Hayden Panettiere is set to be remembered at a celebration of life this weekend, about a month after the actress’ unexpected death at age 36.
The Heroes star and mother of one died in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16, only days before her 37th birthday. Reports have alleged that she took oxycodone that had been contaminated with fentanyl.
Family members, longtime friends and former colleagues are expected to gather Saturday at a Malibu, California, church for a private memorial honoring Panettiere. Approximately 150 people are reportedly due to attend, according to TMZ.
Her father, Skip Panettiere, is expected to be present, along with a number of celebrity guests.
The publication reported that Panettiere’s estranged mother, Lesley Vogel, was not included on the guest list.
Her former partner Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach, who were reportedly at the scene when Panettiere was pronounced dead, are also said to have been excluded from the memorial.
Malibu’s coastal location was reportedly selected as a tribute to Panettiere’s environmental work, particularly her advocacy for ocean conservation. In 2007, she joined a protest in Taiji, Japan, opposing the town’s annual dolphin hunt.
Sources said the gathering is intended to celebrate “Hayden’s legacy” rather than center on the personal struggles she faced.
Hayden Panettiere will be remembered at a celebration of life this weekend, one month after her sudden death at 36. The actress is pictured in May 2026.
Panettiere is pictured with her on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson in Los Angeles in December 2018.
The Heroes actress and mother of one died in Greenville, South Carolina, on August 16, days before turning 37. Reports have alleged that she took oxycodone laced with fentanyl. Pictured in 2014.
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The memorial plans come days after reports claimed Panettiere took a pill allegedly containing fentanyl on the day she died, according to TMZ.
Fentanyl is an extremely powerful opioid—around 50 times stronger than heroin—and even a very small amount can result in a fatal overdose.
According to the outlet, the mother of one had obtained several prescription drugs on the black market, including oxycodone, from a longtime dealer in Los Angeles.
Panettiere and Hickerson, a real estate agent with whom she had an on-and-off relationship, reportedly traveled from Los Angeles to his home state of South Carolina one day before her death.
TMZ reported that Panettiere brought several drugs purchased in Los Angeles on the flight. Authorities are said to believe that the pill she took on the morning of her death may have been contaminated with fentanyl.
After finding Panettiere unresponsive, Hickerson reportedly administered Narcan, a medication designed to rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
Authorities are reportedly working to determine the source of the pill and trace it to the person who allegedly sold it to Panettiere.
The publication reported that Panettiere’s estranged mother, Lesley Vogel, was not invited to the memorial.
The ocean setting of Malibu was chosen due to Panettiere’s ocean conservation activism, including her 2007 protest in Taiji, Japan against the town’s annual dolphin hunt
Panettiere is survived by daughter Kaya, now 11. When Kaya was three, she signed full custody to her ex Wladimir Klitschko amid her battle with postpartum depression and addiction
At this time, no one has been arrested in connection with Panettiere’s death. The official toxicology report has also yet to be released.
Hickerson reportedly met with investigators from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last week as they continued their probe into her death.
The DEA’s involvement aligns with paramedics reporting a suspected overdose over dispatch calls after they responded to the scene.
First responders located Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose, inside the apartment where Panettiere was found dead.
The actress’s death came after a long struggle with alcohol and opiates, which saw her spend eight months in rehab in 2020 after contracting jaundice. She wrote in her memoir that a doctor told her she would be ‘dead within five years’ if she didn’t stop drinking.
Hickerson was at the scene along with his brother Zachary when she was pronounced dead, according to a police report.
The Hollywood star, known for her role in the NBC series Heroes, leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter
Zachary was arrested at the weekend for disorderly conduct over a bar fight after he and his brother were reportedly heckled over Panettiere’s death. He was released on bond on Sunday.
Over the course of their turbulent relationship, Panettiere’s boyfriend Hickerson faced multiple domestic violence charges, and in 2021 he served 13 days in custody for injuring her.
After she was declared dead, he is said to have handed the authorities a ‘bag of medication’ she had been taking, per the police report.
Detectives confirmed to Our News Outlet that they responded to an apartment block in Greenville after they received a 911 call from an ‘acquaintance’ of Panettiere, describing her as ‘unresponsive.’
In the dispatch audio of the call made at 1.51pm, a female dispatcher described Panettiere as suffering a ‘cardiac arrest.’ A few moments later, a male dispatcher could be heard saying that she had suffered a suspected overdose.
Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said that the actress’s autopsy had been completed and that no signs of trauma were found on the star’s body.
The former child star was known for her role as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the hit NBC series Heroes and Juliette Barnes in Nashville.
Her appearance in the musical drama saw her receive two nominations for best supporting actress at the 2013 and 2014 Golden Globes.
The actress’s younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, died in February 2023 from ‘an enlarged heart’
Panettiere also appeared in the Scream franchise as Kirby Reed, and lent her voice to the video games Until Dawn and Kingdom Hearts.
Her brother Jansen died in February 2023 from ‘an enlarged heart’ at the age of 28.
Panettiere said that she felt like she ‘lost half of her soul’ following his death, and revealed that the stress of his loss resulted in her body ‘ballooning out,’ which left her in a ‘really bad’ and ‘destructive’ place.
It comes just months after her memoir, This is Me: A Reckoning, became a New York Times bestseller. In the book, Panettiere described how she contended with fame and handled the difficulties in her life.
She had suffered from drug addiction, beginning when she was just 15 years old. At the time, she claimed she started taking ‘happy pills’ in an effort to make her seem more ‘peppy’ during interviews.
Her addiction then became worse while she was battling postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter Kaya in 2014.
