The Hayden Panettiere Emmys tribute aired during the 2026 ceremony on Monday, September 14, as the awards honored television figures who died over the past year.
Panettiere’s photograph appeared during the broadcast’s In Memoriam montage. Noah Kahan accompanied the segment with a rendition of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” providing the traditional subdued soundtrack for one of the evening’s most solemn moments.
Panettiere died one month before the ceremony
The tribute came roughly a month after Panettiere was found unresponsive in an apartment in South Carolina. Her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson, and his brother, Zach Hickerson, discovered her there.
Zach Hickerson later told TMZ that Brian administered Narcan, the brand-name form of the overdose-reversal medication naloxone, but was unable to revive her.
Her career stretched across television and film
Panettiere built a career that began in childhood and eventually made her a familiar presence on both television and cinema screens.
