Hollywood actress Hayden Panettiere, who gamers will know from her starring role in Supermassive Games’ Until Dawn, has sadly passed away at the age of 36, and the developer has paid tribute to her role as one of gaming’s “most iconic final girls.”
Panettiere’s tragic passing was confirmed by her father overnight, although the cause of death has not been disclosed. Supermassive Games posted the following message on its official X account:
We are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Hayden Panettiere. Hayden brought Sam to life in Until Dawn, shaping her into one of horror gaming’s most iconic final girls. Our thoughts are with her friends, family, and our community. Rest in peace, Hayden.
In addition to her work on Until Dawn as one of numerous playable characters in the game, Panettiere also voiced Kairi in Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts II, and Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, and the character of Xion in Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance. In film, she appeared as Kirby Reed in Scream 4 and Scream 6, as well as Ice Princess, The Good Student, and voiced Dot in A Bug’s Life.
Until Dawn was remastered for the PS5 a few years ago by Ballistic Moon, and Panettiere reprised her role as Samantha for a new post-credits scene.
[Source – Supermassive Games on X]