Lesley Vogel has broken her silence following the death of her estranged daughter Hayden Panettiere.
Speaking with NBC, Vogel, 64, addressed the circumstances surrounding the 36-year-old actress’s death on Sunday evening, August 16, at a Greenville, South Carolina apartment complex. Panettiere was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead. Vogel confirmed that Brian Hickerson, who had been in an on-and-off relationship with Panettiere, was present when police arrived at the scene.
Vogel described Hickerson as “very emotional” while emergency services worked on her daughter. She did not hold back her assessment of the man who had been involved with Panettiere for years, calling him a “person in her life we have been trying to get rid of.” The mother added that the 36-year-old had “sadly lost her way.”
The relationship between Vogel and Panettiere had been publicly fractured for years. In her memoir “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” released just three months before her death, Panettiere detailed what she described as a damaging upbringing. She wrote that her mother “wasn’t interested in having a normal relationship with me” and accused Vogel of living through her daughter’s fame.
Vogel fired back at those claims in a Page Six exclusive earlier this year, calling her daughter “entitled” and referencing “20 years of trauma” she said the family had endured. The public war of words marked a low point in a relationship that had been strained since Panettiere’s childhood stardom began with soap operas “One Life to Live” and “Guiding Light.”
Panettiere’s father, Skip Panettiere, had issued his own statement on Sunday, saying, “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. 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.” He asked for privacy “as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss.”
The “Nashville” star had been remarkably candid about her personal battles in recent years. In a 2022 “Good Morning America” interview, she addressed her struggles with alcoholism and postpartum depression, stating, “I didn’t know where the alcoholism was ending and the postpartum was beginning. And I ran myself pretty ragged.” She entered rehab in 2015 while filming the country music drama.
On podcaster Jay Shetty’s show after her memoir release, Panettiere discussed the custody arrangement for her 11-year-old daughter Kaya, who lives with ex-fiancé Wladimir Klitschko in Ukraine. “I think there’s been this very common misconception that I just gave up my child,” she said. “That could not be farther from the truth.” She explained that Klitschko had suggested their daughter live with him full-time when the child was 2, as Panettiere struggled with mental health challenges and addiction.
In the viral moment that defined her final years in the public eye, Panettiere had also addressed concerns about her own wellbeing after a 2024 People video interview where viewers noted her slurred speech. She responded on Instagram, writing, “Grief looks different on everyone. Whether or not I am on medication is none of anyone’s business and is between me and my doctor. Mental health is so important, and I hope those reading this now understand that what you say hiding behind a computer screen can have a detrimental impact on someone.”
Her brother Jansen Panettiere, also an actor, died suddenly in February 2023 from cardiomegaly coupled with aortic valve complications at age 28. Hayden said two years after his death, “I will always be heartbroken about it. I will never be able to get over it. No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss.”
Wladimir Klitschko, 48, spoke out on Instagram following news of Panettiere’s death, writing that “nothing will erase the times we shared or the place she had in our lives,” He added, “To our daughter Kaya, I will always speak of her mother with respect and make sure she remembers the person she was.” Police have stated that preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances, and the cause of death remains under investigation.