Back in the early 2000s, Hayden Panettiere was everywhere. From her role in the popular
series Heroes to plum parts in rom-coms like I Love You, Beth Cooper, she made her rounds
in Hollywood. For all that exposure, however, Panettiere has largely faded from public view.
Panettiere rose to mainstream prominence by starring as Claire Bennet on Heroes.
For a while, the show was enormously popular and uniquely headline-making,
something of a predecessor to the ever-expanding world of TV series we know today. Those who were
around for its burst of success will likely recall its infamous tagline,
"Save the cheerleader, save the world."
Claire Bennet is this very cheerleader, and was featured prominently in the show's
promotional campaigns. Claire has the power of cellular regeneration,
which allows her to heal quickly from injuries and become practically
immortal. When she initially discovers her powers, she's both curious and frightened,
and eventually realizes that her own fate might be tied to that of the entire world.
Heroes didn't just earn the public's acclaim — critics initially responded to
it with glowing praise as well. The first season inspired widespread excitement,
scoring multiple wins and nominations from a wide variety of industry awards,
including the Golden Globes and the Emmys. But in later seasons, Heroes' ratings took a tumble. It
began to feel as though the writers had no real plan for giving the show a satisfying conclusion,
and the narrative became increasingly ludicrous and convoluted. Unfortunately for Panettiere,
Heroes has become remembered for its stellar first season and not much else. In the end,
the show was canceled on a low note, which very well might have impacted Panettiere's career.
When Panettiere started her career as a child actor, she worked on soap operas,
television movies, and the occasional miniseries. Disney came calling in the late 1990s,
leading to her roles as Dot in A Bug's Life and Suri in Dinosaur. Soon after,
she landed a memorable role in the football hit Remember The Titans. As she got older and made a
name for herself on Heroes, Panettiere found swift and dazzling success — but it came with a price.
She quickly found that she was being typecast. She had already played a talented ice skater
and high school student in Ice Princess, and now she was playing a cheerleader on Heroes.
She also starred as a cheerleader in both Bring It On: All or Nothing and I Love You,
Beth Cooper. A theme was developing, and she wanted out. She told Contactmusic :
"If I don't get out of this category pretty quickly, it will just get more and
more difficult to be seen as anything besides a cheerleader. [...] Like ... you get in a corset,
it's hard to get out of a corset again."
As fans of Nashville know, Panettiere is one heck of a talented singer. But somehow,
her real-world music career never really got off the ground. Panettiere made her
way down the early sections of the Disney actress-to-pop star path,
recording songs for several Disney movies including Ice Princess and Cinderella III:
A Twist in Time. She even started working on her own album, releasing a single entitled "Wake Up
Call" in 2008. But she wasn't happy with the music that her record label was pushing her to sing, and
has since revealed her dissatisfaction with this release. She said in an interview with Vulture:
"At that point I was a puppet, basically. It wasn't me."
However, these unpleasant experiences in the music industry have proved useful to her as an actress.
While playing Juliette, an aspiring singer and one of the main roles on Nashville,
Panettiere took her experiences into account as her character
was encouraged to record music she was not passionate about.
"When I read this script and it became that for Juliette,
I was like, I understand. I know what that is."
Though things ended positively in this regard, she doesn't think she'll try to record another
album in the future, as she feels that people will conflate her music with her character.
After having her daughter Kaya in December 2014, Panettiere found herself struggling
with postpartum depression. She sought treatment multiple times, ultimately checking into a Utah
treatment center for support in May 2016. She has repeatedly chosen to share her struggles,
as she believes greater openness about the condition can help other women who suffer
from the condition. In an interview with Good Morning America, she said:
"It takes you a while and you feel off, you don't feel like yourself. [...]
Women are so resilient and that's the incredible thing about them."
She went on to say:
"I think I'm all the stronger for it. I think I'm
a better mom because of it because you never take that connection for granted"
Today, Hayden's daughter Kaya lives with her father, former boxer Wladimir Klitschko
in Ukraine. Naturally, she still wants to spend as much time with her daughter as possible,
so she travels to Ukraine whenever she gets the chance. It's easy to imagine this might be
a big part of why Panettiere doesn't always have the free time to commit to new roles.
Although they've been separated for several years now, Panettiere and Klitschko enjoy a genuinely
amicable bond, and seek to set a positive example for their daughter. She told Us Magazine:
"We're still respectful of each other, and we still have that friendship with
each other. [...] It's not a situation that you find yourself in all that often,
so it's a new one. But I think we've done a really good job."
