TV Stars

Hayden Panettiere's final animal-rights campaign has been released following her death -- the actress filmed the powerful spot just two weeks before she suffered cardiac arrest and died.

PETA unveiled the campaign Tuesday, showing the late "Heroes" star naked in a bathtub, speaking out against marine parks and dolphins and whales being held in captivity.

Hayden used the bathtub to make a strong, simple point ... imagining spending an entire lifetime confined to a space that small ... similar to marine mammals living in tanks.

Hayden Panettiere’s boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, allegedly sent her threatening text messages after his 2020 arrest for domestic battery ... years before she spoke out about forgiving him.

TMZ obtained court docs filed in Brian's 2020 criminal case, which show alleged threats he sent to Hayden after his arrest.

Brian was arrested on February 14, 2020, after he allegedly struck Hayden in the face with a closed fist at an Airbnb in Wyoming. Officers say they arrived to find Brian intoxicated and locked out of the home.

Brian Hickerson was asleep in another room when Hayden Panettiere went into cardiac arrest ... and sources tell TMZ it was Brian's brother who discovered her.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Brian and Hayden were both inside an Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina, Sunday afternoon -- when Zach Hickerson entered the residence and found Hayden in a chair in the living room.

We're told at the time Zach arrived, Brian was sleeping in a separate bedroom.

Hayden Panettiere's estranged mom just broke her silence over her daughter's shocking death ... and she used the opportunity to dump on Hayden's boyfriend, Brian Hickerson.

Lesley Vogel told NBC News ... "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."

It's worth noting ... Brian loathed Lesley as much as she hated him ... telling TMZ back in May, "Hayden's mother is by far one of the worst people I've ever met in my life ... I just can't with her. She's terrible."

As TMZ reported ... Brian and his brother Zach were at the scene when Hayden died on Sunday in a South Carolina apartment.

Kim Zolciak says she couldn't care less about Kroy Biermann kissing Jillian Green ... but she's still taking shots at her estranged husband.

Kim and her boyfriend, Kyle Mowitz, were spotted out together on Monday and a photog asked about their respective exes packing on the PDA.

The 'RHOA' alum insisted they don't give a crap about Kroy and Jillian ... and then she took a savage swipe at Kroy, suggesting he's looking for his next provider.

Madelaine Petsch is celebrating another trip around the sun ... and we're taking the opportunity to look back at some of her hottest shots over the years ... and it looks like she's not camera-shy.

The "Riverdale" star really has the goods ... we're talking bikini shots, workout snaps, mirror selfies, fashion photos, implied nudity, and more.

Madelaine just turned 32 today ... but these hot shots are timeless. She's been a total babe for years ... and she's just getting started.

Lisa Rinna is joining the band of conspiracy theorists who say Lindsay Clancy is innocent of murdering her three small children ... and she's pointing the finger at Lindsay's ex-husband.

As you know ... Clancy is currently on trial, accused of brutally slaying her children before she attempted to take her own life. Her defense is severe postpartum psychosis, extreme mental illness, along with being impertinently overmedicated -- which the children's father, Patrick, supports.

And as with any huge criminal case dominating the headlines ... the tinfoil hat crowd shares its own version of what they think happened ... and Lisa just gave the group a signal boost.

Hayden Panettiere had a bag full of medication when she died suddenly on Sunday ... and her boyfriend showed the meds to cops.

According to the police report ... Hayden's boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother, Zach, were in the Greenville, SC, apartment when she died ... and Brian showed police the "bag of medication" Hayden was taking at the time of her death.

The specific meds were not identified in the police report obtained by TMZ ... though it sounds like nine different drugs were redacted.

TMZ broke the story ... Narcan was found in the apartment where she died. Narcan is administered nasally to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, and we're told the device used to dispense it was found on a mattress.

Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother were at the scene when the actress was found dead Sunday, according to police.

A police report obtained by TMZ says Brian and Zach Hickerson were inside the South Carolina apartment complex when she went into cardiac arrest.

Zach was reportedly "very emotional" while emergency medical services professionals were "working on Hayden."

As for Brian ... the report, as cited by NBC, says he didn't become visibly emotional until she was declared dead at the scene ... and he showed cops a bag of medication Hayden was taking at the time of her death.

