Hayden Panettiere Confessed She Was in a 'Cycle of Self-Destruction' With Opioids and Alcohol Years Before Tragic Death at 36

Daniel Gura Mon, August 17, 2026 at 3:43 PM UTC

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Hayden Panettiere struggled with drug and alcohol addiction before her shocking death. mega

Hayden Panettiere was brutally honest about her struggles with drugs and alcohol in the years before her tragic death at age 36, RadarOnline.com can report.

The Heroes star openly discussed her addictions and the overwhelming postpartum depression she suffered after the birth of her daughter, Kaya, in 2014.

Hayden Panettiere's Lifelong Struggles

The actress was found unresponsive in a South Carolina apartment.mega

Panettiere died in a Greenville, South Carolina, apartment. While the cause of death was not immediately released, a 911 call stated that emergency personnel were responding to a message about an "unresponsive female" in "cardiac arrest".

The former child star has been open about her lifelong battles with depression and addiction, writing in her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, about her struggle with postpartum depression and past substance abuse issues.

"I was on top of the world and I ruined it," she told Peoplein 2022. "I'd think I hit rock bottom, but then there's that trap door that opens."

The Nashville star revealed she started drinking small glasses of wine as a young child.

"I was raised Italian and we always had diluted glasses of red wine at dinner time from about the age of 8," she said. "That's just what kids do in Italy. It wasn't ever something bad."

Alcohol and Drugs Took Over Hayden Panettiere's Life

Panettiere started drinking at age 8 and taking 'happy pills' at age 15.mega

However, sudden stardom at an early age apparently took its toll on her, explaining that she was just 15 when someone on her team began to offer her "happy pills" before she walked red carpets.

"They were to make me peppy during interviews," said Panettiere. "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."

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Eventually, she started sneaking away from friends and former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko, the father of her daughter, to do what she felt was necessary to ease her pain.

"With the opiates and alcohol, I was doing anything to make me feel happy for a moment," she said. "Then I'd feel worse than I did before. I was in a cycle of self-destruction."

Hayden Panettiere Finally Seeks Help

She eventually sought treatment for her addictions. mega

Panettiere sought treatment for her depression, but still found herself struggling. Her emotions only worsened when she began to experience postpartum depression after Kaya's birth.

"I never had the feeling that I wanted to harm my child, but I didn't want to spend any time with her," said Panettiere, who didn't drink during her pregnancy but fell off the wagon after Kaya was born. "There was just this gray color in my life."

Eventually, Panettiere gathered the strength to ask for help, and seemed to be in a better place.

"I put a lot of work into myself, and I had to be willing to be incredibly honest," says the actress, who underwent both trauma therapy and inpatient treatment. "This hasn't been easy, and there were a lot of ups and downs, but I don't regret even the ugliest things that have happened to me. I feel incredibly accomplished. And I feel like I have a second chance."

911 Audio Mentions a Possible 'Overdose'

Her family confirmed her passing.mega

Panettiere's father, Skip, confirmed her "tragic passing" in a statement shared on Sunday, describing the "profound sadness" that he felt over the loss.

“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 told ABC News. "We ask for privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss."

Audio of the 911 call obtained by Radar indicates first responders speculated Panettiere may have suffered from an "overdose."

An autopsy will be performed Monday to try to determine her exact cause of death.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”