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"I know it sounds absurd, but at 11-months-old, I did my first commercial." Hayden Panettiere has been in the industry for an incredibly long time, especially when you consider that she is just entering the prime of her life. Panettiere rose to fame as a child star in projects like Heroes and One Life to Live. Despite her early entrance into the industry, Panettiere continues to push herself as a performer.

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While Panettiere is known as much for her pop-culture following off of the camera, Panettiere has continued to work as both a television and film performer. Panettiere has been nominated for multiple Golden Globes during her career while extending her talents away from the sole purview of acting. As a talented singer, voice-over, and actress, Panettiere has enjoyed quite the rise to the top of Hollywood's in-crowd!

Raised By Hollywood

Hayden Panettiere was born on August 21st, 1989, in Palisades, New York. Her parents are Lesley R. Vogel and Alan Lee Skip Panettiere. Lesley had worked as a soap opera actress during the height of her career while her father worked as a fire captain. Panettiere has one brother, Jansen Panettiere. Panettiere has an interesting family background with ancestry trailing back to Germany, England, and Italy.

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While Panettiere was born in New York, she spent much of her time traveling around the country while working on various projects as a child star. Panettiere attended South Orangetown Middle School in New York before she was pulled into the homeschool system. Panettiere also had help from private tutors in order to complete high school on time while retaining her acting commitments. 

Raising the Bar as a Child Star

Hayden Panettiere didn't take long to get into the acting industry. In fact, Panettiere would make her performing debut at the absurd age of eleven months old. Panettiere would land in an advertisement for a toy train made by the company, Playskool. Only a few short years after that, Panettiere would land a role on One Life to Live (1994), a famous soap opera. Panettiere would play the role of Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live for a total of 25 episodes.

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Growing up on television helped Panettiere to acclimate to Hollywood far quicker than some of her competition. Panettiere would use her success in order to maneuver directly into a string of higher-profile roles. Panettiere would score a leading role in the TV series Guiding Light (1998) at just 12-years-old. Panettiere would perform on the show for two years before making her transition to major motion pictures.

In 2000, Panettiere would gain national acclaim for her role as Sheryl Yoast in Remember the Titans. The film starred Denzel Washington and Will Patton as two high school coaches coming together to work on the first racially integrated team in their region. The film would become a cult classic in the sports world and Panettiere's performance would be widely heralded.

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After finding success in the movies, Panettiere would once again find herself in regular television work. Panettiere would land a starring role on Ally McBeal (2002) as Maddie Harrington. During this time period, Panettiere would also become the voice of Kairi in the hit video game, Kingdom Hearts. Panettiere would continue her television stardom by landing a leading role in the hit series, Heroes (2006). Heroes was one of the first mainstream superhero success of the last two decades. Her work as Claire Bennet would garner positive reviews, and she has since become a regular guest at comic conventions throughout the world, including Gen Con, New York Comic Con, and Fan Expo Canada.

Following the end of Heroes in 2010, Panettiere would stay busy with several major performances. Panettiere would land a leading role in Scream 4 (2011) before becoming the voice of Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil (2011). Panettiere would then land a starring role in the country music-themed television show, Nashville (2012) alongside Connie Britton.  The series would become a smash hit as it ran for six seasons. Panettiere would garner broad critical acclaim for her work as she was nominated for a pair of Golden Globes.

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Outside of Hollywood, Panettiere would continue to grow into a multi-talented star thanks to her singing ability. Panettiere would be nominated for a Grammy Award thanks to her singing in A Bug's Life back in 1999. Panettiere would also record songs for films like Tiger Cruise, The Dust Factory, and Ice Princess. Panettiere has collaborated frequently with Disney on several soundtracks. Panettiere first non-film related musical release came in 2008 when Wake up Call was released. Panettiere has also released several songs as part of her work on Nashville.

In her personal life, Panettiere has been linked twice to famous boxer Wladimir Klitschko. The two began dating in 2009 until splitting up temporarily in 2011. After a two-year break, Klitschko and Panettiere would get together once again from 2011 to 2018. Panettiere has one child with Klitschko, and she famously went public with her postpartum depression in an effort to take away some of the stigma related to the disorder.