Hayden Panettiere

Hayden Leslie Panettiere is an American actress and singer, best known as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live (1994–1997), and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light (1996–2000), before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in the Disney feature film Remember the Titans, and then achieved wider fame on Heroes. She also had a leading role, as Kirby Reed, in the 2011 horror film Scream 4.

Early life

Panettiere was born August 21, 1989 in and partly raised in Palisades, 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, her surname meaning "baker" in Italian. She has one younger brother, fellow actor Jansen Panettiere.

Although Panettiere attended South Orangetown Middle School in New York, she was homeschooled from grade nine to the completion of high school. For now, Panettiere is postponing higher education in favor of an acting career.

Personal life

Panettiere has dated heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko. She was ringside for his knockout victory over Samuel Peter on September 11, 2010. The actress confirmed on May 12, 2011 that she and Klitschko have broken up amicably after two years together. Both cited the long-distance nature of their relationship as the reason, and said they would remain close friends.

Panettiere has a tattoo of the Italian words Vivere senza rimipianti sic running down her left side. The word rimpianti is misspelled in what otherwise would mean "To Live Without Regrets".

Activism

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.

On October 31, 2007, Panettiere joined with The Whaleman Foundation 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 10 minutes before the surfers were forced to return to the beach, after which they left the country. Parts of the confrontation can be seen on the award-winning Sundance Film Festival documentary film, The Cove. 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 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.

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. At a 2007 Greenpeace event in Anchorage, Alaska, Panettiere defended aboriginal whaling, saying that there is a difference between commercial whaling and the whaling practiced by aboriginal tribes in the United States.

In May 2008, Panettiere was involved in an eBay auction to benefit Save The Whales Again, a campaign of The Whaleman Foundation. The auction included tickets to a fundraising dinner hosted at the Hollywood restaurant Beso, owned by Eva Longoria, 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 September 2008, Panettiere launched her own line of calfskin leather bags for the company Dooney & Bourke.

In October 2008, Panettiere delved into the presidential election, releasing a public service announcement through the website Funny or Die. In this video Panettiere mocked Republican candidate John McCain for his age and temper. 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 and then-Tampa Bay Rays and current Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Garza on the issue of teen pregnancy.

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