Hayden Panettiere’s Estranged Mom Gives First Interview After Daughter’s Tragic Passing
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Hayden Panettiere’s estranged mom Lesley Vogel broke her silence on Tuesday (Aug 18) after her daughter’s death on Sunday (August 16).
Speaking with NBC News in a phone interview, Vogel remembered her daughter and acknowledged her struggles.
She said, “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 continued, “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. I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attribute.”
She then spoke about how Hayden has reunited with her brother, Jansen, who passed away in 2023 at the age of 28 from an undiagnosed heart condition.
“I just feel that she’s with her brother and they’re at peace,” Vogel said.
Panettiere Detailed Her Complicated Relationship With Her Mom In Her Memoir
On May 19, 2026, the actress released a memoir titled This Is Me: A Reckoning, which detailed her life as a child actress, growing up in Hollywood, and her struggles with “postpartum depression, addiction and recovery, trauma, domestic abuse, and loss.”
Hayden’s mom, Lesley Vogel, got her daughter into the entertainment industry as a baby model, then moved her on to commercials, booking her in 50 by the time she turned five.
Hayden began auditioning for television and movies, landing significant roles, launching her to stardom at a very young age.
Speaking about their relationship on the podcast On Purpose hosted by Jay Shetty, Hayden said, “Everything was business. I became the confidant and the assistant and the therapist and the shoulder to cry on and everything but her child.”
When Hayden told her mom she didn’t want to work together when she was 19 because she just wanted Vogel to be her mom, Vogel’s response was, “You owe me.”
In her book, Hayden wrote that even though they were estranged, she would always leave the door open for reconciliation.
Vogel believed their interpersonal situation was brought back up to sell books, seeing as they had gone no contact for many, many years.
Hayden’s Dad Confirmed Her Passing On Sunday, August 16
Despite her estrangement to her mom, Hayden maintained a “great relationship” with her father, Alan “Skip” Panettiere, a retired captain in the New York City Fire Department.
He confirmed her passing on Sunday (August 16) afternoon in a statement via her representative:
“It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her — and to the millions who watched her onscreen.”
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