The world of showbiz has been left in shock at the sudden death of Hayden Panettiere at the age of 36.

The tragic passing of the American actress, best known for her work on Heroes and Nashville, has been confirmed by her family.

“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,” they said.

No cause of death was given, with police saying that they were “no signs of foul play” after they responded to a 911 call from an “acquaintance” of Panettiere who described her as “unresponsive”.

Panettiere, who earlier this year opened up about struggling with alcoholism, post-partum depression and abusive relationships in her memoir This Is Me: A Reckoning, is survived by her 11-year-old daughter Kaya Klitschko.

Kaya is also the daughter of Ukrainian heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko, who Panettiere met at a book launch party in 2009.

With both parties travelling for work and Klitschko often based in Ukraine, the long distance ended up playing a role in the couple splitting in 2011, only to rekindle things two years later.

In an interview at the time, former child star Panettiere said that the second round of dating the athlete was “the 2.0 version”, and said that “it wouldn't shock” her if Klitschko was the father of her future children.

“Motherhood is the most beautiful, exciting thing, and there's nothing that I feel like I can't accomplish while having children in my life,” the actress, who was 23 at the time, said. “I would sacrifice having more years of being wherever I want whenever I want for years with my kids.”

The pair became engaged in October 2013, with Panettiere welcoming their daughter Kaya in December 2014.

When they split years later, the couple co-parented. But amid her struggles with post-partum depression in 2018, Panettiere made the “heartbreaking” decision to relinquish full custody of Kaya to Klitschko while she recovered.

In her memoir, released in May, Panettiere describes Klitschko presenting her with custody papers while she was visiting him in Kyiv, telling her that he “worried about Kaya when she was with [Panettiere]”.

Kaya and her father now live in Europe, with Panettiere writing: “Not being under the same roof with her every day has been the most gut-wrenching experience of my life, and it’s hard to describe the layers of emotion – including sadness, resentment, and anger – I’ve felt because of it,”

“Trust me, no one should ever have to raise a child on FaceTime, and although I miss Kaya so much my heart aches, I know how blessed I am to be her mom. She is the greatest gift of my life, with all the best parts of her father and me, and, today, I believe I have the opportunity to be a different kind of parent than most.”

Just weeks before her death, Panettiere spoke with Momé magazine for a cover story published July 21 titled “Hayden Panettiere Never Stopped Choosing Her Daughter”.

Describing Kaya as her “mini-me”, the model said: “I love my daughter, and I'm so proud of the young woman she is becoming. I talk to her all the time, and I feel so connected to her.”