Born in Palisades, New York

August 21, 1989

Born in Palisades, New York, Panettiere is the daughter of Lesley R. Vogel, a former soap opera actress, and Alan L. "Skip" Panettiere, a fire department lieutenant. She has one younger brother, fellow actor Jansen Panettiere.

Panettiere attended South Orangetown Middle School in New York but following 7th grade, finished her high-school education via home schooling and has postponed higher education in favor of an acting career, although she has expressed an interest in "continuing to learn."

Plays "Sarah Roberts" on Soap Opera "One Life to Live"

January 1, 1994 - December 1, 1997

Hayden landed a role as Sarah "Flash" Roberts on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live from 1994 to 1997. Upon her departure, the part was played by Shanelle Workman from February 4, 2003 to January 28, 2004. Justis Bolding assumed the role on June 14, 2007.

Lands Role in Soap Opera, "Guiding Light"

January 1, 1996 - January 1, 2000

She landed a role as Lizzie Spaulding on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light when she was seven years old (1996 - 2000). While on Guiding Light, Panettiere's character Lizzie battled leukemia. The show received a Special Recognition Award from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for bringing national awareness of the disease to the attention of daytime viewers.

Nominated for Grammy

December 1, 1999

Panettiere was nominated for a Grammy in 1999 for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for A Bug's Life Read-Along [2000].

Panettiere is featured on the soundtrack to Bring It On: All or Nothing alongside her co-star Solange Knowles. She recorded a song called "My Hero Is You" with a video for the Disney Channel movie she starred in, Tiger Cruise. She recorded a song titled "I Fly" for the Disney movie "Ice Princess" she co-starred in. She recorded a song for the compilation Girlnext. She also recorded a cover for Disneymania 4. She recorded a song titled "Try" for the 2007 Bridge to Terabithia soundtrack. She recorded a ballad for Cinderella III: A Twist in Time called "I Still Believe."

Recurring Role in "Malcom in the Middle"

January 1, 2003 - December 31, 2005

Hayden Panettiere plays the role of "Jessica", a teenage girl who temporarily lived with the family in later seasons, sleeping on their couch after her dad threw her out. She proved to be as scheming, conniving and manipulative as any of the boys. She once convinced Malcolm that Reese was gay, and vice versa.

Ice Princess

March 18, 2005

Michelle Trachtenberg plays Casey Carlyle, a brainy bookworm and physics geek. Casey decides to use her academic skill by pursuing a scholarship offered to the top students in the state. For the scholarship, Casey must do a "personal" project about physics. While watching a figure skating competition featuring Sasha Cohen, Casey realizes that her hobby, ice skating, would make a perfect project for getting her scholarship. Initially, she watches other skaters at the local ice rink, but decides to try to improve her own skating by applying the physics and what she found out from analyzing other skaters. She becomes exceptionally good at skating, even skipping two levels to get a Junior Pass.

Meanwhile, there is increasing tension between Casey's coach Tina Harwood (Kim Cattrall), a disgraced former skater, and her daughter Gen, played by Hayden Panettiere. In this case, Tina, who manages the ice skating rink where Casey is training for competition, is putting her daughter into a strict training program and an even stricter diet. This irritates Gen, who has already begun to lose interest in skating and simply wants to be a normal teenager and student. Eventually Gen gets fed up and informs her mother and then Casey that she's quitting. Tina then becomes Casey's coach in the Sectionals.

Heroes

September 1, 2007 - Now

Panettiere appears as Claire Bennet in the NBC series Heroes as a high school cheerleader with regenerative healing powers. Due to her role on Heroes, she became a regular on the science fiction convention circuit, invited to attend conventions around the world in 2007, including New York Comic-Con and Fan Expo Canada. In regards to the roles she has played, Panettiere admitted that options are sometimes limited because "people look at [her] as either the 'popular cheerleader' type or just 'the blonde'."

Hayden the Activist: Protecting Dolphins

October 31, 2007

On October 31, 2007, Panettiere participated in the activity of Sea Shepherd to try to disrupt the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. But, she was involved in a confrontation between Japanese fishermen and five other surfers from Australia and the United States (including former Home and Away star Isabel Lucas) of the group. The confrontation lasted more than ten minutes before the surfers were forced to return to the beach, after which they left the country. The fishermen consider the condemnation as an attack on their culture.

Panettiere told E! News that an arrest warrant has been issued in Japan for her interference in the dolphin hunt. In November 2007, she was awarded the "Compassion in Action Award" from the animal rights group PETA for her efforts to stop the dolphin hunt in Japan. She is also a vegetarian.

On January 28, 2008, Panettiere handed a letter of protest to the Norwegian ambassador in the United States arguing that Norway should stop its sustainable hunt for whales. She also delivered a letter to the Japanese ambassador calling for the end of Japan's "scientific hunt" of whales.

Fireflies

September 1, 2008

Fireflies in the Garden is an upcoming 2008 drama film starring Julia Roberts and Ryan Reynolds. The film is written and directed by Dennis Lee. Hayden is cast as "Young Jane Lawrence". The semi-autobiographical story centers on the complexities of love and commitment in a family torn apart when faced by an unexpected tragedy.

Starring Role in "I Love You Beth Cooper"

June 1, 2009

I Love You Beth Cooper is Larry Doyle's first novel, published in May 2007. The novel is set on graduation night at Buffalo Glenn High School. In it, "the class nerd" says that he's in love with popular cheerleader Beth Cooper during his graduation speech. After making this statement, events happen that change their lives forever.

In early 2008 it was revealed that the book was to be made into a film, with Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere in the lead role. Filming began in 2008, with a proposed release in 2009. The movie is being filmed at Magee Secondary in Vancouver, British Columbia.