Hayden Panettiere Left Behind A Final Look At Her Hudson Valley Roots
Hayden Panettiere's autobiography reveals that the late actress never forgot her roots in the Hudson Valley.
The book, "This is Me: A Reckoning," was released three months before her death, starts out with Panettiere revisiting her hometown in Palisades. She was 36.
Hollywood Star Hayden Panettiere Opens Up About Her Rockland County Roots In New Memoir
Panettiere spent years in Hollywood, but according to her own memoir, it was Rockland County that always felt like home.
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In it, she writes about growing up in Palisades, in a European-style cottage her parents bought in 1998 known locally as the French Ivy House.
She describes her childhood in detail. Playing in neighborhood backyards, going to the local swim club, and attended South Orangetown public schools before switching to homeschooling once her acting career took off.
She also writes about the harder parts. Panettiere says she faced bullying and isolation from classmates once she started booking acting roles, and that she learned early on to be cautious about who genuinely liked her for who she was.
She remembers the drive down Route 9W and across the George Washington Bridge for her earliest auditions, and getting her start locally with the Children's Shakespeare Theatre.
Panettiere also opens up about returning to her father's home in Rockland County in 2025. She had just been through years of hardship, including a public struggle with substance use and the sudden death of her younger brother, Jansen, in Nyack back in 2023.
She writes that being surrounded by her brother's artwork in that house gave her comfort, and that simple things like hiking local trails and walking past her childhood home helped her feel like herself again after nearly two decades away.
Panettiere passed away just three months after her memoir came out. Authorities have not yet released a final determination on her cause of death.
Hayden Panettiere: A Timeline of Tragedy + Troubles
Hayden Panettiere: A Timeline of Tragedy + Troubles
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
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