It may seem contradictory to say that a celebrity like Panettiere is
actually a very private person, but that's the truth. Unlike so many highly visible stars,
Panettiere makes a point of not making every detail of her life public. While she does share
her struggles with fans when she's ready, like her battle with postpartum depression,
she rarely posts on Instagram or Twitter. It's a far cry from the
ultra-connected world of many stars, who have multiple feeds updating on an hourly basis.
It seems that Panettiere chooses to stay out of the public eye to the fullest extent
she can these days — and it's not necessarily because of a lack of opportunities.
While plenty of celebrities enjoy sharing their day-to-day lives on social media,
Panettiere has strong boundaries when it comes to privacy.
As Panettiere tried to move forward in her career and break away from her "cheerleader" image,
she took on a majorly controversial role. In 2011, she starred as Amanda Knox, the college student
who was convicted of the murder of Meredith Kercher, in Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy.
In the real world, Knox was eventually exonerated when another man was identified as the murderer,
and has since spoken openly about her ordeal. Kercher's family was unhappy with the contents
of the film, especially because it depicts a fictionalized version of Kercher's murder.
John Kercher, Meredith's father, said in an interview with Time:
"It's so awful what these film people have done. Your imagination runs riot as it is about what
happened, but to actually see it like this is very different and very distressing. I was told
the original brief and synopsis of the film was to take it up to the point of the killing but
not actually show the killing itself. It's obvious from these pictures they are showing the killing."
While Panettiere may have had good intentions when she accepted the role,
it's clear that this film was deeply upsetting for those who lived through these events.
After she began working on Nashville, Panettiere decided to pack up and move to the city for which
the show is named. She purchased a home in Nashville, and subsequently realized that
she was much happier living there instead of in New York City or Los Angeles. She felt like
she could be more laid-back, and more true to herself. Moreover, she told Southern Living that
appreciated that her new neighbors seemed to value the little things in life, allowing her to slow
down and stop focusing on the non-stop hustle of life in the entertainment industry. She continued:
"The people here are amazing. Living in Nashville gives me a sense of normalcy
that I wasn't sure I was ever going to get back in my life. When I first got here,
all my defenses were still up, and I was waiting for that world to suddenly creep back
in. When it didn't, I realized that I can live a normal life here with
people who don't judge you based on what you do or who you are in the public eye."
Recently, Panettiere has opened up about her struggle to leave an abusive relationship.
In the summer of 2020, her ex-boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, was arrested on several charges of
domestic abuse. Now, Panettiere is speaking out about what happened,
and why she hopes her story can help other people who are in similar situations break free:
"I am coming forward with the truth about what happened to me with the hope that
my story will empower others in abusive relationships to get the help they need
and deserve. I am prepared to do my part to make sure this man never hurts anyone again."
Now, she's focusing on herself and rebuilding her life. For Panettiere, stepping away from the
camera for a while has been necessary: After going through such a traumatic experience,
she wants to put her health and wellbeing first. Healing has to take priority. Happily,
she has found the courage to speak out and has surrounded herself with supportive people.
Panettiere is well-known for her activism,
particularly in regards to animal welfare. After appearing on Heroes,
she realized that she could use her new platform for good. She told Teen Vogue:
"The show put me in a place to speak for the things that I'm passionate about."
Panettiere joined up with the Whaleman Foundation in 2007 to protest dolphin
hunting. She was personally involved in a confrontation between a group of fishermen
and several surfers in Japan, who had arrived to protest the annual dolphin hunt
in Taiji. This incident is explored in the 2009 documentary The Cove, which analyzes this annual
dolphin hunt and offers viewers a call to action for the welfare of these animals.
Today, Panettiere still serves as a spokesperson for the Whaleman Foundation.
She told Conde Nast Traveler in an interview:
"I'm an activist who's aware of what's realistic to achieve and what's not.
The Whaleman Foundation's goals] are achievable, and they make sense."
It goes without saying that this level of devotion to a cause would
hinder any actress' ability to remain steadfast in Hollywood's spotlight.
In 2018, the final episode of Nashville aired, ending Panettiere's six year run as Juliette
Barnes. Since then, she has not appeared in any other television shows or movies.
Currently, she does not have much in the way of future roles lined up,
either. At this point, it looks like Panettiere is purposefully enjoying a well-earned hiatus,
and that she does not have any immediate plans to get back in front of the camera.
Considering everything Panetierre has gone through over the course of the past decade,
it's easy to see why she feels the need to take some time off from acting. She's welcomed
a daughter, battled postpartum depression, and spoken out about abuse — that's enough
to push anyone to the brink. But she has not made any statements about retiring,
meaning she'll likely be back on screen in the future. In the meantime, fans of her work
will be waiting to see what her next move is. There's no denying her talent: When Panettiere
does decide to act, sing, or campaign again, she'll certainly enjoy a warm welcome back.
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