Hayden Panettiere had been planning to spend her 37th birthday week with her daughter Kaya in Germany before her death on Sunday.
“She was planning on spending the week of her birthday visiting her daughter in Germany,” a source close to the “Nashville” alum, 36, said exclusively. The insider added that Panettiere “was so excited to see her and was telling everyone how much she was looking forward to spending time with her.” The actress would have turned 37 on Aug. 21.
Panettiere’s hairstylist and close friend Erick Orellana, who worked with her for three years, confirmed to Page Six earlier this week that she had spoken excitedly about wanting to take a vacation and visit her daughter. “I last saw her a few months ago,” Orellana said. “She was talking about how she wanted to take a vacation, and that she wanted to go and see her daughter. Her daughter was always her absolute priority. She loved her so much.”
Orellana added that Panettiere frequently showed him photos of Kaya and shared stories about her. “Her daughter was the absolute light of her life,” he continued. “She lit up when she spoke about her. Everything she did revolved around her.”
Kaya, 11, has lived primarily with her father, former heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, since 2018, when Panettiere gave up custody amid her battle with postpartum depression and addiction. The “Scream 4” star and Klitschko, whom she dated from 2009 to 2018, had maintained an amicable coparenting relationship in the years since.
In her May 2026 memoir “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” Panettiere wrote starkly about the custody decision. “I remember every second of that day. Every f—ing second,” she shared. “No mother could forget a single thing about the day she signed her child away.” She explained that while she had the financial means to fight, she believed doing so while in recovery would have destroyed her, and that “Kaya needed to feel at rest, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.”
Despite the distance, Panettiere emphasized that her bond with Kaya remained strong. In a May 2026 appearance on Jay Shetty’s “On Purpose” podcast, she pushed back against the idea that she had simply “given away” her child. “I mean, the idea that anybody would think that I would just give away my child and be okay with it is heartbreaking. Couldn’t be farther from the truth,” she said. She added that she and Kaya “talk about really deep things” and described their connection as “a really intense, incredible bond.”
In the viral moment that defined her final years, Panettiere died Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina, where police and emergency personnel responded shortly before 2 p.m. To a report of an unresponsive woman. She was pronounced dead at the scene after attempts to provide medical assistance. Authorities said Monday that her death remains under investigation by the Greenville Police Department and Greenville County Coroner’s Office, with a preliminary investigation finding no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances. An autopsy showed no “signs of trauma,” though a cause of death has not been officially determined.
Klitschko, 49, broke his silence on the death with a tribute posted to social media. “Our family is going through a time of profound shock and grief,” he wrote. “The announcement of Hayden’s tragic death saddens me deeply. She left this world far too soon. Hayden was, although no longer my partner, an important part of my life.” He concluded, “To our daughter Kaya, we will forever cherish the memories of her mother.”
Panettiere’s father, Skip Panettiere, announced her death in a statement to People. “It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden,” he said. “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 the family processes the “unimaginable loss.”
Panettiere is survived by Kaya and her parents.