‘Nashville’ Star Hayden Panettiere Dies at 36

CAITLIN OCHS / REUTERS Actress Hayden Panettiere has died at the age of 36.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.

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 representative said in a statement to ABC News .

TMZ reported that Panettiere died earlier on Sunday, citing sources with direct knowledge.

She and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson flew from Los Angeles to the South on Saturday, the sources said, and his family is aware of the death.

Law enforcement sources confirmed to TMZ that police responded to an incident involving the actress on Sunday.

The publication cited a source close to the actress who said Panettiere had complained of back pain in the last year.

There is currently an open investigation.

More details about her death were not immediately available.

The Daily Beast has reached out to her rep for comment.

While Panettiere was a child star, starring in the soaps One Life to Live and Guiding Light , she later played Claire Bennet on the NBC superhero series Heroes from 2006 to 2010, then played Juliette Barnes in the musical drama Nashville.

She earned two Golden Globe nominations for the role.

Panettiere’s death comes three months after she released a memoir on May 19 titled This Is Me: A Reckoning .

The book covered her life as a former child star and growing up in the spotlight, as well as touching on her postpartum depression and struggles with substance abuse.