Hayden Panettiere’s relationship with her mother, Lesley Vogel, was believed to have been strained before the actress’ death at 36 on August 16. Now, Vogel’s first public comments following her daughter’s death are putting their complicated history back under the spotlight.
© GettyOn Tuesday, Vogel, 70, released a statement remembering her daughter and reflecting on her career. “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 told NBC News on Tuesday.
© Albert L. OrtegaShe also reflected on the death of Hayden’s younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, who died at 28 in February 2023 from an enlarged heart and aortic valve complications. “I just feel that she’s with her brother and they’re at peace,” Vogel said.
But Vogel’s comments are also drawing renewed attention to the difficult relationship they both opened up about.
What was their relationship like?
© Michael BucknerEarlier this year, Vogel told the Daily Mail that she had chosen to stop communicating with her daughter after years of conflict. “We each are entitled to choose our path in life,” Vogel said. “After 20 years of trauma, chaos, addictions [and] accusations, I felt I had no other option but to choose no contact.”
She also argued that parents of young performers can find themselves watching their children struggle in ways they cannot control.
“As many parents of entertainment children [know], we are all too familiar with the painful observation of watching the self-destructive paths they sometimes choose,” Vogel said. “Sadly, this is out of our control. You cannot save someone who does not want to be saved.”
Still, Vogel said she hoped Hayden would eventually find peace. “There will forever be a lingering hope that she will find her own path to inner peace,” she said.
Hayden had previously left open the possibility that they could eventually repair their relationship. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a relationship right now,” she told Us Weekly while promoting her memoir. “But that doesn’t mean that I don’t leave the door open for the opportunity to present itself one day.”
What Hayden said about growing up with her mother
© GettyThe actress’ own descriptions of her childhood are chilling. Hayden started working in entertainment before she was even a year old, eventually becoming a successful child actress before starring in projects including Remember the Titans, Heroes and Nashville.
But in an interview on On Purpose with Jay Shetty, she explained, “Everything was business." She recalled feeling as though she had taken on responsibilities within the family that went far beyond those of a child. “I became the confidante and the assistant and the therapist and the shoulder to cry on and everything but her child,” she said.
Hayden ultimately decided at 19 that she no longer wanted Vogel managing her career. “I said to her, ‘I don’t want us to work together anymore. I just want you to be my mom,’” she recalled.
According to Hayden, Vogel responded, “‘You owe me.’” “It was disappointing to find out that it was money,” she said. “The fact that she didn’t care to have a relationship with me was a tough pill to swallow.”
Hayden also said she felt her childhood earnings had become tied to supporting the family financially. “I was working hard, making money, and this money was going towards things that I wasn’t privy to,” she said. “I desperately wanted to still feel like I had parents to lean on."
The childhood moments Hayden remembered in her memoir
Hayden revisited some of those experiences in This Is Me: A Reckoning. One particularly shocking story happened after she lost a tooth shortly before an audition.
According to Hayden’s account, Vogel took the tooth and attached it to a retainer with superglue so that her daughter could temporarily restore her smile before the audition. "Give me the tooth you lost. And cross your fingers," Vogel allegedly told her.
© Amanda EdwardsHayden also recalled being taught techniques for producing tears while acting, including what her mother referred to as “trigger tears.” She eventually moved out of the family home at 18, explaining, “It was definitely survival. It was necessity." “I need to get myself out of here.”
Vogel also blamed Brian Hickerson
© GettyVogel did not hold back when discussing Hayden’s on-and-off boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, who was at the actress’ home before she was found unresponsive.
“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,” Vogel said.
A Greenville City Police Department incident report obtained by WYFF provides more details about what happened after emergency crews arrived at the apartment.
“After EMS officially declared Hayden deceased, I escorted Zach and Brian out of the apartment,” the report stated. The officer also noted that Zach became emotional while EMS worked on Hayden, while Brian “did not become emotional until EMS declared her officially deceased.”
Hickerson has previously faced domestic violence charges involving Panettiere. He pleaded no contest to two felony counts in connection with an April 2020 incident and was sentenced in 2021 to 45 days in county jail, four years of probation and domestic violence classes. He was also ordered to stay away from Panettiere for five years.
