Hayden Panettiere
Personal details
  • Born:
    • Birthday: 1989-08-21
    • Born Place: Palisades, New York, USA

Hayden Panettiere

Hayden Panettiere is a celebrated American actress, singer, and producer who has been a mainstay in the entertainment industry for over three decades. Born on August 21, 1989, in Palisades, New York, she began her career as a child actor in soap operas such as One Life to Live and Guiding Light before achieving global superstardom as the "indestructible" cheerleader Claire Bennet in the NBC sci-fi series Heroes (2006–2010). She further cemented her status as a dramatic powerhouse with her two-time Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of troubled country star Juliette Barnes in the musical drama Nashville (2012–2018). Beyond television, she is a fan favorite in the horror genre for her role as Kirby Reed in the Scream franchise and is well-known to gamers as the original voice of Kairi in the Kingdom Hearts series. In early 2026, Panettiere took on one of her most intense and "emotionally charged" roles to date as Sarah Pangborn in the psychological thriller Sleepwalker, a project she also produced. In the film, she portrays a grieving artist who moves back to her childhood home in Rhode Island following a tragic car accident that killed her daughter and left her abusive husband in a coma. Her performance centers on Sarah’s harrowing descent into a waking nightmare, as she suffers from a hereditary sleepwalking disorder that causes her to lose time and experience violent, surreal visions. Critics have lauded her ability to "anchor" the film's complex narrative, which requires her to navigate a thin line between a victim of trauma and a potential threat to her surviving son. This role marks a significant chapter in her 2026 career, showcasing her continued evolution as a versatile lead actress and producer while she also prepares for her highly anticipated return to the slasher genre in Scream 7.

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