Hayden Panettiere

From December 2007 to February 2009, Panettiere was in a romantic relationship with her co-star from ‘Heroes,’ Milo Ventimiglia.

In 2009, Panettiere met former heavyweight world champion boxer Wladimir Klitschko. The two started dating but after two years they separated. In April 2013, they reconciled and resumed their romantic relationship. By October 2013, they were officially engaged, and in December 2014 welcomed their first child, a daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko.

Panettiere temporarily cut off meat and followed a vegetarian diet while shooting for ‘Heroes’. However, due to lack of energy she resumed eating chicken and fish.

Hayden Panettiere was born on August 21st, 1989 in Palisades, New York to Lesley R. Vogel and Alan Lee Skip Panettiere. While her mother was a former soap opera actress, her father was a fire captain. Panettiere has mixed heritage, with Italian, English and German ancestry. She has a younger brother, Jansen Panettiere.

Panettiere attended South Orangetown Middle School in New York. From Grade 9, she was homeschooled till the completion of her high school education.

Having a mother as an actress, it was only natural for Hayden Panettiere to follow suit. A month before turning one, she appeared in her first TV commercial for Playskool Toy Trains.

Panettiere’s stint in advertisements continued as she featured as an infant and toddler for McDonald’s, Hershey’s and Nix Lice Shampoo. By the age of four, she had become a pro-model for advertising agencies.

The young child’s big break in television came with the role of Sarah Roberts in the ABC soap opera ‘One Life to Live’ in 1994. The series continued for three years till 1997. Meanwhile, in 1996, she took up the role of Lizzie Spaulding on the CBS soap opera ‘Guiding Light’ that aired from 1997 to 2000.

In 1999, Panettiere featured in the television movie ‘If You Believe’ which earned her a nomination at the prestigious Young Artist Awards. Around the same time, her career in films also started.

Panettiere’s first film was ‘The Object of My Affection’ wherein she donned the role of a mermaid. She did small roles in various other films including ‘Message in a Bottle’, ‘Remember the Titans’, ‘Joe Somebody’ and ‘The Affair of the Necklace’.

Hayden Panettiere’s most recognizable work came in 2006 when she was offered the role of Claire Bennet in the NBC series ‘Heroes’. The show had her in a lead role of a cheerleader who had regenerative healing ability. It turned out to be the magnum opus of her career, earning her both critical and commercial acclamation.

Following ‘Heroes’, Panettiere’s second most recognizable work came with ‘Nashville’, a musical drama in which she was cast as Juliette Barnes opposite Connie Britton.