Actress Hayden Panettiere details a deeply fractured and "chilling" relationship with her mother, Lesley Vogel, in her new memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning." Panettiere alleges that Vogel's management of her career from a young age, beginning when she was an infant commercial actress, contributed to her subsequent struggles with addiction, postpartum depression, and the loss of her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, in 2023. A source close to Panettiere told the Daily Mail that the estrangement from her mother is "worse than anyone knows" and has been deteriorating for about two years.
Panettiere, who began working at eight months old and landed her first commercial at 11 months, was managed into stardom by Vogel. By age five, Panettiere had recurring roles on soap operas like "One Life to Live" and "Guiding Light." However, the actress recalls her mother as harsh and critical, even at a young age. She recounts an incident after a failed audition where her mother reacted with a visibly angry expression, described as a "soul-shattering underbite." Another anecdote details Vogel's attempt to make a lost tooth appear present for an audition by gluing a prosthetic tooth onto a retainer.
Vogel, a former daytime TV actress herself, reportedly shifted her focus to managing her daughter's career. Panettiere claims her mother told her from a young age that her earnings were crucial for supporting the family, covering household expenses like car payments and phone bills. By age 16, Panettiere's income reportedly helped purchase a family apartment. She stated in a podcast interview that her earnings were used for things she wasn't privy to, and by age 19, she ended their professional relationship, asking her mother to simply be her mom. Panettiere recalls her mother's response as, "You owe me," which she found indicative of a financially driven connection rather than a familial one.
Panettiere moved out of the family home at 18, describing it as an act of survival. She reports having a positive relationship with her father, Alan 'Skip' Panettiere, who divorced Vogel in 2016.
Vogel has pushed back against her daughter's claims, calling Panettiere "entitled" and accusing her of inflicting "20 years of trauma." Vogel told the Daily Mail that she chose no contact in mid-September 2025 after "20 years of trauma, chaos, addictions [and] accusations," stating she felt she had "no other option but to choose no contact." She suggested that Panettiere's revelations were timed to boost memoir sales.
Despite the current estrangement, Panettiere has stated that the door remains open for reconciliation. Her memoir also touches on past romantic relationships, including her engagement to boxer Wladimir Klitschko, with whom she shares a daughter, and her tumultuous relationship with Brian Hickerson, who faced domestic violence charges.