some people online minimized the abuse.

Panettiere remained in the public eye through her role on “Nashville” while dealing with serious personal struggles. In 2026, she spoke about postpartum depression, addiction, and the difficulty of finding a therapist who understood her experience. | Source: Getty Images

Hall also referenced the legal consequences Panettiere’s former partner faced after multiple domestic assault charges. The interview then shifted to Panettiere’s 2020 return to rehab and the physical symptoms that pushed her to seek medical care.

Yellowing Eyes and Blood Tests Led to a Stark Warning

Hall noted that Panettiere returned to rehab in 2020 for an eight-month stay. Panettiere said the decision came after her health had deteriorated enough for her to see the effects herself.

“When I got to the point of looking in the mirror and seeing my eyes had turned yellow,” she said, adding that she no longer recognized her body.

Panettiere said she went to a doctor for blood tests and was warned that continuing on the same path could leave her needing a liver transplant.

“I mean, I was in the midst of so much,” she told Hall.

Panettiere continued working on “Nashville” while privately struggling with addiction. She later said her health worsened to the point that she sought medical care, where she was warned she could need a liver transplant. | Source: Getty Images

Hall put the warning in even starker terms: “So, you’re 30 years old, and the doctor’s telling you, ‘You’re 30 years old, Hayden. You will not live to see 35.'”

“Yeah, ‘If you do not stop immediately.’ And, I was like, ‘I can’t do that to me,’ and if I can’t do it for myself, I’m going to do it for my child,” Panettiere replied.

Panettiere Had Written About Injuries That Still Bothered Her Decades Later

TMZ reported that Panettiere had been dealing with back pain before her death, with a source close to the actress saying she had complained about it during the previous year. The report did not identify what was causing the pain.

Years earlier, Panettiere had documented another source of lasting physical pain in her 2026 memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning.”

According to The Daily Beast, she wrote that she was thrown from a zebra while filming the 2005 movie “Racing Stripes” at age 14.

Panettiere was still a teenager when she appeared in “Racing Stripes.” Years later, she revealed that an accident during filming left her with injuries that continued to bother her more than two decades later. | Source: Getty Images

The accident damaged two vertebrae in her neck and caused a concussion and severe whiplash. “Over 20 years later, these injuries still bother me,” Panettiere wrote.

The investigation into Panettiere’s sudden death is continuing, and new information is painting a clearer — though still incomplete — picture of what happened inside the South Carolina residence where she was found unresponsive.

An autopsy has been completed, neighbors are recalling the “commotion” they heard and witnessed that day, and authorities have revealed one particularly significant finding as questions remain over what caused the actress’s death.

A 911 Call, a Cardiac Arrest, and a Temporary Stay

According to Page Six, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office said a 911 call came in on August 16 at approximately 1:51 p.m. regarding a reported cardiac arrest.

First responders and Emergency Medical Services arrived at the residence and found a woman in cardiac arrest. Despite EMS personnel beginning advanced cardiac life support measures, resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. Panettiere was pronounced dead at 2:32 p.m.

The Coroner’s Office confirmed: “The decedent has been identified as Hayden [Lesley] Panettiere, 36, of California. Panettiere was found unresponsive inside the residence, where she had been temporarily staying.”

That detail is especially notable in light of what residents at the complex have since said about Panettiere’s presence there.

A Neighbor Heard ‘A Bunch of Commotion’ in the Hallway

One neighbor, Micah Lee, told WYFF4 that he was home Sunday when he became aware of unusual activity in the building. “It was yesterday afternoon, and, just a bunch of commotion in the hallway,” Lee revealed. “The halls are pretty hollow, so noise echoes throughout.”

He continued, “And I had just heard about someone collapsing. And then afterwards there was talk about cardiac arrest. I can’t confirm any of that. That’s just what I’ve heard.”

Lee’s description lines up with the Coroner’s Office confirming that the initial 911 call involved a reported cardiac arrest, although the official cause of Panettiere’s death has not yet been released.

Police have also said their preliminary investigation did not indicate foul play or suspicious circumstances. Another resident of Judson Mill Lofts on Easley Bridge Road offered a similarly unsettling glimpse into the aftermath, telling Page Six they were stunned to discover who had died inside the complex.

