Hayden Leslie Panettiere
(pronounced /ˌpænɨtiˈɛər/; born August 21, 1989) is an American actress
and singer. She began her acting career by playing Sarah Roberts on One
Life to Live (1994–1997), and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light
(1996–2000), before starring at age 10 as Sheryl Yoast in the Disney
feature film Remember the Titans. Her most notable role to date is that
of cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC series Heroes (2006–2010), for
which she won several awards.
Panettiere was born in
and partly raised in Palisades, New York, the daughter of Lesley R.
Vogel, a former soap opera actress, and Alan L. "Skip" Panettiere, a
fire department lieutenant. Panettiere is of Italian descent. Her
surname means "baker" in Italian. She has one younger brother, fellow
actor Jansen Panettiere.
Although Panettiere
attended South Orangetown Middle School in New York, she was
homeschooled from grade nine to the completion of high school. For now,
Panettiere is postponing higher education in favor of an acting career.