It was my job to protect him. Three years before he died, Hayden Panettiere lost his younger brother, Jansen.

Hayden Panettiere, the American actress best known for her role in the television series Heroes, died on Monday at the age of 36. Her death comes three years after she lost her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, who was also an actor. Jansen passed away in 2023 due to complications related to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and aortic valve disease. His death left a profound impact on Hayden, who described feeling as though she had lost half of her soul. Hayden’s father, Skip Panettiere, confirmed her passing through a statement to CBS News. He called her “an incredible light and a force of nature” whose love and joy touched everyone who knew her and the millions who watched her on screen. The cause of her death has not yet been disclosed. The Panettiere siblings rose to fame together in their early years. Jansen began his acting career in 2002 at the age of eight with a role in The War of the Roses. Over the following decades, he appeared in several Disney and Nickelodeon productions alongside his sister, including A Father's Day and The Last Summer. In 2012, he co-starred with Hayden in The Forger. Later, he produced and starred in Five Minutes with Mary, a short film about the November 13, 2015, Paris attacks. He also appeared in an episode of The Walking Dead in 2019 and in the telefilm How High 2, which marked his final project before his death. Hayden spoke publicly about the emotional toll of losing her brother. More than a year after his death, she shared her feelings with People magazine. She said, “It was my job to protect him. When I lost him, I felt like I had lost half of my soul.” She described being deeply affected by the loss, even to the point of experiencing a resurgence of her agoraphobia, a condition she had previously struggled with. This led her to isolate herself at home for extended periods, which had physical consequences. She explained that she gained weight rapidly due to stress and elevated cortisol levels. “I just ballooned,” she said. “I didn’t dare dress or go outside, but I knew I had to get out and keep moving, or I would always feel and look like this.” She described the situation as a destructive cycle: “Was I well enough to go out?” Despite these challenges, she tried to adapt to life after such a profound loss. In September 2024, she told reporters that after experiencing such a major event, one learns to choose battles and not let small things disturb them. She added that nothing could shake someone after going through such a tragedy. However, she admitted that she would always carry the pain of her brother’s death. “I will always have a broken heart,” she said. “I will never recover from it.” Hayden had long battled substance abuse, alcoholism, and depression. It remains unclear whether she ever fully recovered from the grief of losing her brother. Her struggles were compounded by the pressure of maintaining a public persona while dealing with personal trauma. Her family and fans expressed deep sorrow over her passing, remembering her as a talented performer and a devoted sibling. Her legacy includes her work in Heroes, where she played the character Claire Bennet, and other notable roles in films and television. Fans and colleagues remembered her for her dedication to her craft and her resilience in the face of adversity. The entertainment industry mourns the loss of a gifted artist whose journey was marked by both triumph and tragedy.