In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Chamberlin — who starred as Panettiere’s on-screen mom on the 90s soap opera — opened up about her “special bond” with the late child star and the resilience she saw in her through difficult times.

“When I would hear about some of the troubled times that she was going through, I would think to myself, ‘She’s gonna get through this, and watch out world,’” Chamberlin told Fox News Digital. “Because when she gets through this, you are going to see some work on screen. You’re going to see things like you’ve never seen. I know Viola Davis made a comment that she is waiting to see what Hayden was going to fully become. And I think that puts it best because I think, that’s how I was feeling too.”

HAYDEN PANETTIERE DEAD AT 36

The “Heroes” and “Nashville” star was found dead inside a Greenville, South Carolina residence on Aug. 16.

Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother, Zach, called 911 after finding the actress unresponsive, according to a police report obtained by Fox News Digital. Hickerson later gave authorities a bag containing medication Panettiere had allegedly been taking.

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Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, publicly raised questions about Brian’s role in her daughter’s life and death.

“Although my daughter and I were estranged, it was not for lack of care or love,” she said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. “It was due to the involvement of a toxic individual who I believe led to her death.”

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“Hayden was a beautiful and talented young woman who unfortunately became involved with the wrong person, and although her family tried to extricate him from her life, we were unable to be successful.”⁠

Preliminary autopsy results found no signs of trauma that contributed to Panettiere’s death, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office confirmed to Fox News Digital. However, Panettiere’s death remains under investigation.

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Fox News has learned the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has also been contacted and is assisting with the investigation.

For Chamberlin, processing Panettiere’s death has been particularly difficult because she remembers her as the extraordinarily talented young girl she worked alongside on “Guiding Light.”

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“She truly was just an amazing, amazing child actor,” Chamberlin said. “You’ve never seen anything like it, actually.”

“Acting requires a lot of work to create an emotional arc. Now in a soap opera, too, you have to remember everything’s done in one take. It’s a multi-camera shoot … So you’ve got to get it right. And she was able to do that. With multiple pages, day after day.”

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Chamberlin says that while she has often discouraged children pursuing a career in acting, she strongly believed Panettiere was a special exception.

“I know there’s so many people that will say, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t put children in the business’ And I get that. And anybody that knows me, knows that when people in my life that have asked me, how about putting my kid in the businesses? I always say, ‘Don’t do it.’ I didn’t put my own kid in a business. But I’ve always maintained that Hayden was the exception to that. Because Hayden looked like she was in her element when she was there.”

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Chamberlin said she hopes Panettiere will be remembered for her “extraordinary talent.”

“I really want people to remember her for the extraordinary talent she was. Because she truly was,” she said. “As I’ve said before, I think she was the most talented child actor that ever walked on a set … She was doing this astounding stuff on a soap opera in one take. And she was maybe doing 20 pages or 30 pages, 40 pages worth of scenes a day. That’s a whole different animal. And so. That’s what I would, I really want people to remember that, because that deserves to be set aside and held up.”

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Chatwin — who recently worked alongside Panettiere on what became her final film — said his grief has turned to anger over what he sees as a lack of support for people struggling with trauma and addiction in the entertainment industry.

“I’m a man, so I process things by getting pissed off,” Chatwin said. “And so I’m kind of angry that this is the culture that — and this is the industry — that people aren’t taken care of.”

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“They get the work, they sell the product,” he continued, “and there’s just a lot of people in our industry that are dying from … inability to feel pain or heal trauma.”

Chatwin added that “there’s not enough support or awareness around these issues,” before saying, “Yeah, I’m grieving.”

Panettiere died Sunday, Aug. 16, at the age of 36. 

The “Heroes” and “Nashville” star was found in cardiac arrest at her home in Greenville, South Carolina, according to the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. Emergency personnel attempted life-saving measures before Panettiere was pronounced dead. An autopsy found no signs of trauma that contributed to her death.

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Her official cause and manner of death have not yet been determined, and the investigation remains ongoing.

Chatwin said the struggles he witnessed extend far beyond Hollywood, describing trauma and addiction as an issue affecting people across the country.

“It’s not just her,” Chatwin said. “We’ve lost a lot of people, and not just Hollywood, in all of America. It’s an epidemic that needs to be looked at.”

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Chatwin said his final time with Panettiere came after the two finished working together on “Sleepwalker,” when they went out to dinner following the film’s wrap.

“We went out to dinner after we wrapped the movie and, yeah, she was one of the top five, top 10 favorite people that I’ve ever worked with,” he recalled. “She was super sweet.”

However, Chatwin said he could also sense that Panettiere was carrying significant pain.

“I could sense a lot of pain that she had dealt with, from her family to her daughter,” he said. “I could sense the heaviness and the weight that the toll of 20 years in Hollywood and … trauma and the fight to figure out the trauma and addiction can have on you.”

Panettiere had previously spoken publicly about her struggles with addiction and other personal challenges. She detailed many of those experiences in her 2026 memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning.”

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Chatwin first met Panettiere years earlier when she was in her 20s and starring on “Heroes.” The two later reunited to work together on “Sleepwalker,” a psychological thriller released in January. Panettiere starred as Sarah Pangborn, a grieving mother, and also served as an executive producer on the film.

“She’s just got one of the biggest hearts of anyone that I’ve worked with,” Chatwin said. “And she’s super sweet.”

