Hayden Lesley Panettiere is an American actress and singer born on August 21, 1989. She is known for roles as Claire Bennet on Heroes, Kirby Reed in the Scream franchise, and Juliette Barnes on Nashville.
๐ญ Early Life and Family
Panettiere was born and partly raised in Palisades, New York. Her mother, Lesley R. Vogel, was a soap opera actress, and her father, Alan Lee Panettiere, was a New York City Fire Department captain.
She is of Italian, German, and English descent. Her younger brother, actor Jansen Panettiere, died at age 28 in 2023 from aortic valve complications.
๐บ Television Career
Panettiere first appeared on-screen in a commercial at eleven months old. Her full-time acting career began in 1994 on the soap opera One Life to Live.
She gained greater fame as Claire Bennet on Heroes from 2006 to 2010. She later starred as Juliette Barnes on Nashville from 2012 to 2018, earning two Golden Globe nominations.
๐ฅ Film Career
Her feature film debut was voicing Princess Dot in A Bug’s Life (1998). She appeared in Remember the Titans (2000), Raising Helen (2004), and Ice Princess (2005).
Panettiere played Kirby Reed in Scream 4 (2011) and reprised the role in Scream VI (2023). She also starred in the television film Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy (2011).
๐ฎ Video Game Work
She voiced Kairi and Xion in the Kingdom Hearts video game series from 2002 to 2017. Panettiere also voiced and modeled Samantha “Sam” Giddings in the game Until Dawn (2015).
๐ค Music Career
Panettiere was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1999 for A Bug’s Life. She recorded songs for Disney films including “I Fly” for Ice Princess and “My Hero Is You” for Tiger Cruise.
Her first single not associated with an acting role, “Wake Up Call,” was released in 2008. She recorded several songs for Nashville and appeared in concert tours for the show.
๐ Activism
In 2007, Panettiere joined The Whaleman Foundation to disrupt the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Japan. In 2008, she delivered protest letters to the Norwegian and Japanese ambassadors regarding whaling.
| Category | Detail | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth | August 21, 1989 | 1989 | Palisades, New York |
| First Role | Commercial for Playskool | 1990 | Eleven months old |
| Breakthrough | Heroes (Claire Bennet) | 2006โ2010 | NBC series |
| Grammy Nomination | A Bug’s Life | 1999 | Fifth youngest nominee |