Hayden Panettiere was born on August 21, 1989 in Palisades, New York, to parents Lesley and Skip Panettiere. She is the older sister of actor Jansen Panettiere.
Panettiere started appearing in commercials when she was just shy of one year old. In 1994, at age 4, she was cast on the daytime soap "One Life to Live," and she stayed on as a reoccurring character until 1997. Before leaving "One Life," Panettiere won another reoccurring soap role on "The Guiding Light" in 1996. She played Lizzie Spaulding on the show for the next four years.
After many years of working on daytime soaps, Panettiere turned her focus to film. In 1998 she landed a role in "The Object of My Affection" starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd, and voiced the animated character Dot in "A Bug's Life." In 2000, she won a starring role in the football film "Remember the Titans" with Denzel Washington. The following year, she was seen in "Joe Somebody" starring Tim Allen, and in the drama "The Affair of the Necklace."
In 2002, Panettiere returned to television with a reoccurring role on the hit series "Ally McBeal." The following year she starred with Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson in the television movie "Normal," in which she plays the daughter of a man who has decided to get a sex change. Also in 2003, Panettiere won a role on the comedy series "Malcolm in the Middle," and she was seen occasionally on the show until 2005. Next, Panettiere played the niece of Kate Hudson in 2004's "Raising Helen," and starred in the family film "Racing Stripes" in 2005.
In 2006, Panettiere won a role that would give her great exposure to American audiences. She was cast as Claire Bennett aka "The Cheerleader" on "Heroes," a show which follows extraordinary people who are learning the boundaries of their special abilities.
In 2007, she is scheduled to appear in "Shanghai Kiss," and she will release her debut music album. She has recorded several singles in the past for various films, including "Ice Princess" and "Tiger Cruise." She also recorded a song called "Your New Girlfriend" for "Girl Next," which is a compilation album of various up and coming female singers.
