Hayden Panettiere Appeared On The Longest-Running Soap Opera Of All Time

Like so many others in the business, the late "Heroes" and "Nashville" star Hayden Panettiere began her acting career as a child. One of her earliest roles was in the world's longest-running daytime soap opera "Guiding Light," which began as an NBC radio drama in 1937 before moving to television in 1952, where it would run until 2009. The New York native made her first appearance in December 1996 and went on to become a regular, staying with the show until 2000.

Panettiere played Lizzie Spaulding, who was involved in some sensational storylines even by soap opera standards. She accidentally killed a man who was threatening her mother and subsequently suffered nightmares and hallucinations where the dead man attended her playtime tea parties. She got kidnapped by the Nursery Rhyme Stalker and was saved by an escaped convict. At one point she survived a major car accident only to be diagnosed with leukemia at the hospital afterward. "You name it, I had it," Panettiere joked in a 2012 interview with Michael Fairman TV.

During that same interview, Panettiere pointed to "Guiding Light" — which made TVLine's list of the best daytime soaps ever made – as one of her most formative acting experiences. "It's such a pivotal time from 4 to 12-years-old, and that is the time that you remember throughout your life, especially something that is so every day, and so constant, and a character that you lived," she said. Mentioning her adult co-stars Grant Aleksander, Ron Raines, and Beth Chamberlin, she added, "If I saw them [today], I would run up to them like I was their child."

Film and TV fans around the world were saddened to learn that Hayden Panettiere had died on August 16, 2026 aged just 36. Hollywood reacted to Panettierre's death with shock and disbelief, with several former co-stars making statements, including her former "Guiding Light" colleagues.

Beth Chamberlin, who played the mother of Panettiere's character, shared an Instagram post reflecting on their time working together. She called her "the most brilliant child actor" she had ever encountered and recalled how talented Panettiere was despite her young age. "The things she could do, the way she could remember 20+ pages of dialogue, day after day," Chamberlin wrote. "Even on days where the director would come out between dress and tape and make huge cuts to the scenes, Hayden, never once forgot a line or missed her blocking. The adults would, but not Hayden. I felt blessed to work with her."

Brittany Snow, who played Lizzie's stepsister Daisy Lemay, spoke directly to Panettiere in a touching tribute posted on her Instagram Stories (via People). "I was lucky enough to play your sister for 3 years," she wrote. "I related to you so much in so many ways. Ways that I never even told you. Your talent was remarkable & so was your determination to be a bold, bright shining light. And you were." Rebecca Budig, another "Guiding Light" star, also shared her memories of Panettiere on Instagram. "Loved her and her family," she wrote in the comments section of a post about Panettiere's passing. "She and Beth were spectacular together. So sad for her family and those who knew and loved her."