Hayden Panettiere's mother shares first public comments since daughter's death
Hayden Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, talked exclusively to NBC News on Tuesday about her daughter’s death and the family’s concerns with Panettiere’s on-again off-again boyfriend, who was present Sunday when the 36-year-old actor died.
“I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments and I think young people who grow up in the entertainment industry — it is a struggle and it’s a very challenging industry and it’s not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path,” Vogel told NBC News in her first public comments since her daughter’s death.
“People, they feel pushed into things, even the managers and agents want to control them, and I think it becomes very difficult to be true to yourself, and I think Hayden sadly lost her way and I wish it were different.”
Panettiere died Sunday afternoon at a South Carolina apartment complex after authorities received a 911 call about a “reported cardiac arrest.” Her cause of death is pending further investigation. Officials said in a statement that an autopsy was completed Monday and “no signs of trauma were discovered that would have contributed to the death.”
A heavily-redacted police report from the Greenville Police Department showed that Panettiere’s on-again off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were with Panettiere at Judson Mill Lofts apartment complex when she died.
“This person in her life that we have been trying to get rid of for quite some time was with her at her death and that was Brian Hickerson,” Vogel told NBC News.
The responding officer said in the report that Brian Hickerson did not become visibly emotional until Panettiere was declared dead by EMS. The report says he also showed police a “bag of medication” Panettiere was taking at the time of her death.
“There is a lot of history in the past that Brian has enabled Hayden many times and this is why her father and I had been concerned for a long time about him and frankly, his family,” Vogel told NBC News. “It’s not just him, it’s his family. We are trying to get information.”
Vogel added that, because of Panettiere’s history with Hickerson, which included her filing a restraining order in 2020 around the time their romantic relationship appeared to end, she will speak with officers to get the facts.
“We had been concerned about this for many years,” she told NBC News. “At this point, I am not launching a private investigation. It might change, I don’t know yet. Depends on the facts I receive. I feel I owe her that.”
NBC News reported that Hickerson was arrested in 2019, based on an allegation of injuring a spouse or girlfriend, according to Los Angeles County criminal court records. He pleaded no contest in 2021 and was sentenced the next year to four years’ probation.
Vogel said she’s unaware why Panettiere and Hickerson were in South Carolina, where Hickerson is from, the night Panettiere died.
“I will be speaking to a detective, and we will figure that out,” Vogel said.
Asked whether Panettiere and Hickerson were together or broken up, Vogel said she “always knew they were together.”
Vogel expressed concern about the timing of the 911 call, which was made at 1:50 p.m. ET on Sunday, saying it’s “questionable because that is not the typical hour of the day that you are partying, generally speaking. That is a concern.”
Vogel said, beyond text messages, she had not had a conversation with Panettiere since October.
“That was a choice I made for very specific reasons, and you know, certainly not for lack of care, concern, love,” she told NBC News. “Last spoke probably when I was in California and I was trying to work with her to clean up quite a bit. Other than texting, but we had not texted in some time.”
Vogel lost her son Jansen Panettiere in 2023 after he died from cardiomegaly and aortic valve complications at 28.
Hayden Panettiere in 2024 spoke on the TODAY show about the loss of her brother.
“When you lose somebody that you saw in all the important moments in your life, standing right next to you, it just rocks your world,” she said.
Hayden Panettiere had opened up about her estranged relationship with her mother shortly before her death, including in her memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” which released in May 2026.
Vogel had managed her daughter’s career during childhood, which included Panettiere appearing in television commercials when she was just 11 months old. She starred in soap operas at age 4 and had her breakout in the movie “Remember the Titans” that was filmed when she was 10. She went on to star in “Heroes” and “Nashville,” earning two Golden Globe nominations for the latter.
“I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes,” Vogel told NBC News of Panettiere. “So, I just feel that she’s with her brother and they’re at peace, and I guess that’s my takeaway.”
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