It wasn’t easy being a child star for Hayden Panettiere. The actress, 34, got her start in commercials as a baby and on soaps at age 4, and she later enjoyed success as a young adult on TV shows like Heroes in 2006 and Nashville in 2012. As the pressures of Hollywood life grew, she began abusing drugs and alcohol, and she eventually lost custody of her daughter Kaya, 9, who currently lives with her father, former boxing pro Wladimir Klitschko, 47, in Europe. Now almost three years sober, Panettiere is healthy, happy and ready to tell her story during a series of speaking engagements kicking off in Glenside, Pa., on Feb. 22.
Are you feeling as amazing as you look these days? I’m grateful to finally be surrounded by people who support me, who give me the power to shine and be myself and make decisions that are my own. Before this, my life was very much controlled by people telling me what to say, eat, wear. It made me not trust myself.
What made you want to speak up about your addiction struggles? Thankfully, that’s in the rearview mirror, so I love being in a position to help others and to let them know that recovery is real, it can happen, and you can be happier in your life than you ever thought possible.
‘LEARNING TO LOVE AND TRUST MYSELF HAS VERY MUCH BEEN A PROCESS, BUT I’M GETTING THERE’ — HAYDEN PANETTIERE
Is that why you also opened up about having postpartum depression after Kaya was born? Yes. It was tough not to be understood, but no one spoke to me about postpartum, so I just thought there was something wrong with me. It needs to be talked about.
How is Kaya doing? She’s amazing. She already speaks five languages: English, Russian, Ukrainian, German and French. She is so much like me—except she is a genius!
—GILLIAN TELLING
On Feb. 18 the actor turns 70. His career by the numbers
(PANETTIERE) MAIN: NOLWEN CIFUENTES; (TRAVOLTA) TOP: BARBARA COMO/PACIFIC PRESS/LIGHTROCKET/ GETTY IMAGES; (GREASE) GETTY IMAGES; (DIANA) SHUTTERSTOCK; (SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER) EVERET