Hayden Panettiere reflected on once ‘knocking on death’s doorstep’ in one of her final interviews
Hayden Panettiere reflected on once ‘knocking on death’s doorstep’ in one of her final interviews
Joey NolfiMon, August 17, 2026 at 7:20 PM UTC
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Actress Hayden Panettiere in May 2026Credit: Raymond Hall/GC ImagesKey Points -
In one of her final interviews, Hayden Panettiere opened up about the harrowing experience of giving birth to her daughter, Kaya.
The star released a memoir in May, and promoted the book with a series of appearances reflecting on past struggles.
“I knew that I was knocking on death’s doorstep,” she recalled.
Three months before her death at age 36, Heroes and Nashville star Hayden Panettiere opened up about a past instance that she said had her “knocking on death’s doorstep.”
While promoting her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, in May, the Scream franchise star told E! Newsthat she nearly died while giving birth to her daughter, Kaya, in 2014.
“I was sitting there and getting the C-section, and I knew that I was knocking on death’s doorstep,” Panettiere told the outlet during the conversation, which marked one of her final interviews before her death.
Hayden Panettiere in September 2022Credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty
Panettiere went on to say that she “had the most motherly moment” and prayed to save the life of Kaya — whom she ultimately gave custody to ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko in 2018 amid her recovery from struggles with alcohol and opioids.
The former child star recounted saying, “God, please let me hear my daughter cry. I just want to know that she is okay and if it’s my time to go, I’m okay with that.”
She added that she’d accepted the realization that she would sacrifice her own life to save Kaya’s “in a second” in that harrowing moment.
While Panettiere survived the ordeal, she said that medical teams had to give her seven blood transfusions and, during the process, she contracted an infection.
She also said that she experienced postpartum depression after having Kaya, and said that she doesn’t “ever want” her daughter to “feel like the postpartum depression aspect was her fault in any way,” Panettiere stressed.
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“I want her to take away that it’s okay to be imperfect and flawed, and you’ll actually realize that you’re not alone in any of your struggles and you don’t have to stay quiet and be sick like I was,” she continued.
Panettiere concluded that she isn’t fully healed from the emotional trauma of the moment, and at the time was “still talking about it and living these emotions and really trying to process them,” even though, “They’re out of my body. They’re on paper, and I just hope that they can help as many people as possible.”
The star also told Entertainment Weekly earlier this year that her book highlights “trials and tribulations” she went through as a child star, a mother, and someone who struggled with substances throughout her life in the hopes “that it can help” readers “overcome their own obstacles and make sure that they know that they’re not alone” in their own battles.
She called loneliness “the worst feeling in the world — especially when you’re going through a trying time,” adding: “All you want to know is that somebody else has gone through and survived what you’re going through right now, and even though in the moment it feels like you’ll never be okay again. But I also hope people laugh through it as well. I think there’s a good balance.”
Hayden Panettiere in ‘Heroes’; Panettiere on the red carpetCredit: Mitchell Haaseth/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty
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On Sunday, a representative for Panettiere provided EW with statement on behalf of the actress’ father, Alan “Skip” Panettiere.
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. 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,” the actress’ father said in the statement. “We ask for privacy as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