But Chatwin said he noticed a difference in his co-star when they reunited.

“Life had taken a toll on her, and she had a lot of unfortunate incidents,” he said.

The actor also opened up about the loneliness that can exist behind the glamour of Hollywood, describing the stark transition performers can experience when they leave a movie set.

“Sometimes the pain is unbearable, and at the end of the day, you go home from a warm, fun movie set where everyone’s telling you you’re great, and you’re alone in your house and you still got to order your coffee and eat your dinner,” Chatwin said. “It’s a really lonely career.”

On set, however, Chatwin remembered Panettiere as “super fun” and said he treasured their deeper conversations.

“I really love having deep conversations with her,” he said.

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Reflecting on Panettiere’s experience while making “Sleepwalker,” Chatwin also offered a warning to fellow performers about taking on roles that could force them to revisit unresolved experiences.

“I think that actors need to consider what roles they play, especially if it’s opening up a vulnerable trauma that isn’t healed,” he said.

Panettiere rose to fame as a child actor before becoming widely known for playing cheerleader Claire Bennet on NBC’s “Heroes.” She later starred as country singer Juliette Barnes on “Nashville,” earning two Golden Globe nominations, and appeared as Kirby Reed in the “Scream” franchise.

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Her death came a little more than three years after her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, died in 2023 at age 28 from an enlarged heart coupled with aortic valve complications. Panettiere had spoken openly about the profound grief she experienced following his death.

Despite the pain Chatwin said he witnessed, his description of how he hopes Panettiere will be remembered was simple.

“She was a unicorn.”

And when asked what Panettiere had told him about returning to acting and what she wanted to do next, Chatwin said her focus wasn’t on another role or career milestone.

“I think the only focus was to be happy,” he said. 

Now, her boyfriend’s brother has revealed his account of what unfolded inside the Airbnb where the actress was found unresponsive on Aug. 16.

In a lengthy statement to TMZ, Zach Hickerson pushed back against speculation surrounding Panettiere’s death, saying the truth would emerge as authorities completed their investigation. He said he wanted to clarify his involvement while allowing her loved ones to grieve without misinformation and added scrutiny.

HAYDEN PANETTIERE DEAD AT 36

“On Sunday morning, I woke up at my Airbnb, got dressed and went to Church. I exchanged messages that morning with Brian on my way,” he told the outlet. “We planned on us all getting lunch and playing indoor golf after the service.”

“When I left church, I called and texted both of them,” Zach said. “When I didn’t reach Brian or Hayden, I just assumed maybe they fell back asleep, so I drove over and went to the Airbnb. When I got there, I knew the code to the building but not the door code to the AirBnb.”

“I knocked loudly, which apparently woke Brian up from a nap they were both taking on the pullout couch bed in the living room,” he said. “When we went in and tried to wake Hayden up for lunch, we realized she was unconscious.”

“I immediately called 911 and Brian gave her Narcan,” Zach said. “We then jointly performed CPR while 911 was on speaker until Fire and EMS arrived. At that point, we watched as they tried every measure possible to save her life. I am beyond heartbroken and devastated by this tragic and traumatic loss. Hayden was one of my dearest and closest friends that I loved and cared about for the last 8 years.”

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“Out of respect for her loved ones, the speculation and sensationalism of her death needs to end until the facts can be released from the investigation.”

Brian Hickerson offered fewer details in his own statement, given to Fox News Digital through his lawyer, instead pointing to the ongoing investigation into Panettiere’s death.

“Hayden’s death remains under investigation, and it is important to allow that investigation to proceed. As has been publicly reported, police confirmed there were no signs of foul play,” the statement said.

“Out of respect for Hayden’s loved ones and the ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment at this time.”

Both statements came after Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, publicly raised questions about Brian’s role in her daughter’s life and death.

“Although my daughter and I were estranged, it was not for lack of care or love,” she said in a statement to Entertainment Tonight. “It was due to the involvement of a toxic individual who I believe led to her death.”⁠

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“Hayden was a beautiful and talented young woman who unfortunately became involved with the wrong person, and although her family tried to extricate him from her life, we were unable to be successful.”⁠

Fox News has learned the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has been contacted and is assisting with the investigation.

“It leads me to believe there are still questions surrounding what happened,” Vogel told ET about the DEA’s involvement in the investigation. “And I think we are all looking for answers.”⁠

Panettiere’s mom publicly blamed Brian in the days following her daughter’s death.

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“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.

Brian was among those at the residence where Panettiere was found unresponsive, according to the police report obtained by Fox News Digital. The couple’s relationship had previously led to domestic violence charges against Brian and his eventual conviction.

The police report said Zach appeared “very emotional” while paramedics worked to revive Panettiere. Meanwhile, Brian did not become emotional until the “Ice Princess” star was declared deceased.

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Panettiere would have turned 37 today — just five days after the “Heroes” and “Nashville” star died.

Her former fiancé and the father of her daughter, Wladimir Klitschko, shared a tribute on Instagram.

“I want to thank all of Hayden’s fans, friends, and everyone who has reached out for the incredible outpouring of love and support,” he wrote. “At a time filled with so much sadness, your kindness has reminded me that there is still so much good in humanity. If you’re reading this, I ask just one thing: even if only for a moment, think about LOVE. Reach out to a friend. Forgive someone. Be kind.”

“Love is a superpower. Use it.”