Close friend Clayton Johnson has shared the last message he received from the actress as authorities continue investigating her sudden death at 36.
Hayden Panettiere told a close friend she wished for “world peace” in the final text message she sent him before the Heroes and Nashville star’s sudden death at 36.
The actress was found unresponsive at a residence where she was temporarily staying in Greenville, South Carolina, on Sunday, 16 August.
Emergency services were called at 1.51pm and found Hayden in cardiac arrest, with crews performing advanced cardiac life support before she was pronounced dead at 2.32pm.
An autopsy has since found no signs of trauma that contributed to her death, while the Greenville County Coroner’s Office said further studies are required before her cause and manner of death can be determined.
Musician Clayton Johnson has now paid tribute to his friend and disclosed the final message he received from her.
Sharing footage of himself and Hayden singing together, Clayton wrote: “Sweet Hayden.
“I spent last night trying to process, to try to find the right words, but there really aren’t any.
“More than anything, I hope you’re at peace now and reunited with Jansen.
“It’s been a couple of weeks since our last phone call, but the last thing you ever texted me was, ‘Honestly, people think it’s a joke to ask for world peace, but that would be me’.
“That was you in a nutshell. I’m grateful I got to know you, and I’ll always be grateful for the memories. Fly high, Hayden.”
Clayton’s reference to Jansen was to Hayden’s younger brother, actor Jansen Panettiere, who died aged 28 in 2023.
His family later said his sudden death was caused by cardiomegaly – an enlarged heart – coupled with aortic valve complications.
Further details surrounding Hayden’s final hours have emerged as authorities continue investigating her death.
Dispatch audio obtained by media outlets included references to a possible “overdose” as well as cardiac arrest, but officials have not determined that an overdose caused her death.
TMZ reported Narcan, a nasal spray containing the opioid-overdose reversal medication naloxone, was found on a mattress inside the residence.
It remains unclear whether it was administered to Hayden.
The Greenville County Coroner’s Office has said the final determination of her death requires additional testing.
Chief deputy coroner Shelton England told the Daily Mail it was too early to determine whether drugs were involved.
The coroner’s office said: “No signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.”
Hayden had spoken extensively about her previous struggles with alcohol and opioid addiction.
In a 2022 interview with People, she described maintaining her sobriety as an ongoing process.
She said: “It’s an everyday choice, and I’m checking in with myself all the time.”
Hayden added: “But I’m just so grateful to be part of this world again, and I will never take it for granted again.”
Her experiences with addiction, postpartum depression and motherhood were among the subjects Hayden addressed in her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, released in May.
The book also detailed the pain she experienced living apart from her daughter Kaya, 11, whose father is Hayden’s former fiancé, Ukrainian former heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, 50.
Hayden had recently discussed that separation on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast, rejecting suggestions that she had simply chosen to give up her daughter.
She said: “The idea that anybody would think that I would just give away my child and be okay with it is heartbreaking. Couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Hayden added: “I was struggling with mental health and anxiety and postpartum and having to act my way through it, and just feeling like I completely lost myself.”
She said the decision to have Kaya live with Wladimir was made while she sought help.
Hayden said: “It wasn’t a decision I made lightly, nor was it a decision I even wanted to make.
“I was going through a really challenging time in my life… I knew I needed to be able to put her first so that I could get the help I needed and be the mum she needed me to be.”
Hayden also described suffering serious complications while giving birth to Kaya, including haemorrhaging and undergoing seven blood transfusions and surgery.
Hayden Panettiere’s poignant final ‘world peace‘ text revealed
