Hayden Leslie Panettiere (born August 21, 1989) is an American actress and Grammy-nominated singer. Panettiere was born in and partly raised in Palisades, Rockland County, New York, the daughter of Lesley R. Vogel, a former soap opera actress, and Alan L. "Skip" Panettiere, a fire department lieutenant. Panettiere, whose surname means "baker" in Italian, is of Italian descent. She has one younger brother, fellow actor Jansen Panettiere. She began modeling when she was four months old. She first appeared in commercials at 11 months, beginning with an advertisement for Playskool. Panettiere's first single, "Wake Up Call," was digitally released on August 5, 2008. A clothing brand named Candie's announced that it was premiering an ad campaign for the single in late July. Similarly, Candie's would also provide additional promotion for the single with a television advertisement and a music video. Although Panettiere attended South Orangetown Middle School in New York, she was educated at home from the 9th grade through high school. For now, Panettiere is postponing higher education in favor of an acting career. She came to professional prominence at the age of 10 with her portrayal of Sheryl Yoast in Disney's Remember the Titans, although for five years before that, Panettiere had held roles in two soap operas. She portrayed Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live from 1994–1997, and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light from 1996-2000. Panettiere reached a wider audience with her starring role as cheerleader Claire Bennet on the NBC television series Heroes. So, she became most prominent as Claire Bennet in the mention series, which was created by Tim Kring, as a high school cheerleader with regenerative healing powers. Thanks to her role on Heroes, she became a regular on the science fiction convention circuit, invited to attend conventions around the world in 2007, including Gen Con, New York Comic-Con, and Fan Expo Canada. Panettiere has complained that her acting options are sometimes limited because "people look at [her] as either the 'popular cheerleader' type or just "the blonde." In 2006, Panettiere began dating Stephen Colletti, the former Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, star. The couple broke up in September 2007. In December 2007, it was widely reported that she was dating her Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia, though Panettiere denied these reports in an interview with GQ. These reports continued through the early part of 2008, and several sources had reported that she asked Ventimiglia to move in with her. In April 2008, during an interview on the BBC's The Chris Moyles Show to promote the second season of Heroes, Ventimiglia confirmed that he was dating Panettiere. They ended their relationship in February 2009. She is currently dating heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko. She was ringside for his knockout victory over Samuel Peter on September 11, 2010. She has a tattoo of the Italian words Vivere senza rimipianti [sic] running down the side of her left flank. The word rimpianti is misspelled in what otherwise would mean "To Live Without Regrets".
