Jonathan Jackson posted a lengthy Instagram tribute to his former “Nashville” co-star Hayden Panettiere on Wednesday, three days after her death at age 36 sent shockwaves through Hollywood. Jackson, who played Panettiere’s on-screen husband Avery Barkley for six seasons, shared a slideshow of throwback photos and described losing “our beloved Hayden” as leaving him without words.
Panettiere was found unresponsive Sunday at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina. The Greenville County Coroner’s Office attributed her death to cardiac arrest, and police said their preliminary investigation turned up no signs of foul play. Her father, Skip Panettiere, confirmed the news in a statement, calling his daughter “an incredible light and a force of nature.”
Jackson’s tribute leaned on a bond forged long before the two played country music’s most combustible screen couple. Both actors grew up working in the industry as children — Jackson on “General Hospital,” Panettiere on “Guiding Light” — and he wrote that they shared “a silent knowing of how intense the struggles can be.” He praised her as “focused, spontaneous and brilliant,” and said he and his wife, former “General Hospital” actress Lisa Vultaggio, loved Panettiere “like our own sister.”
The outpouring adds to tributes from castmates including Connie Britton, Charles Esten and Clare Bowen, who anchored “Nashville” alongside Panettiere during its run on ABC and later CMT from 2012 to 2018. Panettiere played rising star Juliette Barnes, a role that earned her Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice nominations.
Her death arrives months after she published a memoir, “This Is Me: A Reckoning,” detailing years of postpartum depression and addiction to alcohol and opioids. In interviews tied to the book’s release, Panettiere said filming “Nashville” often felt “traumatizing,” describing punishing schedules and storylines she believed writers drew directly from her personal struggles. That candor now shadows the tributes pouring in from a cast that spent the better part of a decade working alongside her.
