Hayden Panettiere: Malibu memorial today, mother not invited
Family and friends gather in Malibu today to say goodbye to Hayden Panettiere. Her mother, Lesli Vogel, and ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson were not invited to the gathering of about 150 people.
Hayden Panettiere is being remembered today, Saturday, by close family and friends at a memorial service in a Malibu church. TMZ, citing sources close to the family, reports that around 150 people were invited to the gathering, a detail other American outlets have confirmed independently.
Her father, Skip Panettiere, will attend, along with a number of well known names and influential figures from Hollywood. According to TMZ, guests were told in advance that they were coming to a memorial for Hayden. Malibu was chosen partly because the actress loved the ocean and whales, which gave the coastal setting special meaning for the family. Organizers want an intimate farewell that celebrates her life and legacy, rather than one focused on the struggles she faced in recent years.
Her mother is not on the guest list. Family sources told TMZ that Lesli Vogel was not invited to say goodbye to her daughter. The same goes for Hayden’s ex-boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother, Zach Hickerson. Hayden’s parents separated in 2008 and divorced in 2016, and their relationship in the final years of the actress’s life was, according to TMZ, a rocky one.
According to a KTVU report, Hayden died a day after flying out of Los Angeles with Brian Hickerson, with whom she had an on and off relationship.
After her death, a representative for Hayden Panettiere told ABC News:
It is with profound sadness that we share the news of the tragic death of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and force of nature, who brought immeasurable love and joy to everyone who knew her, as well as to the millions who watched her on screen.
The statement came shortly after her death, months before the family announced today’s memorial.
Hayden Panettiere died on August 16, at age 36. She was found unconscious shortly before 2 p.m. at the Judson Mill Lofts building in Greenville, South Carolina. The official cause of death still has not been confirmed, though the autopsy found no signs of injury that would have contributed to it.
According to police sources cited by TMZ, the likely cause of death was a black market oxycodone pill that contained fentanyl. Investigators believe she took the pill the morning she died, and the toxicology report is still pending. The actress, according to the same sources, had for years had a dealer in Los Angeles who supplied her with prescription pills, and that dealer is now suspected of having sold her the fatal one. The Drug Enforcement Administration searched her Los Angeles home, and messages between Hayden and the dealer are now, according to TMZ, a focus of the investigation.
Her neighbor later appeared on TMZ Live and said the man she suspected of being the dealer had visited Hayden’s home in West Hollywood just days before her trip to South Carolina, where she died.
Audiences know her best for playing Claire Bennet in Heroes and Juliette Barnes in Nashville, where she also sang, appearing alongside Connie Britton for four seasons on ABC. She also starred in Remember the Titans and I Love You, Beth Cooper, and in installments of the Scream franchise. She won three Teen Choice Awards, earned a Grammy nomination, and was nominated for the Golden Globe three times.
