Hayden Panettiere described little brother's death aged 28 as 'biggest heartbreak of her life' just three years before her own tragic passing

By LAUREN ACTON-TAYLOR, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 06:25, 17 August 2026 | Updated: 06:27, 17 August 2026 Hayden Panettiere, the 36-year-old actress known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, said her little brother's death was the 'biggest heartbreak' of her life. Panettiere is remembered as 'an incredible light' after her tragic death was announced on Sunday just three years after her brother, Jansen, passed away.   'There's nothing in my life that feels like losing my other half. He was born to be the yin to my yang,' the actress told Jay Shetty while holding back tears.  'We were so close, and especially being the older sibling who it's your job to protect them and keep them safe, and not being able to is... I mean heartbreaking doesn't even begin to cover it.' Panettiere's brother, who was also a child star, died at 28 years old after complications with his heart. He was found dead in his apartment in New York 'sitting upright in a chair unresponsive.'  'I would need a dictionary to go through all the words for all the feelings that you go through in your mind,' she continued.  'I know time is the best healer, but it's been three years and every year the heartbreak has changed. But losing him and realizing how much of life I was going to have to go through alone and without him, where I always saw him as being there.' Panettiere, who leaves behind an 11-year-old daughter, was confirmed to have died as representatives announced: 'It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden.' Her cause of death was not immediately clear.   Panettiere is remembered as 'an incredible light' after her tragic death was announced on Sunday just three years after her brother, Jansen, passed away Panettiere's brother, Jansen who was also a child star, died at 28 years old after complications with his 'enlarged' heart 'You know, the day that my parents are not here anymore, I'm gonna have to do alone. And the fact that he's not here to be a part of my daughter's life.  'There's been so many times I want to call him all the time. He was my best friend and when he first died I remember screaming, "I don't want to live in a world where he doesn't exist."' 'That's something I don't think I'll ever get over. I feel him with me. I know that he's protecting me from where he is and was needed elsewhere, but I wish he could be sent back to me.'