Hayden Panettiere's Mother Speaks Out: "She's With Her Brother and They're at Peace"
Lesley Vogel, the estranged mother and former manager of actress Hayden Panettiere, has spoken publicly for the first time about her daughter's death at age 36.
In an interview with NBC News published on 18 August 2026, Vogel said of her late daughter: "I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments." She added that Panettiere "lost her way" and said: "I just feel that she's with her brother and they're at peace." NBC News
Panettiere's younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, died at age 28 in 2023. Vogel's reference to Hayden being "with her brother" pointed to that earlier loss. Variety
Vogel is a former soap opera actress who managed Panettiere's career from the very beginning. She signed her daughter to her first representation when Panettiere was just four months old. NBC News
The mother-daughter relationship had been strained for years. In her May 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning, Panettiere described Vogel as a "perfectionist" and alleged her mother once superglued a fallen tooth back into her mouth so she would not lose a job. Panettiere also claimed Vogel pushed her to dress in more "girly" outfits instead of her preferred tomboy style. Variety
When the memoir was released, Vogel told Page Six she believed "the present drama is partially to sell books." Months before her death, Panettiere told Us Weekly that she and her mother "unfortunately" did not have a relationship "right now," though she left the door open for reconciliation. Variety
In her first public comments, Vogel also criticised Panettiere's boyfriend, Brian Hickerson. Hickerson was Panettiere's former partner who later turned violent toward her. TMZ — BBC News
Despite the troubled history, Vogel wants to be involved in planning Panettiere's funeral. Yahoo Entertainment
Panettiere was one of two children born to Skip Panettiere, a former New York City fire captain, and Vogel. She rose to fame as a child actor, landing roles in soap operas before breaking through with the NBC superhero drama Heroes in 2006 and later starring in the musical drama series Nashville. Associated Press
For a family that carried its rifts into the public record, Vogel's words close a chapter without resolving them. The grief of a mother who managed her daughter from infancy sits alongside a memoir that documented the cost of that childhood. What remains is what Vogel offered: a belief that her two children are at peace together.
