The industry and fans alike are still reeling from the sudden passing of actress Hayden Panettiere at the way too young age of 36. Panettiere began her life as a screen star at the age of five across television and film, and certainly left her mark as someone meant to entertain.
It’s not always easy to transition from a precocious child star into a legitimate actress, but Panettiere managed to do it with an unforced magnetism that made her one of the better performers of her generation. With nearly 60 credits to her name, Panettiere managed to do a lot in a relatively short amount of time, and thanks to her ability to shine on screen, fans are looking back at her work fondly and with enthusiasm.
Everyone’s opinion on her best work will be different, but here is our take on five essential Hayden Panettiere roles that will keep her legacy alive.
Honorable Mention: Britney Allen in Bring It On: All or Nothing (2006)
It would be easy to dismiss Bring It On: All or Nothing as a cheap direct-to-DVD sequel to the more well-known and financially successful first film that started it all, but to fans of the first Bring It On, All or Nothing feels like a worthy successor that has generated a bit of a cult following in its own right, thanks largely to what Panettiere brings to the role of Britney Allen.
Directed by Steve Rash and written by Alyson Fouse, Bring It On: All or Nothing has a slight link to the first two films through a similar plot of competing cheerleading teams and other visual cues that make it feel like it comes from the same universe. All or Nothing is actually the third film in the franchise and follows Pacific Vista cheerleader Britney Allen (Panettiere), who is forced to leave her rich neighborhood and friends to live on the low-income side of Crenshaw Heights.
The tensions, much like the original, primarily revolve around a more affluent crew and less privileged underdogs, but what really makes it stand out is Panettiere’s spunky performance. She’s completely self-assured in the role and more than holds her own against the likes of Solange Knowles-Smith, who brings with her the status of being the sister of mega superstar Beyoncé.
You’ll likely see clips of some of the routines and scenes of Panettiere proving that white girls can crump with the best of them, and while it seems like some are posting them as a joke, Bring It On: All or Nothing actually gave the actress a significant fanbase within the black community. Since her passing, many people have been sharing scene from the film with nothing but positive energy which is well deserved for a movie that has earned its cult status thanks primarily to Panettiere’s effortless energy.
5. Sheryl Yoast in Remember the Titans (2000)
It’s not easy to stand out in scenes with Denzel Washington as a full-fledged adult, let alone a child, but Panettiere did just that as Sheryl Yoast, the football-obsessed and spunky daughter of T.C. Williams High School assistant coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton) in Remember the Titans. Directed by Boaz Yakin and written by Gregory Allen Howard, Remember the Titans is loosely based on the true story of Herman Boone (Washington) and his attempt to integrate the T.C. Williams High School football team in 1971.
Panettiere was ten years old when she landed the role of Sheryl Yoast, instantly proving to be a natural on screen as she steals several of her scenes. Her character actually has a pretty impressive arc that plays well through the story. She’s at first mad on her dad’s behalf when he’s demoted in favor of Washington’s Boone and makes her displeasure known initially, but she eventually warms up to her dad’s replacement and offers up her expertise on strategy and plays for the game.
It’s honestly one of the more genuinely heartfelt arcs of the film, and it’s one that Panettiere excels at thanks to her charm and natural ability to bounce between comedy and sincere affinity for her father, the love of the game, and eventually Boone himself. She’s full of Southern fire, and her vitality is felt during all of her scenes, making her one of the most memorable aspects of a movie that was full of up-and-coming stars, including Ryan Gosling.
4. Beth Cooper in I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009)
It would come as no surprise if I Love You, Beth Cooper became a signature film for Panettiere in the wake of her passing because it’s a movie she led as a leading lady, and it is a showcase of her ability to not play to the norms of a genre and present a character that had depth, who could’ve easily been one-dimensional in the wrong hands. Directed by Chris Columbus and written by Larry Doyle, I Love You, Beth Cooper is based on the novel of the same name, also written by Doyle, and it follows nerdy valedictorian Denis Cooverman (Paul Rust), who declares his love for Beth Cooper (Panettiere), the most popular girl in school, during his graduation speech.
Following his big announcement, Beth shows up at his door and offers to show him the best night of his life. Panettiere showcases stage presence as Beth Cooper and subverts expectations by not playing into the stereotypes of “the hottest and most popular girl at school.” She makes Beth grounded, and that allows the audience to buy why Denis would fall for her. She’s equal parts vulnerable and likable, bringing a natural comedic timing to the role of the teenage fantasy that has much more depth than the material suggests. I Love You, Beth Cooper grossed a mere $16.4 million on an $18 million budget, so it underperformed at the box office, but it might find its audience as a film and role for Panttiere that serves as a stepping stone to the more mature roles that would take her to new heights of popularity.
3. Claire Bennett in Heroes (2006-2010)
Heroes is one of those you had to be there for; it shows. The amount of popularity this series achieved, particularly during its first season, made it a cornerstone of television, and a big part of that was Panettiere’s Claire Bennett and what would become the show’s lasting legacy: “Save the cheerleader, save the world.” Created by Tim Kring, Heroes is a superhero drama that aired on NBC for four seasons and 77 episodes and told the stories of ordinary people who discover they have superhuman abilities.
