Parties, Punches and Postpartum: Hayden Panettiere’s Scandalous Life As She Turns 30

Hayden Panettiere has been acting since she was in diapers -- but became a star as an adult blonde bombshell on the TV shows Heroes and Nashville.

But secrets and scandals have plagued the young actress nearly from the start.

Panettiere was born in in Palisades, New York, the daughter of Lesley R. Vogel, a former soap opera actress, and Alan Lee "Skip" Panettiere, a fire captain.

Her first TV appearance came at just eleven months, in a commercial for a Playskool toy train. Later, she landed roles on soaps One Life to Live and Guiding Light. But her life behind the camera turned into the real soap opera that continued through her adult acting success.

She's gone through various romances, a split from her baby daddy, postpartum depression, and alleged abuse at the hands of her latest beau, Brian Hickerson.

Now, as Hayden celebrates turning 30 today, August 21, take a look back at her controversial life in this RadarOnline.com gallery.

When she was a just a young teen, Hayden found herself swept up in the party lifestyle of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. But she was determined not to follow their footsteps.

“I was in the same generation. I was expected to do the exact same thing,” she told Us Weekly in 2016. "I was watched like a hawk to not fall into the same groove, and I fought against that for so long.”

A barely legal Hayden was just 18 when she made headlines dating her Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia, even though at 31 he was more than a decade older.

The two called it quits in 2009, with a source telling RadarOnline.com at the time “she is young. She likes to go out in the Hollywood scene and that’s not his style.”

But days before the split went public, Hayden was spotted spending time and making out  with Jesse McCartney at an L.A. bar.

After leaving Milo, Hayden hooked up with British television presenter Steve Jones before meeting Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

 In 2014, the two welcomed their daughter Kaya. But the birth took its toll on the fragile actress, and less than a year later, she checked into a treatment facility for postpartum depression.

In May, 2016, the Nashville star sought treatment for postpartum depression once again, explaining on Twitter, “The postpartum depression I have been experiencing has impacted every aspect of my life. Rather than stay stuck due to unhealthy coping mechanisms I have chosen to take time to reflect holistically on my health and life. Wish me luck!”

In August 2018, RadarOnline.com broke the news that Hayden and Wladimir had split up. “There are a lot of changes going on in her life. But I think they’re positive changes. And I think that she’s taking some time,” her mother, Lesley Vogel, exclusively told RadarOnline.com at the time. “I think she is in a very good place.”

Those words would come back to haunt her mother, as Hayden moved on with bad boy beau Brian Hickerson.

“You just never know what people want. You don’t know if you can trust anyone,” Vogel admitted to RadarOnline.com. “I don’t trust his intentions. People can use her.”

Her relationship with Brian has been rocky, to say the least. RadarOnline.com readers are well aware that Brian faces felony domestic violence charges after allegedly becoming violent with Hayden.

Now, Hayden is celebrating her birthday by contemplating a life-changing move to New York, and writing a revealing new tell-all memoir.