Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere dies aged 36

Actress Hayden Panettiere, star of US TV shows Heroes and Nashville, has died aged 36.

"It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden. She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her and to the millions who watched her onscreen," her father, Skip Panettiere, said in a statement reported by US media.

The details surrounding her death were not immediately available.

Panettiere played a cheerleader with superpowers in Heroes and had other memorable roles, including in films Remember the Titans and Raising Helen.

Her father Skip Panettiere has asked for privacy "as our family takes time to process this unimaginable loss", in a statement issued through her representative.

Beginning her career as a child actor, Panettiere was just four years old when she was cast on the popular US soap opera One Life to Live.

She later rose to fame playing Claire Bennet in the popular sci-fi series Heroes, which ran from 2006 to 2010.

Panettiere's career spanned three decades with a string of roles in other hit shows and films, including the Scream horror franchise and the romantic comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper.

Earlier this year, she released a memoir titled This Is Me: A Reckoning, recounting the struggles of growing up as a child actor and her experiences with addiction, abuse and later recovery.

Panettiere is survived by her daughter Kaya with her former partner, Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko.