8 Roles That Defined Hayden Panettiere’s Career, From ‘Remember the Titans’ to ‘Nashville’

Giovana GelhorenTue, August 18, 2026 at 12:30 PM UTC

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Hayden PanettiereCredit: Getty ImagesTHE GIST -

Hayden Panettiere died at just 36 years old on August 16, 2026.

She had been a working actress in Hollywood since just 11 months old, starring first in commercials and long-running soap operas.

Some of her most memorable roles include Ice Princess, Heroes and Nashville.

Beloved actress Hayden Panettiere died on August 16, 2026, but her legacy will live on through her movies and TV shows.

Panettiere started acting at just 11 months old when she was cast in a number of commercials. By age 4, she was cast in her first TV role in the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. She then appeared in CBS’ Guiding Light in 1996, and later returned to the show from 1997 to 2000.

In 1996, she starred in her first movie at just 9 years old in Pixar’s A Bug’s Life, and was soon cast in one of her most memorable roles, in the biographical film Remember the Titans in 2000. She then went on to star in many TV projects and films, including Ally McBeal, Malcolm in the Middle, Tiger Cruise, Ice Princess and Bring It On: All or Nothing. She is perhaps best known for her work in Heroes, where she played a high school cheerleader with self-healing powers from 2006 to 2010. Her last project was the 2026 movie Sleepwalker.

Below, scroll through Hayden Panettiere’s most memorable roles in TV and film.

Hayden Panettiere at the amfAR Gala Los Angeles on November 3, 2022.Credit: Getty Images

01 of 08

Sheryl Yoast in ‘Remember the Titans’

Panettiere’s first big movie role was in 2000’s Remember the Titans. The film told the true story of the T.C. Williams High School football team in Alexandria, Virginia, when they won the 1971 season entirely undefeated. In it, Panettiere played Sheryl Yoast, the young daughter of assistant coach Bill Yoast, played by Bill Paxton.

“This movie was my favorite movie to film, what an incredible time in my life,” she told Entertainment Tonight in 2023. “I mean, I was 10 years old...I was surrounded by the cutest boys. Kate Bosworth was like my big sister, was close to everyone.”

02 of 08

Gen Harwood in ‘Ice Princess’

Trevor Blumas, Michelle Trachtenberg, Joan Cusack, and Hayden Panettiere.Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

In 2005, Panettiere starred in Ice Princess, a Disney comedy-drama movie about a brainy high school student named Casey who pursues her dream of becoming a competitive figure skater. The lead was played by Michelle Trachtenberg, who passed away in February 2025, while Panettiere played Gen, the daughter of Casey’s skating coach (played by Kim Cattrall).

“I had just come off Racing Stripes and​ ice skating sounded like a blast to me,” Panettiere told Live About on why she took on the role. “It sounded like something new and exciting and fun,” she continued. “I’m very much an athlete. I’m a big jock and I love sports, and so, to be able to put another sport underneath my belt and to learn something new was amazing.”

03 of 08

Britney Allen in ‘Bring It On: All or Nothing’

A year later, Panettiere starred in one of her most beloved roles in Bring It On: All or Nothing. In the movie, she played cheerleader Britney Allen, who transfers to a new high school and faces her longtime cheer rival.

“It’s a two-way street with Hayden; she’s such a pro,” director Steve Rush said in an archival interview. “She’s been in so many movies and television films. She had all of the mechanics down.”

04 of 08

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Claire Bennet in ‘Heroes’

Hayden PanettiereCredit: Dean Hendler/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

In 2006, Panettiere took on another physical challenge when she starred as Claire Bennet in Heroes. She played a cheerleader with the superpower of rapid cellular regeneration, allowing her to heal from any injury instantly.

“My character deals with a lot of stunt work, which I love, because I like really hands-on things,” she told Superhero Hype. “I was absolutely thrilled when I heard that my character was going to be really involved in stunt work and fire. She’s constantly getting broken into pieces and constantly getting killed in very interesting, unique ways, and what’s more fun than that?”

05 of 08

Beth Cooper in ‘I Love You, Beth Cooper’

Hayden PanettiereCredit: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com

Panettiere reached leading lady status in 2009 in the comedy movie I Love You, Beth Cooper. The movie follows a nerdy teenager called Denis Cooverman (Paul Rust) as he declares his secret crush on Beth Cooper (Panettiere) during his graduation speech. What then follows is Beth promising the summer of his life as the two get to know one another.

06 of 08

Juliette Barnes in ‘Nashville’

Hayden PanettiereCredit: Katherine Bomboy-Thornton/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

From 2012 to 2018, Panettiere starred as Juliette Barnes in ABC’s Nashville. Her character started as a rising country singer before going on a tumultuous journey, including suffering from postpartum depression after welcoming her first baby. At the time, Panettiere was candid about suffering through postpartum depression herself after welcoming her daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, in 2014.

“My character was going through a lot of tough stuff that I could relate to in my own life, so acting it out onscreen had its moments,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “It hit home.”

07 of 08

Kirby Reed in ‘Scream 4’ and ‘Scream VI’

Hayden PanettiereCredit: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

When Panettiere first joined the Scream franchise in Scream 4 in 2011, she became an instant fan favorite as Kirby Reed. And, after over a decade away, she returned to the role in 2023’s Scream VI.

“It felt like coming home,” she told Entertainment Tonight. “My heart was full.” Her return in 2023 came after a five-year break from acting. “I took time off and I didn’t know what I was going to come back doing, and what the first project was gonna be, and then this came along and I was like ‘Absolutely,’” she said, noting that the shoot felt like a “family experience.”

08 of 08

Hope in ‘Sleepwalker’

Panettiere’s final role was of Hope in the 2026 psychological thriller Sleepwalker. The movie follows a mother as she experiences frightening visions and struggles to differentiate between reality and her own mind in the wake of her daughter’s death. She also acted as an executive producer.

“I’m really drawn to characters that have been through trauma,” she told Moviefone. “It’s something that I relate to, I think a lot of people relate to, and just characters that give me something to really sink my teeth into as an actor.”

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