Hayden Panettiere spent the final years of her life carrying the weight of a loss she never quite learned to put down. Now, following her own sudden death at 36, the actress’ deeply personal account of losing her younger brother has taken on an even more heartbreaking meaning.
Hayden Panettiere and her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, grew up in Hollywood and both found their way into acting as children, according to their IMDb profiles.
According to ABC News, his final television role came in 2019, when he appeared as Casper, a member of the Hilltop Colony, on The Walking Dead. Away from acting, his artwork became an important way for him to express himself.
Jansen Panettiere in 2009, years before his sudden death at 28, as the younger brother of Hayden Panettiere was building his own career as an actor while pursuing his passion for art. | Source: Getty Images
The Siblings Who Grew Up in the Spotlight
A few weeks before his death, even shared a playful glimpse of his relationship with his older sister. In January 2023, he posted of Hayden cutting his hair, joking in the caption, “Not the first haircut she’s tried to give me.”
The post would become an unexpectedly poignant glimpse of the siblings together shortly before tragedy struck.
Jansen’s Sudden Death Shocked His Family
Jansen died in February 2023 at just 28 years old, leaving his family struggling to understand a loss that came without warning. In a statement to , the Panettiere family described Jansen as a warm, creative person whose personality lived on through his art and the memories he left behind.
“Jansen’s heart could be seen in his eyes, and his charm in his brilliant, engaging smile; his soul in his masterful and revealing paintings, and the joy of life in his dry wit,” the family said. They added, “His charisma, warmth, compassion for others, and his creative spirit will live forever in our hearts and in the hearts of all whom he encountered.”
The family also revealed what the medical examiner had determined about his death. “Though it offers little solace, the Medical Examiner reported Jansen’s sudden passing was due to cardiomegaly (enlarged heart), coupled with aortic valve complications,” they said.
At the time, the revelation gave the family an official explanation for Jansen’s sudden passing, even if it could not explain away the shock of losing him so young.
Hayden, Jansen and their parents Leslie, and Skip Panettiere arrive at an event in 2007, capturing a rare family moment years before Jansen’s sudden death at 28. His family later remembered his warmth, compassion and creative spirit as qualities that would live on through the memories he left behind. | Source: Getty Images
Hayden Kept Returning to the Brother She Lost
For Hayden, however, Jansen’s death was not something she simply left in the past. Two years after his death, she marked the anniversary with anwriting, “2 years ago today, I lost my little brother. This amazing human being touched the lives of so many. Especially mine.”
She continued:
“The pain isn’t quantifiable. I pray you’re in a beautiful place, J. That you’re at peace and that when all is said and done…I’ll see you again. Rest easy, brother. You are so missed and beyond loved. 💜”
By September 2025, her grief was still unmistakably present. Hayden marked what would have been by describing him as “a remarkable human being” who was “wise beyond his years” and operated at “a higher spiritual level than anyone I’ve ever met.”
She wrote that she missed him every day but believed his spirit remained close to her family. “I love you to infinity and beyond, J, and we will be together again one day,” she wrote.
Then Hayden Revealed Why the Loss Still Haunted Her
The most painful part of Hayden’s story emerged in 2026, as she prepared to release her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning. In an interview with Hayden admitted that writing about Jansen was the hardest part of the book. Her grief, she explained, was complicated by something much heavier than simply missing her younger brother.
Hayden and Jansen Panettiere pose together in 2019, years before his sudden death at 28. The siblings’ close bond would later make Hayden’s grief even more difficult as she revisited his death while writing her memoir. | Source: Getty Images
Hayden said:
