Alexa PenaVega Mourns 3 Child Stars Dead in 2026 as Hayden Panettiere Dies at 36
Updated
Updated · Variety · Aug 17
Alexa PenaVega Mourns 3 Child Stars Dead in 2026 as Hayden Panettiere Dies at 36
3 articles · Updated · Variety · Aug 17
Summary
Alexa PenaVega said her “heart is heavy” after Hayden Panettiere’s death, calling it the third loss of a fellow child star this year after Michelle Trachtenberg and Daveigh Chase.
In a social-media statement, PenaVega said the four grew up together in 2000s Hollywood and that not every child actor had “the foundation or support they deserved.”
Panettiere died Sunday in Greenville, South Carolina, at 36; police said her death remains under investigation but found no signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.
Trachtenberg died in February at 39 from diabetes-related natural causes, while Chase died June 16 in Los Angeles at 35 from AIDS, with chronic polysubstance use listed as a secondary cause.
The three deaths have renewed focus on the pressures faced by child performers who came of age in Hollywood alongside PenaVega.