Scream extra shares Hayden Panettiere moment 'that will stay with her forever' after death aged 36

An extra who appeared on-screen with actress Hayden Panettiere has shared a heartwarming memory of the star following her death aged 36.

The US actress, famed for her appearances in the likes of Scream and Heroes, died following a tragic incident on Sunday (16 August), her representatives confirmed.

In a heartbreaking statement, the star's reps said her family would remember her as an 'incredible light' who brought 'immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her'.

Police have confirmed officers were called to reports of an 'unresponsive' woman at a property in South Carolina on Sunday and that Panettiere could not be saved.

Tributes have also been flooding in from across the celebrity world, with Scream co-star Melissa Barrera penning an Instagram story, writing, “Rest in peace sweet Hayden,” alongside a broken heart emoji.

Commenting under Panettiere’s latest social media post after news of her death broke, actress Selma Blair said: “I love you. Don’t be gone. Don’t be gone. Please. Please.”

Meanwhile, singer JoJo wrote on her Instagram stories: “This is such devastating news. I am so sorry to hear of her passing. Oh My God.”

But one extra who starred in Scream 4 alongside Panettiere, who played Kirby Reed, has spoken out about an experience on-set that with 'always stay with me'.

Posting on X, Kathryn Henzler, who also appeared in The Boys and Handmaid's Tale, wrote: "I want to share something about Hayden Panettiere that will forever stay with me.

"My twin sister and I were background actors on the set of Scream 4, and were in the scene where Stab-A-Thon takes place in a barn.

"It was hot, dark, and buggy the whole night we were shooting ... yet Hayden was nothing but nice to everyone around her, even chatting with background actors and complimenting their acting choices.

"Super professional, supremely talented, and just a lovely person to be on set with in the not-so-great conditions. Humble, kind, gone too soon."

Police called to scene

It had been reported that police were called to a property in South Carolina where Hayden was pronounced dead. Details around the circumstances of her sudden death have not been revealed.

Sources have claimed Panettiere had travelled to Greenville from Los Angeles the day before. Police had been called to the incident at around 1.50pm on Sunday, it was confirmed.

TMZ reported that emergency crews responded to a person in suspected 'cardiac arrest', with sources saying they attempted to resuscitate Hayden using 'advanced cardiac life support.'

The source said following chest compressions and the use of specialist equipment, the film and TV star was pronounced dead at 2.32pm.

ccording to NBC News, Police in Greenville have announced that a 'acquaintance' of the actress placed a 911 call and emergency services raced to the scene but were unable to save her.

A statement from the Greenville Police Department said: "[Officers] accompanied by EMS personnel, responded to a report of an unresponsive female at around 1:50 p.m. Sunday.

"Upon arrival, medical assistance was administered; however, the individual, later identified as Hayden Panettiere, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

"The case is under investigation by the Greenville Police Department in conjunction with the Greenville County Coroner's Office. The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. An acquaintance of Ms. Panettiere placed the 911 call."

A timeline of Hayden Panettiere’s troubled Hollywood career

August 1989

Hayden Panettiere is born to firefighter Skip Panettiere and Lesley Vogel, who would go on to be Hayden’s manager.

1990

Panettiere appears in a commercial at 11 months old, later landing recurring roles in soap operas as a child actor.

2004/2005

Aged 15, Panettiere said someone on her team started offering her ‘happy pills’. She later tells People: “They were to make me peppy during interviews.

"I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction.”

2006

Aged 17, Panettiere lands one of the defining roles of her career as Claire Bennett in Heroes.

2007-2009

Panettiere later reveals several disturbing incidents that happened during this period in her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning.

Aged 18, she claims she was led onto a yacht by ‘somebody that I had grown to trust and see as a protector’ and placed into bed next to an ‘undressed man who was very famous’.

In 2008, she alleged a network executive kissed her on the lips at a party.

Aged 19, she said a ‘well-respected, award-winning actor’ tricked her into looking at his testicles through an unzipped fly.

In 2007, she also starts dating Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia - she is 18 and he is 30. They split in 2009.

2009

Panettiere starts dating Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

Meanwhile, her father Skip is handed two years of informal probation after pleading ‘no contest’ to spousal battery.

2013

Panettiere and Klitschko get engaged.

December 2014

Panettiere and Klitschko’s daughter Kaya is born. Panettiere endures an incredibly difficult pregnancy, haemorrhaging during her c-section and being forced to undergo a three-hour surgery.

2015

Panettiere begins suffering severe post-partum depression. She later tells Jay Shetty on his On Purpose podcast: “I knew something was terribly, terribly wrong. I wasn't connecting with [Kaya] the way I should be.”

She uses alcohol to manage her mental health struggles and enters treatment when Kaya is four months old.

She later says she became dependent on medication to sleep, and then turned to drinking vodka.

2018

Klitschko presents Panettiere with custody papers asking for full custody of Kaya. After initially fighting back, she eventually accepts and Kaya goes to live with Klitschko in Ukraine.

She writes in her memoir: “Not being under the same roof with her every day has been the most gut-wrenching experience of my life”

Meanwhile, her long-running role in TV show Nashville comes to an end and she doesn’t have any more TV or film roles for five years.

In the same year, she starts dating actor Brian Hickerson.

2020

Panettiere spends an eight month stint in rehab.

She experiences brutal alcohol withdrawal symptoms including insomnia and intense headaches.

Meanwhile, her now-ex Hickerson is charged with felony assault.

2021

Hickerson pleads no contest to two felony counts of injuring a spouse/cohabitant/girlfriend/child's parent and is sentenced to 45 days in jail and four years probation.

2023

Panettiere returns to acting, reprising her role as Kirby Reed in Scream VI.

In the same year, her brother Jansen dies aged 28 from an enlarged heart.

May 2026

Panettiere releases her memoir in which she makes disturbing allegations against film stars and industry execs from when she was a teenager.

She also opens up on her experience of postpartum depression and comes out as bisexual.

August 2026

Panettiere tragically dies. Police say: “The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.”