‘Heroes’ star Hayden Panettiere passed away on August 16 at the age of 36. Her surviving family members include her 11-year-old daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko, whom she shared with her ex, Wladimir Klitschko, the former heavyweight boxing champion. Over the years, the custody of her daughter was a hot topic of discussion since the actress had relinquished most of the custody rights for Kaya to her father. Here is a look into the star’s family and what really happened.
More about Hayden Panettiere and her daughter
Panettiere and Klitschko had their daughter Kaya in 2014, a year after announcing that the two were engaged and planning on getting married soon. They kept their relationship private; however, in a statement released in 2018, the ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ star’s mother had confirmed that while the couple had called it quits, they both remained on good terms.Following her daughter’s birth, the star had opened up about how hard everything was for her and how she had to deal with severe postpartum depression. Last year, while talking to Entertainment Weekly about her role on ‘Nashville,’ the actress had commented on how she could relate to her character because of all this. She had stated, “When I read this role, and I read the scripts, I was like, ‘If there’s been a character in my career that I could play and do justice to, this is the character.’ I could relate to her so much and went through everything that she went through… It was just a character that had everything that I was dying to portray.”As to why she wanted Kaya to live with her father, Hayden had been sure that living with her father would provide her with a lot more stability, while she herself focused on getting better and healthier. Earlier this year, while featuring on CBS Mornings, the actress revealed that she had a great relationship with her daughter even though she lived in Ukraine with her father. She added, “I’m so blessed to have a great relationship with her. I fly over there as much as I can. I’m on FaceTime with her all the time. She’s now 11 years old, and she’s calling Mommy more and more.”While talking about Kaya, Hayden had also commented on how her daughter also had a special nickname for her too. “She actually called me and FaceTimed me the other day, and she calls me ‘Britney.’ She goes, ‘Hey Britney.’ It took me a second, and I realized she was talking about Bring It On, because her friends are fans of Bring It On,” she continued.
Hayden Panettiere on how and why she gave up her daughter’s custody
In her memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” the actress had also revealed that postpartum depression had been horrible for her, and when Kaya was brought to her after being born, she “felt nothing.” While talking about handing full custody to the wrestler, she shared in the book, “I remember every second of that day. Every f—ing second. No mother could forget a single thing about the day she signed her child away.” She also added, “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.”She further mentioned in another interview with PEOPLE, “It was the hardest thing I could do. But the best thing for my daughter was to make sure she was okay, take care of myself, and make sure I could be a good mom to her. And sometimes that means letting go.”In her book, she had also praised Klitschko for taking a stand for their daughter and taking care of everything, calling him one of the most courageous people that she had met in her life.As for her passing, no details have been shared by her family as to what happened; however, they have asked for understanding and privacy in their time of need from the public.
