Dorothy

Further information on her death was not provided. According to TMZ, Panettiere and boyfriend Brian Hickerson had traveled from Los Angeles to a southern state on Saturday; the actress reportedly died the next day.

Panettiere then had an on-again, off-again relationship with Brian Hickerson. NBC News on Tuesday said it had obtained a police report that said Hickerson and his brother, Zach, were at the scene inside the apartment complex where Panettiere died.

The "Nashville" actress died Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina. Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson, were with Panettiere at the time of her death, according to a police report obtained by the outlet.

In her memoir, Panettiere reflected on growing up with Vogel overseeing her career and how the blurred lines between mother and manager affected their relationship long after she became an adult.

In 2014 she gave birth to her daughter, Kaya Klitschko, whom she had with her ex-fiance, the Ukrainian heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko. Panettiere gave full custody to Klitschko in 2018 in order to focus on recovering from what she called a “horrible cycle for years of battling depression and anxiety and alcoholism and substance abuse”.

No cause has been determined and her death remains under investigation. An autopsy found no signs of trauma and police said officers saw no signs of foul play.

Panettiere’s younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, died unexpectedly in February 2023 at age 28.

Panettiere is survived by her father, Skip Panettiere, and her mother, Lesley Vogel, who is also her former manager. Panettiere’s brother Jansen died suddenly in 2023 at the age of 28 from cardiomegaly – an enlarged heart – coupled with aortic valve complications.

Born in Palisades, New York, Panettiere was the daughter of former soap opera actress Vogel and New York City firefighter Alan "Skip" Panettiere.

Oscar-winner Viola Davis, who starred with Panettiere in drama Custody, shared a tribute on Instagram. “What an amazing talent you were … so gifted”, she wrote. Davis added: “I wish the world had more time with you because I had a burning curiosity about who you were becoming. I saw this beautiful Phoenix rising from the ashes. Your tests became your testimony, and your testimony became your legacy. You will be remembered.”

She followed that success with roles on musical drama series Nashville and on the big screen in films including Scream 4 and Scream VI. Offscreen, she was open about her struggles with substance use disorder and postpartum depression following the 2014 birth of her daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, with then-fiancee Wladimir Klitschko. “This hasn't been easy and there were a lot of ups and downs," she said in 2022. "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.”