Heroes and Nashville actress Hayden Panettiere dies aged 36

American actress Hayden Panettiere, known for roles in Heroes and Nashville, has died aged 36.

Her representative confirmed the sad news to US network ABC News on Sunday.

A statement from her father Skip said: “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 father also asked that her family be given privacy as they “take time to process this unimaginable loss”.

The actress has died at the age of 36. Picture: Amy Sussman/Getty Images

No cause of death has been announced.

The 36-year-old began acting as a child, appearing in soap operas like Guiding Light and going on to gain wider recognition for her role in the 2000 sports drama Remember The Titans alongside Denzel Washington.

She also voiced the character of Dot in 1998’s A Bug’s Life.

She starred as cheerleader Claire Bennet in the superhero drama Heroes before going on to star as up-and-coming country singer Juliette Barnes for six seasons on the hit TV series Nashville.

Her film credits include 2006’s Bring It On: All Or Nothing, comedy-drama film Raising Helen, and appearances in Scream 4 and Scream VI as Kirby Reed.

Following her rapid rise to fame, the pressure of the industry began to weigh on Panettiere – with the actress previously revealing that she had struggled with addiction throughout her 20s.

In a memoir published earlier this year, titled This Is Me: A Reckoning, Panettiere opened up about her struggles with mental health, the loss of her younger brother, Jansen, and her decision to give full custody of her daughter Kaya to her former partner, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

Appearing on Jay Shetty's podcast in May this year, she said: “The idea that anyone would think that I would just give away my child and be okay with it is heartbreaking and couldn’t be further from the truth."

Panettiere said her daughter had lived with her father full-time from a young age amid the actress’s struggles with addiction and mental health.

She said: “I was struggling with mental health and anxiety and the postpartum and having to act my way through it and just feeling like I completely lost myself.”