Actress Hayden Panettiere's younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, died unexpectedly of a heart condition at 28 three years before her tragic death. Hayden spoke out about it in a 2024 interview with People.
“When something that massive has happened to you, you really learn to pick your fights and just not let the little things upset you,” she told People in 2024 about the death. “Because once something so horrific, so deep, so catastrophic happens in your life, there’s not much that can really rock you.”
How did Jansen Panettiere die?
Also a child actor like his sister, Jansen died in February 2023 from aortic valve complications and an undiagnosed enlarged heart. Hayden told People that after losing her only sibling, she gained 40 pounds from the stress.
“It didn’t matter what I did, what I ate. I know stress and cortisol running through your body can do that,” she said. “Now I think my body was protecting itself, shielding itself from the world.”
She added, “When I lost him, I felt like I lost half of my soul… I will always be heartbroken about [him], I will never be able to get over it. No matter how many years go by, I will never get over his loss.”
Jansen was known for his roles in films The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry, The Perfect Game, The Martial Arts Kid, and How High 2. He provided the voice roles of Periwinkle in the sixth and final season of the Nick Jr. children's live-action/animated TV series Blue's Clues, young Stripes in Racing Stripes, young Rodney Copperbottom in Robots, Truman X in the Nickelodeon animated TV series The X's, and Shovelmouth Boy in Ice Age: The Meltdown.
Hayden paid tribute to her late brother on the two-year anniversary of his death.
“2 years ago today, I lost my little brother,” she captioned a February 2025 Instagram post. “This amazing human being touched the lives of so many. Especially mine. The pain isn’t quantifiable. I pray you’re in a beautiful place J. That you’re at peace and that when all is said and done…I’ll see you again. Rest easy brother. You are so missed and beyond loved.
Later that year, on what would have been Jansen’s 31st birthday, she shared a childhood photo of the two of them.
“My little brother Jansen would’ve turned 31 today. He was a remarkable human being. He was wise beyond his years and operated at a higher spiritual level than anyone I’ve ever met. He was everything that is good and pure in this world,” she wrote. “I miss him every single day but I know his spirit is always near, watching over and protecting me and my family. I love you to infinity and beyond J and we will be together again one day.”
Hayden has died at the age of 36, her representative confirmed to ABC News.
"It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. 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," her rep said in a statement.
Any other details surrounding Hayden's death were not immediately available.