Hayden Panettiere opens up about her opioids and alcohol addiction; “I was in a cycle of self-destruction."
Photos: @haydenpanettiere
Almost in full recovery, Hayden Panettiere will make her film comeback by reprising her fan-favorite character Kirby Reed in Scream 6.
Heroes star Hayden Panettiere finally opened up about her secret addiction to opioids and alcohol that nearly ended her career and her life.
The 32-year-old former child actress revealed to PEOPLE about years of battling with drug addiction and her struggle with postpartum depression.
“I was on top of the world and I ruined it. I’d think I hit rock bottom, but then there’s that trap door that opens. This hasn’t been easy and there were a lot of ups and downs.”
Panettiere, who has a seven-year-old daughter named Kaya with her ex-boyfriend, then-world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, was determined to get help. She underwent both trauma therapy and in-patient treatment in 2021.
“I put a lot of work into myself and I had to be willing to be incredibly honest. But I don’t regret even the ugliest things that have happened to me. I feel incredibly accomplished. And I feel like I have a second chance.”
Panettiere first appeared in commercials at the age of eleven months, and by the age of five, she landed a role as Sarah Roberts on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live from 1994 to 1997, which was followed by Lizzie Spaulding on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light in 1996, and again from 1997 to 2000.
On film, Panettiere appeared in Remember The Titans, Raising Helen, Ice Princess, Bring It On: All or Nothing, I Love You Beth Cooper, Scream 4, Raising Stripes and did voice acting for A Bug’s Life and Dinosaur.
The actress recalled that she was just 15 when someone on her team offered her “happy pills” before she walked the red carpets: “They were to make me peppy during interviews. I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction.”
When she got the role as Claire Bennet a.k.a. The Cheerleader in the 2006 hit series, Heroes, she was already an alcoholic and was occasionally taking opiods. She was only 16.
“My saving grace is that I couldn’t be messy while on set and working. But things kept getting out of control off set. And as I got older, the drugs and alcohol became something I almost couldn’t live without.”
In 2014, Panettiere was starring as troubled country singer Juliette Barnes on the drama series, Nashville. The actress’s real-life pregnancy was written into the show, and soon it became clear that her character’s inner demons mirrored her own.
She sought treatment for her depression, but still found herself struggling — and increasingly independent on alcohol to get through the day.
In 2015, she stated that following the birth of her daughter she experienced postpartum depression. In her appearance on Live with Kelly and Michael, she said that it’s “scary and needs to be talked about.”
“Those were really tough years. I could relate to a lot of those storylines like the alcoholism and postpartum depression. They hit close to home. I never had the feeling that I wanted to harm my child, but I didn’t want to spend any time with her. There was just this gray color in my life.”
Her drinking and addiction also affected her relationship with boyfriend, Wladimir Klitschko: “He didn’t want to be around me. I didn’t want to be around me. But with the opiates and alcohol I was doing anything to make me feel happy for a moment. Then I’d feel worse than I did before. I was in a cycle of self-destruction.”
Because of her mental health struggle, Panettiere became an unfit mother to take care of Kaya. Klitschko received full custody of Kaya and took her to Ukraine in 2018.
“I would have the shakes when I woke up and could only function with sipping alcohol. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. But I wanted to be a good mom to her — and sometimes that means letting them go.”
When the drinking worsened, the actress was hospitalized, suffering from jaundice: “Doctors told me my liver was going to give out. I was no longer a 20-year-old who could just bounce right back.”
Panettiere entered rehab for eight months. She credits her stay for giving her the tools to “get over the hump” of her addiction, but it wasn’t until recently that the actress says she’s finally found the peace.
“It’s an everyday choice, and I’m checking in with myself all the time. But I’m just so grateful to be part of this world again, and I will never take it for granted again.”
Almost in full recovery, Panettiere will make her film comeback by reprising her fan-favorite character Kirby Reed in Scream 6.
She’s also into her work with Hoplon International, the charity she founded in March whose mission it is to raise funds for Ukraine as the country is still in war with Russia.
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