Police launch open investigation behind Hayden Panettiere's death at 36

Police have opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Hayden Panettiere's death after the actress died on Sunday, August 16, aged 36.

According to TMZ, law enforcement sources confirmed that police responded to an incident involving Panettiere on Sunday and that there was an open investigation. Further details surrounding the circumstances of her death were not immediately available.

Panettiere's death was confirmed by her father, Skip Panettiere, in a statement to ABC News.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden," he said. "She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her -- and to the millions who watched her onscreen,” he continued.

Her father also asked for privacy as the family processed the loss.

A source close to Panettiere told TMZ that she had recently been complaining about back pain over the past year.

TMZ also reported that Panettiere and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson flew from Los Angeles to the south on Saturday, August 15. Further details about their travel were not provided.

In recent years, Panettiere also discussed her personal experiences and recovery in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.

She reflected on childhood fame, motherhood, mental health and the death of her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, who died in 2023 aged 28.

Panettiere is survived by her daughter, Kaya, whom she shares with former fiancé Wladimir Klitschko.