Fans mourn ‘Ice Princess' stars Hayden Panettiere and Michelle Trachtenberg
Across social media, a generation is mourning the loss of “Ice Princess” stars Hayden Panettiere and Michelle Trachtenberg less than two years apart.
Panettiere was found dead at age 36 in Greenville, South Carolina, on Aug. 16, according to local police. Her father confirmed her death in a statement. The case is under investigation, though police say there are no signs of “foul play or suspicious circumstances” at this time.
Panettiere’s death comes 18 months after Michelle Trachtenberg was found dead at age 39 in February 2025. The cause of death was later confirmed to be complications from diabetes.
Both Panettiere and Trachtenberg got their start in Hollywood as child actors. Panettiere played the kid daughter of coach Bill Yoast in 2000’s “Remember the Titans,” while Trachtenberg starred in the titular role 1996’s “Harriet the Spy,” opposite Rosie O’Donnell.
But it’s their roles in the 2005 Disney film “Ice Princess” that people came back to after their deaths.
“rest in peace to these ice princesses,” one X user wrote Aug. 17.
“I can’t believe they’re both gone,” one TikTok user captioned a compilation of clips of Panettiere and Trachtenberg together in the film.
Accompanying a photo of the pair from “Ice Princess,” another account wrote, “This picture is so incredibly sad now. Two actresses both gone way too young.”
Trachtenberg starred in “Ice Princess” as Casey Carlyle, a physics student prodigy bound for Harvard with a secret passion for figure skating. Despite her mom Joan’s (Joan Cusack) protests, she starts to train, where she meets Gen Harwood, the de facto leader of a clique of teen figure skaters, played by Panettiere.
What is set up as a standard rivalry takes a twist, as Gen and Casey build a genuine friendship. It’s Gen’s mom, trainer and rink manager Tina (Kim Cattrall), who sabotages Casey to favor her own daughter. When Gen finds out, she walks away from the competition and tries to make amends with Casey.
“Rest in peace sweet Hayden. Gone far too soon,” Cattrall wrote on Instagram Aug. 17, alongside a photo of her and Panettiere in character as mother and daughter.
The movie, released by Disney, underperformed at the box office but stuck with millennials and Gen Z through showings on Disney Channel, becoming a nostalgic cult classic.
Several figure skaters have since cited the film as the inspiration that brought them to the sport. Zahra Lari, a skater from Abu Dhabi, said seeing the film at age 11 put her on her path toward eventually competing in Olympic qualifiers, per the Washington Post. In March 2025, HuffPost, in honor of the film’s 20th anniversary, hailed it a film that “helped a generation of girls gain confidence.”
After Trachtenberg’s death in 2025, one social media trend featured ice skaters perform to Aly and AJ’s “No One,” the marquee song used in the opening titles of “Ice Princess.”
“ice princess quite literally shaped my entire childhood growing up and now both actress who stared in that very film are now longer here. this so incredibly sad omg,” one X user said Monday.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
- What Hayden Panettiere Shared About Her Mental Health Struggles Over the Years
- Matthew McConaughey Shares How His Mom Reacted When He Felt ‘Insecure, Not Confident’
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