“I was shocked,” the neighbor said, explaining they had never seen Panettiere there before news of her death broke. The resident said they did not know how long the actress had been staying at the property and were not even sure she had left the apartment during her time there.

According to the neighbor, management subsequently contacted residents and reassured them that the incident was not believed to be criminal and there was no reason for them to fear for their safety. “It’s still kind of jarring to hear that someone of her stature was here and then that tragically happened to her,” the resident added.

The neighbor recalled police remaining at the property for hours, from around noon until 8 p.m. that Sunday. They said seeing the coroner’s vehicle made it apparent someone had died, but they did not learn until the next morning that it was Panettiere.

There was another detail the neighbor could not forget: They noticed two men “sitting outside the apartment with cops” during the response. “They looked like they were in shock, not speaking, and had their heads down,” the neighbor recalled.

The resident also believes the apartment was being used as a rental, something Page Six reported it had confirmed as an Airbnb.

The Scene Raised More Questions

As investigators began piecing together what happened, another detail from the scene drew attention. Page Six reported that 911 dispatch audio characterized the emergency as an apparent “overdose,” while Narcan was reportedly found at the scene on a mattress.

Narcan is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, but it remains unclear whether it was administered to Panettiere.

Crucially, neither the dispatch characterization nor the presence of Narcan establishes Panettiere’s official cause of death. Authorities have said that determination remains pending further investigation and additional studies.

The actress had previously spoken publicly about her history with opioid and alcohol addiction. In a 2022 interview, Panettiere said she had been offered what she described as “happy pills” before red-carpet appearances when she was just 15 years old, according to a Page Six report about her addiction struggles.

“They were to make me peppy during interviews,” she recalled at the time. “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 later described years of struggling with alcohol, substance abuse, depression and anxiety.

Hayden Panettiere had only complained about back pain during the last year of her life. In this photo, she attended the opening of Dylan’s Candy Bar on October 16, 2001, in New York City, New York. | Source: Getty Images

Panettiere also spoke candidly about the painful decision surrounding custody of her daughter, Kaya, whom she shared with former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko. Speaking on the ” On Purpose” podcast in May 2026, she pushed back against the idea that she had simply chosen to give up her daughter.

“The idea that anybody would think that I would just give away my child and be OK with it is heartbreaking,” she said. “It couldn’t be further from the truth. It became this horrible cycle for years of battling depression and anxiety and alcoholism and substance abuse and just me trying to find my way back.”

More recently, Panettiere had been promoting her memoir, ” This Is Me: A Reckoning.” At what would become her final public event, held at the Harmony Gold Theater in Los Angeles on May 26, a source who attended told Page Six that Panettiere’s speech appeared “slow and slurred at times.”

Panettiere Had Endured a Devastating Family Loss Years Before Her Death

She had also been carrying another profound loss. Panettiere’s younger brother, Jansen, died in February 2023 at the age of 28 from an undiagnosed heart condition. In a 2024 People interview, she described the devastating effect his death had on her.

“He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him,” Panettiere said. “When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul.” She added that experiencing something so catastrophic had changed the way she viewed everyday problems.

Against that intensely personal history, speculation around Panettiere’s final hours has inevitably drawn attention, but investigators are still withholding any definitive explanation for her death.

Hayden Panettiere also discussed the heartbreaking loss of her brother Jansen in her memoir. At this event, she arrived with him at the NBC/Universal Golden Globe After Party at the Beverly Hilton on January 15, 2007, in Beverly Hills, California. | Source: Getty Images

Then Came the Autopsy Finding

And that is where the autopsy findings become especially important. Although the examination has now been completed, officials have not yet established a cause or manner of death. The Coroner’s Office stated, “This investigation remains active and ongoing. No further details are available for release at this time.”

But the autopsy did answer one major question about Panettiere’s physical condition when she died:

“An autopsy was completed today. At autopsy, no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.”

That still leaves the central mystery unresolved. Additional testing and investigation will now be needed before authorities can officially determine exactly what caused the star’s sudden death.

Panettiere’s passing was announced by her father, Skip, who described his daughter’s demise as a devastating loss.

Hayden Panettiere attended the Hollywood Christmas Parade with her father, Skip Panettiere. Years later, Skip would be the family member to issue the first public statement after her death. | Source: Getty Images

“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. We ask for privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss,” he added.

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