Hayden Panettiere’s Best Roles: Heroes, Nashville, Scream, Titans

While Panettiere got her start in acting at just 11 months, appearing in a Playskool toy train commercial, she really kicked off her career in 1994, when she landed the role of Sarah Roberts in soap opera One Life to Live, leaving the show in 1997. From 1996-2000, she appeared in another soap, Guiding Light, playing Lizzie Spaulding.

Panettiere was part of an all-star voice cast that included Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Phyllis Diller, Richard Kind, David Hyde Pierce, Joe Ranft and Denis Leary in this animated film, which followed an ant named Flik who is trying to protect his colony from a gang of grasshoppers. The actress voiced Dot, a friend of Flik. She was nominated for a Grammy in 2000 for best spoken word album for children for A Bug’s Life Read-Along.

Panettiere earned a Young Artist Award for playing Sheryl Yoast, the daughter of football coach Bill Yoast (Will Patton), who herself is obsessed with the sport. She has said that this film was her favorite acting experience. “This movie was my favorite movie to film,” she told Entertainment Tonight in 2023. “What an incredible time in my life. … I mean, you have no idea how many times in my life I have wished and prayed — if I had wished to go back to any time in my life, it would be going back to Remember the Titans.”

In the fifth and final season of the legal dramedy, Panettiere played Madison “Maddie” Harrington, the long-lost daughter of Ally (Calista Flockhart). She appeared in 12 episodes of the series.

Panettiere starred opposite Joan Cusack, Kim Cattrall and the late Michelle Trachtenberg in this ice-skating film, adapted from a story by The Princess Diaries author Meg Cabot. While the movie underperformed at the box office, it’s garnered a cult following in the time since its release.

Kicking off a series of cheerleader roles, Panettiere starred in the third film in the Bring It On franchise (this one released direct to DVD). The actress played Britney Allen, a rich girl who is dating the star quarterback. But Britney is in for a shock when her father loses his job and moves the family to a more culturally diverse and less affluent area of Los Angeles. (The cast also included Solange Knowles-Smith, who starred as Panettiere’s cheerleading rival, and Rihanna, who makes an appearance as herself.)

Panettiere was on Heroes for all four seasons of the show’s 2006-10 run. The show, featuring an ensemble cast that also included Milo Ventimiglia, Adrian Pasdar, Greg Grunberg and Ali Larter, followed a group of everyday folks who discovery they have superhuman abilities. Panettiere played high school cheerleader Claire Bennet, who discovers she has regenerating abilities. (Who can forget the infamous tagline promoting the show that focused on her character’s importance to the plot: “Save the cheerleader, save the world.”) The show became a cultural phenomenon, and the cast was even featured in Time’s “Person of the Year” issue as “People Who Mattered.” Panettiere won Teen Choice, Saturn and Young Artist Awards for her role. (The actress did not return for the 2015 miniseries revival, Heroes Reborn.)

Panettiere played yet another high school cheerleader in this Chris Columbus-directed teen rom-com, based on the novel by Larry Doyle. Her character, Beth Cooper, is wooed by school valedictorian Denis Cooverman (Paul Rust), who confesses he has a crush on her in his graduation speech.

In this Lifetime TV movie, Panettiere starred in the title role, with the story based on real-life events. The real Knox was tried and convicted for the 2007 murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, in Italy, before being acquitted two years later. In 2013, that acquittal was overturned, and Knox was retried and convicted of murder a second time. In 2012, an Italian court acquitted her yet again. The movie shows the events leading up to Kercher’s death and the 2009 conviction. (Knox and her family unsuccessfully tried to block the airing of the movie.)

Panettiere played Kirby Reed in two films in the long-running franchise. Kirby is the best friend of OG character Sidney Prescott’s (Neve Campbell) cousin Jill (Emma Roberts). In Scream VI, it’s revealed that Kirby has become an FBI special agent who shows up to assist when the Ghostface murders start all over again, this time in New York.

Panettiere played ambitious, rising singer Juliette Barnes in the six-season series, set in the world of country music, which ran from 2012-18. Juliette began the series aiming to take over the crown of country music queen from Rayna (Connie Britton). The role earned her multiple awards and nominations, including two Golden Globe noms for best supporting actress and a Critics Choice Television Award nom for best supporting actress in a drama series.