Hayden Panettiere taught us that speaking your truth can be healing, and that is her greatest legacy

As I woke this morning to the news that Hayden Panettiere has passed away aged just 36, I felt an enormous sadness. Losing someone you loved watching, especially of your own generation, is always a shock. But I felt like Panettiere was just at the beginning of a new chapter, one of inspiring people to feel no shame in telling their stories, and I felt sad that it had come to an end.

Panettiere started acting so early on, you’ve likely grown up watching her. From voicing Dot in A Bug’s Life to her long-standing role as Juliette in Nashville, she is one of the most loved pop culture princesses of the 00’s. I love my horror films and the Scream franchise is among my most watched, so my favourite role of hers was as Kirby Reed in Scream 4.

A child star catapulted to the heights of fame from an early age, Panettiere unfortunately felt the wrath of Hollywood like so many others before her. Throughout her life, she experienced many struggles including the sudden loss of her brother Jason, a battle with addiction, and making a difficult decision to have her daughter live with her father so as to focus on her own recovery.

Less than three months ago, Panettiere released her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning. Her publisher, Hachette, describes it as “a rare and intimate glimpse into her life behind closed doors, opening up about postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma, domestic abuse, and loss.”

Her collection of anecdotes left no stone unturned, touching on teenage moments like the time a renowned actor exposed himself to her, and the time she was encouraged to engage sexually with a much more powerful actor whilst quite literally stranded out to sea on a yacht.

We’re so used to seeing well-oiled press junkets today. A celebrity is in a well-lit room, interviewed by someone who had to submit their questions ahead of time, and the interaction is pleasant and light. The video goes viral, the film is promoted, everyone is happy. But Panettiere broke that mould altogether, and simply met people in the middle by having a deeper conversation.

One of the most moving interviews I remember of hers was just recently when she spoke to Jay Shetty. She cried as she spoke about grieving her brother.

“There was nothing in my life that feels like losing my other half, the other half that was born to be the yin to my yang. We were so close. Heartbreaking doesn’t even begin to cover it. I would need a dictionary to go through all the words and all the feelings. When he first died, I just remember screaming ‘I don’t want to live in a world where he doesn’t exist,’ and I’ve unfortunately had to. It makes me so angry to see that there are bad people thriving in this world, and then one so good that’s just taken. Why? It’s not fair. It doesn’t make sense.”

Panettiere also spoke often about her family life. Out of respect for her family I don’t want to touch on their story too much today, but I will say that she encouraged open conversations around her parenting choices while she recovered from her alcohol addiction. Conversations like these are so important. Removing stigma and speaking openly can help everyone involved to have happier and healthier outcomes, and with a platform like hers, I can’t begin to imagine how many families she helped by sharing her journey.

Speaking your truth can be terrifying for all kinds of reasons. I’ve spent my life as a classic people pleaser and am actively trying to unlearn and retrain those behaviours. Even setting a simple boundary can cause me so much guilt that I wonder if it’s even worth the agony. I can’t even fathom the amount of strength it must have taken for Panettiere to share her stories. With the eyes of the world on her, speaking on sensitive topics with such candour and knowing that each admission would have a repercussion, it took enormous courage to use her voice.

Though she’s known for so many beloved films and TV shows, I think Panettiere’s greatest legacy is her truth. Scrolling TikTok for footage of her past interviews this morning, I felt such a sadness. Here we have a person so comfortable to be herself, setting an example that you can rebuild after a hardship. It’s so sad that she had to go, and I’m so glad that she got to tell her story in her own words.

At the time of writing we aren’t sure of the circumstances around her passing, nor do we need to be. I am sending the hugest of well wishes to her family, and I hope that when remembering Panettiere, we always remind ourselves that speaking our truth can be radically freeing and healing.