Lesley Vogel, the estranged mother of the late actress Hayden Panettiere, has spoken out about her daughter's struggles, suggesting that the pressures of Hollywood contributed to her challenges. Panettiere died on Sunday.
Vogel told NBC News that she believes her daughter, an actress since infancy, "lost her way" due to the difficulties of navigating the entertainment industry at a young age. "I think it becomes very difficult to be true to yourself," Vogel said. "I wish it were different, because she had many incredible attributes."
Vogel also expressed distress that Brian Hickerson, Panettiere's on-again, off-again boyfriend, was with the actor at the time of her death. Hickerson and Panettiere's relationship was marked by reports of drug and alcohol abuse, and Panettiere detailed instances of abuse by Hickerson in her recently released memoir. Both Hickerson and his brother were present in the South Carolina apartment when Panettiere went into cardiac arrest, which a person familiar with the situation told The New York Times was likely due to an overdose.
The relationship between Vogel and Panettiere had been strained for years. Panettiere recounted in a May interview that her mother, also a former actress, pushed her into acting at eight months old. The dynamic reportedly fractured further when Panettiere, then 19, asked her mother to step down as her manager. Panettiere expressed to a podcast host that she wanted her mother to simply be her mom, but Vogel allegedly responded, "You owe me." Panettiere felt her mother was more interested in financial gain than their relationship.
Vogel, in a response to her daughter's claims made in May, suggested that "the present drama is partially to sell books." She stated she had been in "no-contact" with Panettiere for 20 years, taking advice from professionals. "As many parents of entertainment children [know], we are all too familiar with the painful observation of watching the self-destructive paths they sometimes choose," Vogel said. "Sadly, this is out of our control. You cannot save someone who does not want to be saved."
Vogel also mentioned the death of her son, Jansen Panettiere, in 2023 due to heart complications. She tearfully told NBC News that she believes Hayden is now "with her brother and they're at peace."