She made it into the book
Hayden
Panettiere
1989 – 2026 · Palisades, New York
Actor · Singer · Advocate · Mother
This book belongs to women over fifty — and to the rare few who never got there but left a mark we'll carry for them. Hayden was on our screens before her first birthday and in our hearts ever after. She was 36.
The things she loved
Dolphins & whales
Paddled into the cove at Taiji in 2007 to stand between the hunters and the pod. Spokesperson for Save the Whales Again!
Bright colour — pink most of all
"I've always loved colour, especially bright colours." She dyed her hair pink twice and adored it. This page is pink for her.
Singing
Country music most of all. As Juliette Barnes in Nashville she sang her own vocals — and meant them.
Her daughter Kaya
Born 2014. The love that made Hayden speak openly about postpartum depression so other mothers wouldn't feel alone.
Animals
A lifelong animal-rights advocate, from red carpets to Capitol Hill hearings.
Words that hold you
Her spine carried Italian ink — live without regrets, misspelt and kept anyway. Honest, like her.
What she did
First commercial, aged 11 months. The camera found her early.
Princess Dot, A Bug's Life — a voice a whole generation grew up on.
Sheryl Yoast, Remember the Titans — nine years old, telling grown men how to run a defence.
Claire Bennet, Heroes — save the cheerleader, save the world.
Juliette Barnes, Nashville — two Golden Globe nominations and every note her own.
Kirby Reed, Scream 4 and Scream VI — the fan-favourite who survived.
This Is Me: A Reckoning, her memoir — the whole truth, in her own hand, three months before we lost her.
What we remember
We remember a woman who told the truth before it was fashionable — about postpartum depression, about addiction, about starting over. Who swam toward the things she loved and stood between them and harm. Who kept beginning again, every single time. She never stopped evolving toward the light — and she asked the rest of us to do the same.
Rest gently, Hayden. You made the book. Read her full story on the blog