Hayden Panettiere Shared Hopes of Returning to Acting Before Her Death

Hayden Panettiere Shared Heartbreaking Final Instagram Post Weeks Before Death at 36Hayden Panettiere had her sights set on the big screen again. The Heroes alum—who died Aug. 16 at the age of 36—had expressed a desire to recommit herself to her acting career months before her passing. "It's my outlet," Panettiere told E! News in an interview on May 18. "I need it." While the Remember The Titans star—who didn't appear in any projects between the end of Nashville in 2018 and 2023's Scream VI—had since acted in just three films, she was ready to take on more roles. "I needed that break that I finally gave myself after so many years," Panettiere—who had most recently appeared in the January film Sleepwalker—said of her time away from Hollywood, "but I also realized that idle minds are the devil's playground, and that is very true for me." Panettiere—who had been open about her struggle with alcohol use and opioid addiction—continued, "If I don't have an outlet—an emotional outlet—something to do, something to put my heart into, and something to be passionate about, then I end up self-destructing."She also shared that she'd been expanding her repertoire as an artist. As Panettiere explained at the time, "I’m currently trying my hand at writing a show."Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty ImagesThe Bring It On: All or Nothing actress—who shared 11-year-old daughter Kaya with ex Wladimir Klitscho—also opened up about how she was evolving her approach to setting boundaries and doing what she truly wanted to be doing. "[I'm] always checking in with myself, being self-aware, being surrounded by healthy people who bring out the best in me," she shared, "just trying to keep in touch with my myself and what's going on, and then setting personal boundaries, not being a 'yes' person all the time." "I had no idea you could say 'no' for a very, very long time," Panettiere continued, "and I'm an empath, so if I make somebody feel uncomfortable or disappointed or upset, I feel it myself, so I don't want to let anybody down."The This Is Me: A Reckoning author pointed to being a child star as having informed that habit. "I was groomed from such a young age to just be a soldier," she explained. "I was militant in everything that I did. It was hit the mark, get your lines right. If they want you to cry or do a crazy stunt, you do it. They don't ask questions, and you do it as many times as they want from as many angles as they want."Jon Kopaloff/Getty ImagesPanettiere's father Skip Panettiere first shared the news of her heartbreaking passing. "It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden," he said in a statement to ABC News Aug. 16. "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." Keep reading for a look at Panettiere’s life in photos...Photo by Ann Limongello/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images1994Photo by Margaret Norton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images1996Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images1998Photo by Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage2001Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images2003Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images2004Photo by M. Caulfield/WireImage for ABC Cable Networks Group2004Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images2005Photo by Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage2006Photo by Sylvain Gaboury/FilmMagic2006Photo by Valerie Macon/Getty Images2008Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)2010Jason Merritt/Getty Images2012Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images2013Photo by Kevork Djansezian/NBC/NBCUniversal via Getty Images2014Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Time Warner Cable2014Lars Baron/Bongarts/Getty Images2015Rick Diamond/Getty Images2016Roy Rochlin/FilmMagic2017Hayden Panettiere/Twitter 2018Amanda Edwards/Getty Images2019 Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images2022Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images2023Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images2024Jeff Neira/Disney via Getty Images2026