Hilary Duff is paying tribute to her fellow former teen sensation Hayden Panettiere ... days after Hayden's shocking death.

The singer and actress shared an emotional note on social media Tuesday, saying it was "tough" to hear about Hayden's suspected overdose.

Hilary described Hayden as "so hardworking and effervescent" with a "big, gorgeous smile" before recalling their late-night chats as teens that bonded them together.

She wrote, "I remember staying up late, chatting and gossiping, and connecting because we were part of such a small sliver of people who actually understood the strange lot in life we were navigating.. so young, with no real idea how to make sense of any of it."

Hayden Panettiere and Brian Hickerson kept their rekindled romance to themselves in order to protect her career ... TMZ has learned.

A source close to Brian tells TMZ ... the couple didn't break up as many times as the public was led to believe -- and were actually together while she was promoting her memoir "This Is Me: A Reckoning" in the months before her death.

Our source says Hayden was advised by her team to distance herself from Brian, at least publicly, even though they were still romantic in private.

The reason ... Hayden's camp felt Brian was "bad for business" while she was promoting her book. We're told their complicated history was perceived as being bad for book sales -- but they were still in constant communication during the promotional tour.

Hayden Panettiere's costar in the hit musical drama "Nashville" Charles Esten shared a loving tribute after her shocking death ... remembering he smacked her with a door during their first meeting.

The actor took to Instagram Monday to share series of photos taken during their time working on the TV show from 2012 to 2018 ... all shots of them flashing huge smiles.

He started off his caption by writing he and his wife -- Patty Hanson -- were shocked to learn of Hayden's death ... before he launched into the story of how they met.

Hayden Panettiere packed a lot into her 36 years before her sudden and tragic death ... and TMZ is taking you back through all of her notable moments ... both good and bad.

Hayden is born in Palisades, New York -- a town just 25 miles from New York City -- to actress Lesley R. Vogel and NYC fire captain Alan Lee Panettiere. She is the first of the couple's two children.

Hayden begins her acting career early ... earning her first role in a commercial for a Playskool toy train in 1990, less than a year after her birth.

8/21/2026 11:41 AM PT -- Hayden Panettiere's boyfriend Brian Hickerson gave her Narcan after he and his brother Zach Hickerson found her unconscious ... according to a statement by Zach.

Hayden Panettiere, or someone close to her, was treated with meds typically used for overdose victims ... TMZ has learned.

We've confirmed, through sources in Greenville, SC, that Narcan was found in the apartment where she died. Narcan is administered nasally to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, and we're told the device used to dispense it was found on a mattress.

We know first responders on the scene mentioned an "overdose" and CPR efforts while reporting back to dispatch.

However, we also know 2 ambulances rushed to the apartment, which seems to point to 2 people in distress in the apartment ... so, it's unclear who received the dose of Narcan.

Pinky Cole's "Real Housewives of Atlanta" blowup apparently got a little too close to "The Wire" for Bravo's taste ... because the network turned her gun talk into a vague reference to a "device."

Here's the deal ... during the Season 17 reunion show part two, which aired Sunday night, Pinky and Phaedra Parks got heated when Pinky ripped Phaedra for ratting her out to "higher-ups" over Pinky having, in her words, a "significant device" to protect herself.

A source with direct knowledge tells us the device was a gun, and Phaedra wasn't down with the new 'RHOA' member bringing it up. To clarify, we're told Pinky was never in possession of a gun on set at any point and time.

Hayden Panettiere was found dead by a friend inside a South Carolina home ... and Emergency Medical Service workers responded to a call about a person in "cardiac arrest" and an "unresponsive female," TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... Hayden's friend called 911 at 1:51 PM Sunday to report that the actress was unresponsive and in cardiac arrest inside the residence in Greenville, SC.

TMZ obtained the dispatch audio of responders sending medics to her location to perform CPR on someone who overdosed, which you can hear above. Page Six was first to report.

It's unclear if Hayden's on-again, off-again boyfriend Brian Hickerson placed the call.

We're told Greenville police officers and EMS workers quickly responded, and paramedics attempted to resuscitate Hayden using "advanced cardiac life support." Our sources say this treatment builds on CPR by adding special medicines, breathing tubes, and heart rhythm tracking.