Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress, model, singer, voice actress, and activist.
She is known for her roles as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC series Heroes and
as Juliette Barnes in the ABC musical drama series Nashville.
A native of New York, she first appeared in a commercial at the age of 11 months. She
began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live, and Lizzie Spaulding
on Guiding Light, before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in the Disney feature film
Remember the Titans. Other notable roles include her portrayal of the title character in the
true crime drama Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy and Kirby Reed in the slasher film
Scream 4. She received two nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting
Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film, for her work on Nashville in 2012 and
2013.
Early life Panettiere was born in and partly raised in
Palisades, New York. She is the daughter of Lesley R. Vogel, a former soap opera actress,
and Alan Lee "Skip" Panettiere, a fire department captain. She has one younger brother, fellow
actor Jansen Panettiere. Panettiere has Italian and German ancestry. Her surname means "baker"
in Italian and her mother's maiden name means "bird" in German. Her mother's family lives
in Indiana. After Panettiere attended South Orangetown
Middle School in New York, she was homeschooled from grade nine to the completion of high
school. Career
Acting Television
Panettiere first appeared in commercials at the age of 11 months, beginning with an advertisement
for a Playskool toy train. She landed a role as Sarah Roberts on the ABC soap opera One
Life to Live from 1994 to 1997, which was followed by Lizzie Spaulding on the CBS soap
opera Guiding Light in 1996, and again from 1997 to 2000. While on Guiding Light, Panettiere's
character Lizzie battled leukemia. For drawing the attention of daytime viewers to the disease,
and for improving national awareness, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society gave her its Special
Recognition Award. For her performance in Lifetime Television's
1999 TV movie If You Believe, she was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Young Actress
Age Ten or Under in the category of Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot. Panettiere appeared
on Fox's Ally McBeal as the title character's daughter, had a recurring guest role on Malcolm
in the Middle and guest starred in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in two different roles.
Panettiere became most prominent as Claire Bennet in the NBC series Heroes, which was
created by Tim Kring, as a high school cheerleader with regenerative healing powers. Thanks to
her role on Heroes, she became a regular on the science fiction convention circuit, invited
to attend conventions around the world in 2007, including Gen Con, New York Comic Con,
and Fan Expo Canada. Panettiere has complained that her acting options are sometimes limited
because "people look at [her] as either the popular cheerleader type or just the blonde".
In early 2007, Panettiere appeared on the MTV show, Punk'd. The appearance was engineered
by her mother and involved a male "fan" discussing her work with her, instigating a jealous reaction
from the man's spouse. In April 2012, she hosted an episode of the new series.
In March 2012, it was announced Panettiere had been cast opposite Connie Britton on the
ABC musical drama series Nashville. She portrays Juliette Barnes. In May 2012, ABC bought the
pilot as a series. The series reunites Panettiere with Burgess Jenkins from Remember the Titans.
Films Panettiere has appeared in over a dozen full-length
feature films, having her debut in A Bug's Life. In 1999, she portrayed the girl on a
sinking sailboat in Message In A Bottle. She played the role of Coach Yoast's daughter,
Sheryl, in the 2000 Disney film Remember the Titans. She also starred in Bring It On: All
or Nothing as a cheerleader and had a supporting role as Adelaide Bourbon in the independent
film Shanghai Kiss. In 2004, she appeared in the Disney Channel film Tiger Cruise, and
in Raising Helen as Kate Hudson's adolescent niece. In 2005, she was the title character's
rival in a skating contest in Ice Princess. In the same year she starred in the film Racing
Stripes where she played the character Channing Walsh.
In June 2007, she signed with the William Morris Agency, after previously being represented
by United Talent Agency. Forbes estimated that she earned $2 million in 2007.
In 2008, Panettiere appeared in the drama Fireflies in the Garden as a younger version
of Emily Watson's character, Jane Lawrence. In September 2008, she appeared in a satirical
video, a mock-PSA on funnyordie.com titled "Hayden Panettiere PSA: Your Vote, Your Choice".
In October, Panettiere appeared in another satirical PSA video on funnyordie.com titled
"Vote for McCain: He's just like George Bush, except older and with a worse temper".
In July 2009, Panettiere starred in the teen comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper. In September
2010, she was signed to star as Amanda Knox in the controversial Amanda Knox: Murder on
Trial in Italy. Panettiere also provided the voice of Kate, alongside Justin Long in 2010's
Alpha and Omega. In April 2011, Panettiere appeared in the
Scream sequel, Scream 4, playing Kirby Reed, a role for which she received acclaim and
was considered to be a highlight of the film, which received mixed reviews. The same year
she replaced Anne Hathaway as the voice of Red for the animated sequel Hoodwinked Too!
