Hayden Panettiere, best known for her roles in 'Heroes' and 'Nashville', dies at 36

Her representative confirmed her death in a statement to ABC News on Sunday, Aug. 16. TMZ was the first to share the news.

"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," her rep said in a statement to ABC News.

USA TODAY has reached out to Panettiere's rep for comment.

A cause of death has not yet been shared.

The actress, who had been acting since she was eight months old, had been vocal in recent years about her troubles with addiction and the effects of childhood stardom.

Panettiere held her own against top stars in her early career, starring opposite Denzel Washington in "Remember the Titans" or Calista Flockhart in "Ally McBeal." Her roles in Disney's "Tiger Cruise" and "Ice Princess" brought her to the masses before her starring role as Claire Bennet on NBC's teen superhero drama "Heroes" and later as a country-pop singer in more than 100 episodes of "Nashville."

In her memoir released earlier this year, "This Is Me: A Reckoning," Panettiere chronicled childhood fame, crossing nefarious actors in her teens and addiction as an adult. In interviews about the memoir, Panettiere reflected that she was "groomed" to be a "little soldier" throughout her early career, which included roles in soap opera "One Life to Live" and the animated "A Bug's Life."

"Grown-ups gave me positive attention when – as an actor – I failed, got sick, screamed and cried, killed, grieved, and suffered. Reality merged with my imagination and burrowed into my core memories, where all my shame and trauma lives," Panettiere wrote in her memoir. "I've often wondered whether – unintentionally – I've brought on my traumas because I'm wired to think they're good for me."

She wrote that her turn as Juliette Barnes on "Nashville" often reflected the real-life confusion she felt.

"Juliette Barnes had postpartum depression, and alcohol and pill problem, and a divorce on the horizon. She was erratic, an absentee mother, and fought with everyone, including her fans. Every time I read the day’' script, it was like I was looking in a funhouse mirror, seeing a distorted reflection of myself. I can't tell you how lost this made me feel," Panettiere writes.

In the throes of postpartum depression after having her daughter, Kaya, Panettiere wrote that she became addicted to alcohol and Klonopin, a central nervous system depressant. At one point, a doctor told her she'd "be dead within five years" if she didn’t stop drinking, she writes.

During this time, Panettiere says the first thing she thought of when she woke up was alcohol: "Not my child, not my job, and not the rest of my life. I needed a drink to function." Then her ex-partner, Ukrainian former professional boxer Wladimir Klitschko, asked for full custody of their daughter. He worried about her being in Panettiere's care.

Her substance abuse is not the only issue the Panettiere family has experienced. Panettiere wrote in her book that her brother, Jansen, was smoking crack and snorting heroin before he died in 2023 at age 28. At the time, the family revealed the cause of death as "sudden passing was due to cardiomegaly [enlarged heart], coupled with aortic valve complications."

This story is developing.