Hayden Panettiere remembered as ‘amazing talent’ following death aged 36

Tributes are pouring in for US actor Hayden Panettiere , best known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville , who has died aged 36.

A representative for the actress confirmed the death to US network ABC on Sunday, saying her family would remember her “incredible light” who brought “immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her”.

The statement from her father Skip read: “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.

Hayden Panettiere arriving for the 2011 MTV Europe Music Awards at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast (Niall Carson/PA) “She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen.”

Her father also asked that her family be given privacy as they “take time to process this unimaginable loss”.

The 36-year-old began acting as a child, appearing in soap operas before gaining wider recognition for her role in the 2000 sports drama Remember The Titans alongside Denzel Washington, and as the voice of Dot in Pixar’s 1998 film A Bug’s Life.

Panettiere later found fame playing cheerleader Claire Bennet in the superhero drama Heroes before going on to star as up-and-coming country singer Juliette Barnes for six seasons on the hit TV series Nashville.

Her performances in Nashville earned her two Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress, while her singing on the show produced 11 entries on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.

Panettiere recalled the horror of losing a significant amount of blood after Kaya’s birth, requiring seven transfusions and three hours of surgery.

She said she felt “empty” after the birth, despite desperately wanting to feel the “love” every mother talks about having for their child.

The child star turned to alcohol to help contain her emotions and later went to rehab.

Panettiere and Klitschko broke up due to her struggles with her mental health and the long-distance nature of their relationship, with her in LA and him in Ukraine. He sued her for full custody of Kaya when she was three.

Discussing handing over full custody, she said: "It wasn't a decision I made lightly, nor was it a decision I even wanted to make.

"I was going through a really challenging time in my life… I knew I needed to be able to put her first so that I could get the help I needed and be the mom she needed me to be."