US actress Hayden Panettiere - best known for her roles in the TV series Heroes and Nashville - has died aged 36.

"It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden," her father Skip said in a statement to Sky's US partner NBC News.

"She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her - and to the millions who watched her onscreen."

Her father went on to ask for privacy "as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss".

Panettiere had also starred in the Scream franchise of horror movies.

Further details surrounding the circumstances of her death were not immediately available.

Earlier this year, Panettiere had released her memoirs This Is Me: A Reckoning, in which she opened up about her experiences with postpartum depression, addiction and recovery.

This led to her decision to give up custody of her only child Kaya in 2018, who she shares with her former partner Wladimir Klitschko, the Ukrainian professional boxer.

Panettiere first appeared in commercials when she was just 11 months old - and went on to become a child actor with roles in soap operas including One Life To Live and Guiding Light.

Her feature film debut came when she was nine years old, as the narrator and voice of Princess Dot in A Bug's Life.

In 2024, she described pain and grief after her younger brother died unexpectedly of an undiagnosed heart condition the previous year.

"When you lose somebody that you saw in all the important moments in your life, standing right next to you, it just rocks your world," she told NBC's Today show.

(c) Sky News 2026: US actress Hayden Panettiere dies aged 36