Jack Coleman, Heroes' On-Screen Dad, Pays Tribute to Hayden Panettiere and Condemns the Press That Hounded Her
Jack Coleman, who played the father of Hayden Panettiere's character on NBC's Heroes, has paid tribute to the actress following her death at age 36 on Sunday, 16 August 2026, in Greenville, South Carolina.
Coleman posted his tribute on Instagram, describing Panettiere as a "prodigious talent" and an "extraordinary young woman" (Deadline). He wrote that he had loved her since the first day of the Heroes pilot, roughly 20 years earlier, when she greeted him by shouting "daddy" and throwing her arms around him. On set, she called him "daddio." He called her "Haydini."
Panettiere was found unresponsive and in cardiac arrest at a residence in Greenville before her death, according to ABC News and People (ABC News; People). People reported that she suffered an apparent overdose and that advanced life support was administered. Police in Greenville initially announced that no foul play was suspected (Deadline). As of the initial reports, an official cause of death had not been determined (ABC News).
On Heroes, which ran for four seasons from 2006 to 2010, Panettiere played Claire Bennet, a high school cheerleader with regenerative powers. Coleman played her father, Noah Bennet, who worked for a secret agency that sought to terminate people with special abilities. The father-daughter dynamic between the two characters became one of the show's central relationships.
Coleman used his tribute to speak openly about how the entertainment industry treated Panettiere as a young performer. He criticised members of the press who routinely asked her "obnoxious" questions along the lines of "when are you going to go off the rails?", calling these misogynistic provocations (Deadline). He said no one, especially a teenager, should be targeted that way (Times of India).
He also described paparazzi as predatory toward Panettiere, recounting that photographers once hid in bushes behind his yard and drove onto neighbours' lawns when she came to his house (Deadline).
Coleman closed his tribute by writing that he loved and would miss her, apologised that she suffered, and said he would remember how happy she was on set and on the European press tour (Yahoo Entertainment).
