Hayden Panettiere Revealed How Younger Brother Jansen’s Death Changed Her Forever

Juliana UkiomogbeMon, August 17, 2026 at 5:49 PM UTC

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Hayden Panettiere and Jansen Panettiere on October 19, 2013.Credit: Getty ImagesThe Gist -

Hayden Panettiere’s younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, died in 2023 at 28 from enlarged heart syndrome.

In 2024, she opened up about his tragic passing.

“He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him,” she said. “When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul.”

Two years before Hayden Panettiere’s death on August 16, the late actress opened up about the tragic passing of her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, and the impact it had on her life.

Hayden Panettiere and Jansen Panettiere on January 31, 2019.Credit: Getty Images

“He was my only sibling, and it was my job to protect him,” she told People in 2024. “When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul.”

Jansen died in 2023 at 28 from aortic valve complications from enlarged heart syndrome.

At the time, his family said in a statement: “It is with great sorrow we share the tremendous, untimely loss of our beautiful Jansen. Though it offers little solace, the Medical Examiner reported Jansen’s sudden passing was due to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart) coupled with aortic valve complications,” per Today.

Like his sister, Jansen was an actor. He appeared in Even Stevens, Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown, The Walking Dead, and several other projects.

Hayden Panettiere and Jansen Panettiere at the Kids’ Choice Awards on March 29, 2008.Credit: Getty Images

About his death, the Nashville actress added, “I will always be heartbroken about it. I will never be able to get over it. No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss.”

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In May, Panettiere appeared on Jay Shetty’s podcast and spoke more about her brother.

“When he first died, I just remember screaming, ‘I don’t want to live in a world where he doesn’t exist,’ so I’ve unfortunately had to,” she said.

“But he seems so alive in my head still. He was such a big, big personality. He was just one of those people I never thought anything could take him down or take him away.”

Hayden Panettiere and Jansen Panettiere on October 22, 2011.Credit: Getty Images

“He was so good, too, and it makes you so angry to see that there are bad people thriving in this world, and then one so good that’s just taken from you…” she added. “Why? It’s not fair. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it. It will just evolve.”

Panettiere died at 36 and is survived by her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, whom she shared with her ex-fiancé, Wladimir Klitschko, 50.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”