EXCLUSIVE: Inside Hayden Panettiere's Troubled Final Days Before Sudden Death

Hayden Panettiere had been battling physical pain and the emotional scars of family estrangement in the final months before her sudden death at 36, despite publicly declaring she had finally escaped years of "darkness."

As Radaronline.com reported, Panettiere was found unresponsive Sunday, August 16, at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, after traveling there with former boyfriend Brian Hickerson.

Emergency crews responded shortly before 2pm following a 911 call reporting a suspected overdose and cardiac arrest, but attempts to revive the actress failed.

Authorities said their preliminary investigation found no evidence of foul play, while an autopsy reportedly revealed no traumatic injuries contributing to her death. An official cause has not been announced.

A Hollywood source has now exclusively told Radar: "Hayden wanted people to believe she was entering a completely different chapter, but behind that optimism there were still enormous pressures she had never fully escaped. Work was a particular source of frustration because she desperately wanted another substantial television role and felt the industry had effectively moved on without her."

The insider added: "There were also unresolved family wounds that remained incredibly painful. Losing daily life with her daughter, becoming estranged from her mother, and then losing Jansen left her carrying an extraordinary amount emotionally.

"Promoting her memoir meant repeatedly returning to experiences she had spent years trying to survive, and people close to her worried about what constantly reopening those memories was doing to her."

Only three months earlier, Panettiere had offered a strikingly optimistic assessment of her future during a two-hour interview with podcaster Jay Shetty, while promoting her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.

She said: "I finally feel like I have shaken off all this darkness and this negativity and that means that I've closed one door and another door is open and I can feel it open and I can feel all the exciting possibilities."

She now poignantly added: "I feel like I have a lot more life to live."

Her father, Alan Lee 'Skip' Panettiere, announced her death, describing his daughter as "an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her."

Behind her recent professional success, Panettiere had continued experiencing serious physical problems.

She was photographed using crutches at Los Angeles International Airport in March and said she was suffering from "some pinched nerves in my lower back."

Director Chris Applebaum later encountered her at a party hosted by Paris Hilton, and said her mobility appeared severely restricted.

Panettiere nevertheless wanted to attend and socialize rather than remain isolated at home.

She traced her problems to a 2005 accident while filming Racing Stripes in South Africa, when she was thrown from a zebra.

Panettiere said the accident temporarily left her unable to properly move her feet and fearing permanent paralysis.

Her professional struggles followed years of addiction and mental health difficulties that Panettiere discussed publicly.

An industry source said her difficulties during Nashville damaged her reputation among executives and complicated attempts to secure another major series.

Her final screen appearance was in Sleepwalker, released in January.

Panettiere had also written extensively about surrendering custody of her daughter Kaya, 11, to former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko, 50, describing their separation as "the most gut-wrenching experience of my life."

Another enduring trauma was the 2023 death of her younger brother Jansen Panettiere at 28 from cardiomegaly and aortic valve complications.

Speaking about her inability to save him, Panettiere said: "I should have understood better than anybody what he was going through."

She added: "And of all the people that could have saved him from passing away, it should have been me."