The discovery of these abilities alters the lives of characters as they band together to prevent calamities that could destroy the world. Heroes was a series with a stacked ensemble of performers, but Panettiere instantly stood out as Claire, a character who would become the heart and soul of the show, portraying a teenage girl who could spontaneously regenerate and was the target of super-powered serial killer Sylar (Zachary Quinto).
Claire appears in more episodes than any other character on the series (72 of its 77 episodes), and Panettiere grounds the character, at first, in vulnerability and confusion due to her abilities and then an evolution of acceptance as she becomes more familiar with how and why she has these superhuman abilities. With all the subplots of nefarious government agencies and a mythology that may have grown too convoluted as it went along, Panettiere’s Claire gave Heroes much of its humanity. Beginning as a character who was sought after and needed to be saved, it’s easy to see why she would be such a focus because Panettiere possessed a natural relatability in the role that proved to be its very own superpower.
2. Kirby Reed in Scream 4 (2011)
Panettiere earned instant horror genre icon status thanks to portraying Kirby Reed in Scream 4. Portraying a sort of spiritual successor to Jamie Kennedy’s Randy Meeks, Kirby was a self-assured teenage girl with an affinity for horror movies. That alone made the character a quick favorite with fans, but it was also Panettiere’s natural quick wit and sincere connection to the material that would make Kirby a staple of the entire Scream franchise.
Directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, Scream 4 takes place on the fifteenth anniversary of the original Woodsboro murders from 1996’s Scream and sees Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returning home only to discover a new Ghostface has begun murdering students from Woodsboro High. Kirby was one of the best friends of Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts), Sidney’s cousin, and from her first scene, it’s clear that she’s going to be a character to be remembered. She imbues the character with a natural sense of humor and delivers some of the film’s best lines, with even ones that feel like throwaways turning into ones to be remembered because of Panettiere’s on-the-button delivery.
She understood the world and seemed to really identify with Williamson’s writing and Craven’s direction in a way that made it feel as if this fourth installment wasn’t her first outing. Panettiere gives the role 100 percent of her commitment and gives the genre and Scream franchise a final girl worth rooting for. She’s given her fair share of moments to shine, but perhaps her best is when she rattles off a gaggle of horror movie remakes while on the phone with Ghostface to help save her friend Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin). Not only is the speed at which she does it impressive, but it’s also genuinely compelling to watch Panettiere not lose an ounce of the scene’s emotion throughout. Panettiere’s portrayal of Kirby was so instantly iconic that fans spent years clamoring for her return because, despite seeing her be stabbed, we didn’t see the character die, so fans held out hope that she could return.
A little Easter egg in Scream (2022) proved that she indeed survived her attack, and fans were thrilled to see her fully return in Scream VI as the character. Even though Kirby had matured and become an FBI agent, she still had some of the horror film encyclopedia mentality that fans loved (her quick scene with Jasmin Savoy Brown’s Mindy Meeks-Martin is a highlight and a nod to the Kirby we met in Scream 4). With Panettiere’s passing, her getting to return in Scream VI feels more poignant because her character got to serve that story in a significant way, and she was provided a proper ending that the character and Panettiere truly deserved.
1. Juliette Barnes in Nashville (2012-2018)
Panettiere literally poured her heart and soul into the role of Juliette Barnes on Nashville, so much so that fans of the series and Panettiere often struggle with how much the writers of the series threw in many of the struggles that the actress was going through for the sake of generating optimal emotional impact. In her memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, released just three months before her death, Panettiere called the series “traumatizing” because of how much it infiltrated her real life, particularly her battle with postpartum depression, a time when her real and reel life collided in painful and emotional ways.
Created by Callie Khouri, Nashville is a musical drama that ran for six seasons and 124 episodes, primarily chronicling the lives of ficticious country music singers in Nashville, Tenessee, with an emphais on Rayna James (Connie Britton), an aging country music superstar whose popularity is beginning to fade, and Juliette Barnes (Panettiere), a rising younger country star positioned to take Rayna’s place on the charts. The interesting thing about Nashville, as also noted in Panettiere’s memoir, is that the show began as a project primarily centered around Britton, who was coming off her time on the series Friday Night Lights, but the show was retooled a bit after the pilot to focus on the rivalry being instigated between Rayna and Juliette.
The series remained a two-hander, with both actresses getting ample opportunities to shine, but it’s easy to see why Panettiere was brought more into the series’ central stories because she proved with this role that she is a dynamic performer, and not just as an actress. Panettiere got to show off musical chops as Juliette, performing some of the show’s signature tunes that only added to its popularity. Whether it was the fiery and fierce “Telescope”, the showstopping fan favorite “Don’t Put Dirt on My Grave Just Yet, or the highly emotional “Love Like Mine,” Panettiere easily tapped into every facet of Juliette’s personality to deliver every time she hit a stage or had to hit a comic or emotional beat.
The history of how the show handled Juliette’s emotional stories and perhaps the irresponsible way they used Panettiere as inspiration will always be a dark cloud over Nashville, but it shouldn’t taint the full-send performances that she poured into that role. Diving fully into Nashville and seeing the evolution of Juliette is a masterclass in acting, and despite the pain associated with it, the role and performance across all of her episodes are a true testament to Panettiere’s talents that won’t be soon forgotten.
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