Remembering Hayden Panettiere: From Remember the Titans to Nashville

Some celebrity news makes you stop scrolling, and this was one of those stories for me.

Hayden Panettiere passed away Sunday at just 36 years old. At this time, a cause of death has not been announced, and authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding her death.

And this one hurts a little.

Maybe because if you grew up in the '90s and 2000s, it feels like Hayden was always somewhere on our screens.

You knew her as Sheryl Yoast in Remember the Titans. You watched her become Claire Bennet in Heroes. You loved Kirby in Scream 4.

And then there was Nashville. If you watched that show, you know exactly what I mean when I say we ROOTED for Juliette Barnes. She could make the worst decision imaginable and somehow you'd still be sitting there thinking, "Okay, but maybe she'll figure it out this time."

Hayden made you care about her.

I think that's also why so many people felt connected to Hayden herself. Over the years, she was incredibly open about difficult chapters of her life and the struggles she had faced. She didn't always give us the perfectly polished celebrity version of herself. She let people see the human one.

And I always appreciated that about her.

Earlier this year, Hayden released her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, sharing even more of her story in her own words.

So maybe one way we can honor her now is pretty simple: go buy her book. Read her story. Hear it from her. And if purchasing it can help support the daughter she leaves behind in some way, even better.

Because behind all of the characters we knew was a real person with a story she was brave enough to tell.

Hayden leaves behind her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya.

Her family remembered her as "an incredible light and a force of nature" who brought love and joy to those who knew her and the millions who watched her onscreen.

We spent years rooting for the characters Hayden Panettiere played.

Somewhere along the way, I think a lot of us started rooting for her, too.

So go back and watch Remember the Titans. Rewatch Nashville. Put on Scream 4.

And maybe pick up This Is Me: A Reckoning and let Hayden tell you her story one more time. ❤️

❤️ Emyle