Hayden Panettiere’s cause of death confirmed by coroner

Actress Hayden Panettiere died from toxic effects of fentanyl and other substances, and the manner of death has been ruled an accident, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office in South Carolina said Tuesday.

Panettiere, who starred in the TV shows Heroes and Nashville, was pronounced dead at a Greenville apartment on August 16. Medics responding to a 911 call found the 36-year-old in cardiac arrest and were unable to resuscitate her.

The actress had spoken publicly about her battles with mental health and substance abuse. Postpartum depression and addiction plagued her young adult years and temporarily halted the career that began when she was less than a year old.

But this year, Panettiere addressed her struggles in a memoir and spoke publicly about losing her brother. And her career was making a comeback, with her latest film released in January.

So when the 36-year-old was pronounced dead in the South Carolina apartment building, shock and grief stretched from Hollywood to Ukraine. Panettiere’s ex-partner, former Olympic and world boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, paid tribute to Panettiere and vowed to make sure their daughter Kaya would always remember her mother.

Panettiere, a California resident, “had been temporarily staying” at the apartment in Greenville, the coroner’s office said in August. Authorities did not say whose apartment it was.

Her on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach called 911 the afternoon of August 16 to say Panettiere was unresponsive, according to a Greenville police incident report. The brothers were questioned separately at the scene, and Brian Hickerson gave an officer a bag of Panettiere’s medications, the report said.

The Hickersons have roots in Greenville, where some of their family members live. According to the police report, Brian Hickerson lived in California, and Zach Hickerson lived in Georgia.

Panettiere’s death, along with revelations from her recently released memoir, cast new light on the challenges of growing up in the public spotlight. Her tragic fate has inspired other former child stars to speak out about the pressure and struggles that often accompany fame at an early age.