Hood vs. Evil. In 2012, The Forger, in which she played the role of Amber, was released
direct to DVD. Video games
Panettiere voiced Kairi in Kingdom Hearts and Kingdom Hearts II. While she was replaced
by Alyson Stoner in Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days,
she reprises her role in Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep and also voices Xion in Kingdom Hearts
3D: Dream Drop Distance. Singing
Panettiere was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1999 for A Bug's Life. In 2004, she recorded
a song entitled "My Hero Is You" with a video for the Disney Channel film she starred in,
Tiger Cruise, and "Someone Like You," a duet with Watt White for another film of hers,
The Dust Factory. The next year she recorded a song entitled "I Fly" for the Disney film
Ice Princess in which she also co-starred. She recorded a song for the Hollywood Records
compilation Girl Next and another song entitled "Go to Girl" for Girl Next 2. Also in 2007,
she recorded a cover for "Cruella De Vil" for DisneyMania 5, "Try" for the Bridge to
Terabithia soundtrack and a ballad called "I Still Believe" for Cinderella III: A Twist
in Time. Panettiere's first single, "Wake Up Call",
was digitally released on August 5, 2008. The clothing brand Candie's announced that
it was premiering an ad campaign for the single in late July. Similarly, Candie's would also
provide additional promotion for the single with a television advertisement and a music
video. She has recorded several songs for Nashville,
which were released as singles and included on the show's soundtrack albums. In 2013,
Panettiere recorded a version of "The Fabric of My Life" for a Cotton Incorporated campaign.
Modeling In late 2006, Neutrogena made Panettiere the
cover girl for their new worldwide ad campaign; following in the footsteps of actresses Kristin
Kreuk, Josie Bissett, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Mandy Moore, Mischa Barton, Gabrielle Union
and Jennifer Freeman. In September 2007, Panettiere appeared in a Heroes-themed Got Milk? ad for
which the photographs were shot by Annie Leibovitz. In February 2008, Kohl's announced that Panettiere
would be their next Candie's spokesperson. Personal life
Panettiere dated her Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia from December 2007 to February 2009. Panettiere
met heavyweight boxing world champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2009 at a mutual acquaintance's
party, and they soon began dating. Panettiere was ringside for Klitschko's knockout victory
over Samuel Peter on September 11, 2010. In May 2011, Panettiere announced that she and
Klitschko had broken up amicably after two years together. Both cited the long-distance
nature of their relationship as the reason, and said they would remain close friends.
Panettiere subsequently dated NFL player Scotty McKnight from June 2011 to December 2012.
Panettiere confirmed reports that she and Klitschko had resumed their romantic relationship
in an April 2013 interview. In October 2013, she announced her engagement to Klitschko,
which had been rumored since the summer. She followed a vegetarian diet while she starred
in Heroes but has since added chicken and fish to her diet, stating that she "didn't
respond well" to a vegetarian diet, and she had "low-energy".
Activism
In 2007, Panettiere became an official supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities and is
a member of their celebrity board, called the Friends of RMHC.
On October 31, 2007, Panettiere joined with The Whaleman Foundation to try to disrupt
the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. She was involved in a confrontation
between Japanese fishermen and five other surfers from Australia and the United States
of the group. The confrontation lasted more than 10 minutes before the surfers were forced
to return to the beach, after which they left the country. Parts of the confrontation can
be seen on the award-winning Sundance Film Festival documentary film, The Cove. The fishermen
consider the condemnation as an attack on their culture.
In November 2007, she was awarded the "Compassion in Action Award" from the animal rights group
PETA for her efforts to stop the dolphin hunt in Japan.
On January 28, 2008, Panettiere handed a letter of protest to the Norwegian ambassador in
the United States arguing that Norway should stop its hunt for whales. She also delivered
a letter to the Japanese ambassador calling for the end of Japan's hunting of whales.
At a 2007 Greenpeace event in Anchorage, Alaska, Panettiere defended aboriginal whaling, saying
that there is a difference between commercial whaling and the whaling practiced by aboriginal
tribes in the United States. In May 2008, Panettiere was involved in an
eBay auction to benefit Save the Whales Again, a campaign of The Whaleman Foundation. The
auction included tickets to a fundraising dinner hosted at the Hollywood restaurant
Beso, owned by Eva Longoria, and a whale watching tour, with Panettiere, off the coast of Santa
Barbara. The same month, during an interview with Teen Vogue, Panettiere explained how
her fame gives her a platform for her activism: "The show [Heroes] put me in a place to speak
for things that I'm passionate about." In September 2008, Panettiere launched her
own line of calfskin leather bags for the company Dooney & Bourke. In October 2008,
Panettiere delved into the presidential election, releasing a public service announcement through
the website Funny or Die. In this video Panettiere mocked Republican candidate John McCain for
his age and temper. She subsequently made clear her intention to vote for Barack Obama,
and urged other young people to vote. Panettiere also appeared in a public service
announcement with DC Shadow Senator Paul Strauss endorsing voting rights for the District of
Columbia. She is also a teen ambassador for the Candie's Foundation, whose mission is
to prevent teen pregnancy. On May 6, 2009, she participated in a town hall meeting in
New York City alongside Bristol Palin and Major League Baseball pitcher Matt Garza on
the issue of teen pregnancy. On December 6, 2013, Panettiere and her fiancé
Wladimir Klitschko visited the Euromaidan-protests in Kiev. Wladimir's brother Vitali is one
of the leading figures of these protests. She and her fiancé addressed the crowds.
Filmography Television
Film Video games
Discography Singles
Other charted songs ADid not enter the Hot 100 but charted on
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. Music videos
Soundtracks and compilations Awards and nominations
References
External links Hayden Panettiere at the Internet Movie Database
Hayden Panettiere at People.com