Hayden Panettiere’s mother wants her daughter’s talent, personality and spirit to define her legacy following the actress’s death at 36.
“I want Hayden to be remembered for the talented, you know, beautiful, outgoing, intelligent woman she really was,” Lesley Vogel told ABC News.
Panettiere died Aug. 16 after being found unresponsive and in cardiac arrest at a Greenville, S.C., residence. Emergency responders attempted to resuscitate the “Nashville” and “Heroes” actress, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her cause and manner of death have not yet been determined, with the coroner’s office saying both remain pending further investigation and additional studies. Greenville police are investigating, and the Drug Enforcement Administration is assisting, according to sources familiar with the case.
Vogel’s words arrive after a complicated period between mother and daughter became public earlier this year.
Panettiere told ABC News in May that their relationship had been “tough” and said she had spent years hoping they could eventually build “a healthy mother-daughter relationship.”
“It’s obvious that that’s just not going to be the case,” Panettiere said at the time.
Vogel later told Page Six she had gone “the no-contact route” after receiving “the advice of professionals.”
you know what's really sad? Hayden always wanted her mom to actually be her mother instead of her manager, but her narcissistic ass looked her daughter in the face and said, “you owe me.” they never spoke again. This world was so cruel to you, H
— y2k (@y2kpopart) August 17, 2026
R.I.P. Hayden Panettiere pic.twitter.com/aqME7n4d8k
According to a police report, Panettiere was with on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson, at the time of her death. The report said investigators did not yet know whether drugs or alcohol had been involved.
