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Hayden Leslie Panettiere (born August 21, 1989) is an American actress and singer. She first developed professional prominence at the age of eleven with her portrayal of Sheryl Yoast in Disney's Remember the Titans, although for half of her life immediately before that, Panettiere had held roles in each of two soap operas. She portrayed Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live from 1994–1997, and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light from 1996-2000. Panettiere reached a wider audience with her starring role as Claire Bennet on the 2006 NBC television series Heroes.

Early life
Panettiere was born and partly raised in Palisades, Rockland County, New York, the daughter of Lesley R. Vogel, a former soap opera actress, and Alan L. "Skip" Panettiere, a fire department lieutenant. Panettiere is of Italian descent and her surname means "baker" in Italian. She has one younger brother, fellow actor Jansen Panettiere.

Panettiere attended South Orangetown Middle School in New York, but then she earned her education from the 8th grade level through high school at home. Although she has expressed some interest in "continuing to learn," Panettiere has postponed higher education in favor of an acting career.

Actress
Panettiere began modeling when she was four months old. She first appeared in commercials at 11 months, beginning with an advertisement for Playskool. She landed a role as Sarah Roberts on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live (1994–1997), and she followed that up by playing the part of Lizzie Spaulding on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light (1997–2000). While on Guiding Light, Panettiere's character Lizzie battled leukemia. For drawing the attention of daytime viewers to the disease, and for improving national awareness, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society bestowed its Special Recognition Award upon.

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 GenCon, New York Comic Con and Fan Expo Canada. In regard 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'."



She has appeared in over a dozen full-length feature films, several made-for-TV movies and provided the voice for Dot in A Bug's Life. She played the role of Coach Yoast's daughter, Sheryl, in the 2000 Disney film Remember The Titans. In addition, she voiced Kairi in the Kingdom Hearts series of video games for the PlayStation 2. Panettiere appeared on Fox's Ally McBeal as Ally McBeal's daughter, and had a recurring guest role on Malcolm in the Middle and guest starred in Law & Order: SVU. She starred in Bring It On: All or Nothing as a cheerleader and had a supporting role as Adelaide Bourbon in the recently released independent film Shanghai Kiss. She appeared in the Disney Channel film Tiger Cruise, playing the main role of a Navy brat, in Raising Helen, as the adolescent niece and in Ice Princess, as a popular student and rival skater.

She appeared in the drama film Fireflies in the Garden as a younger version of Emily Watson's character, Jane Lawrence. In June 2007, she signed with the William Morris Agency, after previously being represented by United Talent Agency. Forbes estimated that she earned $2 million in 2007.

In early 2007, Panettiere appeared on the syndicated Ashton Kutcher-produced show, Punk'd. The appearance was engineered by her mother and involved a male "fan" discussing her work with her, instigating a jealous reaction from the man's spouse. In December 2007 Panettiere was named GQ Magazine's Obsession Of the Year. in July 2007, She wanted to play Amber Von Tussle in the 2007 film Hairspray.

In September 2008, Panettiere appeared in a satirical video, a mock-PSA (public service announcement) on funnyordie.com entitled "Hayden Panettiere PSA: Your Vote, Your Choice". Again, in October, Panettiere appeared in another satirical PSA video on funnyordie.com entitled "Vote for McCain: He's just like George Bush, except older and with a worse temper".

In July 2009, Panettiere starred in the teen comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper. She is listed as a star in the provisional cast of a teenage comedy still in development, Daydream Nation, to be written and directed by Michael Goldbach.

Singer
Panettiere was nominated for a Grammy in 1999 for A Bug's Life Read-Along (2000). 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 in which she co-starred. She recorded a song for the compilation Girlnext and another song for Girlnext 2. She also recorded a cover for DisneyMania 5. She recorded a song titled "Try" for the 2007 Bridge to Terabithia soundtrack and a ballad called "I Still Believe" for Cinderella III: A Twist in Time.

Panettiere's first single, "Wake Up Call", was digitally released on August 5 with Candie's premiering an ad campaign for the single in late July. Candie's will also provide additional promotion for the single with a television advertisement and a music video.

Endorsement
In late 2006, Neutrogena made Panettiere the cover girl for their new worldwide ad campaign; following in the footsteps of actresses Kristin Kreuk, Josie Bissett, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Mandy Moore, Mischa Barton, Gabrielle Union and Jennifer Freeman.

In September 2007, Panettiere appeared in a Heroes-themed Got Milk? ad photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

In February 2008, Kohl's announced that Panettiere would be their next Candie's spokesperson. She will be following the likes of Fergie, Hilary Duff, and Kelly Clarkson.

Personal life
In 2006, Panettiere began dating Stephen Colletti, the former Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, star. The couple broke up in September 2007. In December 2007, it was widely reported that she was dating her Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia, though Panettiere denied these reports in an interview with GQ. These reports continued through the early part of 2008, and several sources had reported that she asked Ventimiglia to move in with her. In April 2008, during an interview on the BBC's The Chris Moyles Show to promote the second season of Heroes, Ventimiglia confirmed that he was dating Panettiere. They ended their relationship in February 2009.

Hayden has a tattoo of the Italian words Vivere senza rimipianti[sic] running down the length of her left flank. The word rimpianti is misspelled in what otherwise would have meant "To Live Without Regrets."

As of July 25, 2009, she is currently dating Dean Hitts.

Activism
On October 31, 2007, Panettiere joined with Sea Shepherd to try to disrupt the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. 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 but her claim was later dismissed as not true by the Japanese Fisheries Agency. 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. Her activism was, however, criticized by most of the Japanese media since the public regarded this as an offense to their culture (see Taiji, Wakayama for details).

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

In 2007, Panettiere became an official supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities and is a member of their celebrity board, called the Friends of RMHC.

In May 2008, Panettiere was involved in an eBay auction to benefit SaveTheWhalesAgain.com. The auction included tickets to a fundraising dinner hosted at the Hollywood restaurant Beso, owned by Eva Longoria Parker, and a whale watching tour, with Panettiere, off the coast of Santa Barbara. The same month, during an interview with Teen Vogue, Hayden explained how her fame gives her a platform for her activism: "The show [Heroes] put me in a place to speak for things that I'm passionate about."

In October 2008, Panettiere delved into the activities of the presidential election. Panettiere released a public service announcement through the website Funny or Die. In this video Panettiere mocks John McCain in a satirical tone on the subjects of his age and anger. She subsequently made clear her intention to vote for Barack Obama, and urged other young people to vote.

Panettiere also appeared in a public service announcement with DC Shadow Senator Paul Strauss endorsing voting rights for the District of Columbia.

Panettiere is a teen ambassador for the Candie's Foundation, whose mission is to fight teen pregnancy. On May 6, 2009 She participated in a town hall meeting in New York City alongside Bristol Palin on the issue of teen pregnancy.