Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mum addresses her death for first time with message about the industry
Hayden Panettiere's mother, Lesley Vogel, has spoken out after her daughter's sudden death.
The 36-year-old star’s death was confirmed on Sunday (16 August) and fans and her loved ones have been paying tribute.
After starting out as a child star, appearing in movies like Remember the Titans, her breakthrough happened when she got the role as Claire Bennet in the cult series Heroes and Scream.
Vogel served as Panettiere’s manager for most of her childhood career; however, the Heroes star ended their business relationship when she was 19.
Advert
The two became estranged and were still separated as of this year. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a relationship right now,” Panettiere told US Weekly in May. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t leave the door open for the opportunity to present itself one day. It’s hard for me to say, but I’ve chosen to be brutally honest.”
In the wake of her daughter’s death, Vogel shared a tribute to her daughter during an interview with NBC News on Tuesday (18 August).
She praised her daughter and also shed light on the difficulty that comes with growing up in the spotlight.
Vogel shared: “I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments and I think young people who grow up in the entertainment industry — it is a struggle and it’s a very challenging industry and it’s not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path.”
She added: “I think it becomes very difficult to be true to yourself, and I think Hayden sadly lost her way, and I wish it were different. I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes.”
Panettiere’s younger brother Jansen died unexpectedly aged 28 in 2023 due to aortic valve complications related to cardiomegaly.
“I just feel that she’s with her brother and they’re at peace,” Vogel shared.
Panettiere had been candid about her strained relationship with her mother, including in her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning. Vogel also responded to claims in the book following its release.
The former Nashville star appeared on On Purpose with Jay Shetty this year where she reflected on starting her acting career at eight months old and said as she got older, the line between Vogel’s roles as her mum and her manager became blurred.
“Everything was business,” she remarked. “I became the confidant and the assistant and the therapist and the shoulder to cry on and everything but her child.”
Panettiere said that while filming Heroes aged 19, she told her mum that she wanted to end their professional relationship to rebuild their mother-daughter bond. “I said to her, ‘I don’t want us to work together anymore. I just want you to be my mom,’ ” she recalled. Panettiere claimed that Vogel responded, “You owe me.”
“I remember being hopeful.”
Vogel responded and pushed back against her daughter’s claims and released a statement to Page Six in which she said she had chosen to go no-contact after ‘20 years of trauma’.
She said: “As many parents of entertainment children [know], we are all too familiar with the painful observation of watching the self-destructive paths they sometimes choose. No parent hopes for this scenario; we want our children to be the best of themselves and live a peaceful, joyful life!”
“Sadly, this is out of our control,” she added. “You cannot save someone who does not want to be saved.”
Panettiere’s father Skip released a statement to ABC News confirming her death. “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.”
Greg Harris