Actor Dies Unexpectedly at Age 28, No Foul Play Suspected
Actor and artist Jansen Panettiere, the brother of actress Hayden Panettiere, has died at the age of 28.
According to the website TMZ, foul play is not suspected in Panettiere’s death.
Jansen Panettiere’s acting career began in 2002, according to USA Today. His acting credits included an appearance in season nine of “The Walking Dead.”
According to a report from TMZ, friends of Panettiere’s grew worried about him when he did not show up for a Sunday meeting.
Hayden Panettiere is “absolutely heartbroken” following the death of her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere.
A source tells ET that she “loved her brother unconditionally” and that she “constantly tried to help Jansen” with his mental health issues.
🔗: https://t.co/zvahWWhQ7k pic.twitter.com/qqhxEWgZrd
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) February 21, 2023
The report said that one friend went to Jansen Panettiere’s New York City apartment and found him unresponsive and sitting in a chair.
The report said that the friend tried to revive him with CPR and also called 911.
Panettiere is five years younger than his sister and worked on projects that included “Even Stevens,” “Blue’s Clues,” “Robots,” “Ice Age: The Meltdown,” and “The X’s.”
The website ET online, citing a source it did not name, said his sister “is absolutely heartbroken.”
“She loved her brother unconditionally and the two shared a special bond,” the source said.
“Jansen suffered from mental health issues and art was his therapy and escape. In the past, Jansen was open to family and friends about his struggles. Hayden was always there for him and constantly tried to help Jansen when she could,” ET’s source said.
On February 19th, actor Jansen Panettiere passed away at the young age of 28.
While he had performed multiple roles, for Nicktoons fans, he was the voice of Truman X from “The X’s”, and the voice of Perriwinkle in the 6th season of “Blue’s Clues”
May he rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/XBCmSP1viA
— 💚 (@notjustcart00ns) February 21, 2023
Jansen Panettiere wrote about his struggles in a 2019 post on Medium.
“I’m a painter now. I’ve painted for most of my life but only as of recent have I self-identified with the practice. It’s my therapy,” he wrote.
“Those of you whom understand anxiety and depression know that it’s like suffocating. It’s like searching for a breathe of cool air in a steam room,” he said.
When extreme depression hits, he said that when drugs could not help him, “I paint. I paint my problems. It gives me a sense of ultimate purpose.”
“In a world hypnotized by vanity fueled with comparison, art is my escape. The inner demons call to the angels of our being. Finally all these toxic thoughts and feelings have a stage to play and become something much more than just that weight on my chest, the clenching of my fists, the tightness in my jaw. In the words of Meryl Streep ‘take your broken heart and make art,’” he wrote.
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