Tributes continue to pour in across Hollywood following the shocking death of Hayden Panettiere at age 36.
Her fellow Kingdom Hearts actor Alyson Stoner took to social media to share an emotional tribute to the late actress, acknowledging what a “tremendous loss” her death is.
Meanwhile, several eyebrow-raising details about Panettiere’s personal life have emerged following her sad passing.
Hayden Panettiere’s former colleague Alyson Stoner took to social media on Monday to share an emotional tribute to the late star following her death on Sunday.
Like Panettiere, Stoner, who uses they/them pronouns, was a former Disney star and voiced Kairi in Kingdom Hearts.
In their post, they appeared visibly broken as they struggled to fight back tears while honoring the late actress’s memory.
“From one Kairi to another… One sky, one destiny,” they wrote in the caption.
“My deepest condolences to Hayden’s family, community, and the many lives Hayden reached. May you rest in freedom, Hayden,” Stoner added. “And sending love to my fellow KH community worldwide who have cherished Hayden’s work as Kairi through the decades.”
Stoner Calls Panettiere’s Death A ‘Tremendous Loss’
In the accompanying tear-filled video, Stoner fought back tears as they reflected on the sad news, saying Panettiere’s death was a “tremendous loss.”
“Hey, this is very raw. It’s very messy; please give me some grace,” they said. “I wanted to acknowledge Hayden’s passing. I’ve worked with Hayden; I’ve worked with Hayden’s brother, Jansen. And from one Kairi to another, I just wanted to acknowledge the tremendous loss, not only for the Kingdom Hearts family but, of course, for all of the close loved ones and millions of lives that Hayden reached.”
They continued, “Sending so much love to Hayden’s family, and I’ll be thinking of Hayden and the legacy that she has left, and sending lots of love to the Kingdom Hearts community too and how we’re sharing in this loss.”
Stoner concluded by asking fans to “take care of yourselves and take care of each other.”
Panettiere famously voiced the iconic character Kairi in the original 2002 Kingdom Hearts and its subsequent main sequels, while Stoner stepped in to voice the character in later installments and played fan-favorite character Xion.
Panettiere’s Autopsy Reveals No Signs Of Trauma
4Panettiere, who rose to prominence as a child actress before starring in hit television series like Heroes and Nashville, was pronounced dead on Sunday, August 16, after being found unresponsive in Greenville, South Carolina.
According to TMZ, an autopsy report by the Greenville County Coroner’s Office revealed that “no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death,” while adding that further investigation would be carried out to determine the cause and manner of death.
Officials received a call from a Greenville residence on Sunday about an “unresponsive female” who had gone into cardiac arrest. They responded promptly and attempted to resuscitate her using “advanced cardiac life support,” but all efforts proved unsuccessful.
Reports suggest officials spoke about an “overdose” and “cardiac arrest” while attending to her, with preliminary findings indicating no initial signs of foul play, per PEOPLE.
“I don’t have any more information at this time, but it’s looking as though that is the case,” a representative for Panettiere told the news outlet.
Hayden Panettiere Opened Up About Her Addiction Struggles
4Panettiere had been open about her decades-long struggles with addiction and substance abuse, which were seemingly compounded by industry pressure, childhood trauma, and severe postpartum depression.
She was just 15 when people started offering her “happy pills,” unaware that they would open the door to her addiction struggles.
“They were to make me peppy during interviews,” she said, per PEOPLE. “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.”
Despite her addiction struggles, her career continued to flourish as she earned a starring role in Heroes at 16, but she eventually became dependent on the drugs.
“My saving grace is that I couldn’t be messy while on set and working,” she said. “But things kept getting out of control [off set]. And as I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without.”
Panettiere Detailed Abusive Relationship With Brian Hickerson
4She had been widely praised in recent months for her candor about her personal journey after releasing her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, earlier this year.
As reported by The Blast, one eyebrow-raising revelation she made in it was about her abusive relationship with on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson, whom she reportedly boarded a flight with the previous day before she was found dead.
The pair first became linked in 2018, before reports of domestic abuse began emerging. He was arrested in February 2020 for reportedly hitting her with a “closed fist on the right side of her face,” and by July of that year, she had secured a restraining order against him.
She detailed several harrowing encounters in her memoir, including one in which he allegedly assaulted her to the point that she sustained injuries to her face and couldn’t go out for weeks to avoid drawing attention to them.