Hayden Panettiere’s celebration of life will take place this weekend, but two significant figures in her life won’t be there. Family sources say her mother, Lesley Vogel, and her boyfriend, Brian Hickerson—along with his brother, Zach, were not invited to the memorial. About 150 people are expected to attend the service on Saturday at a church in Malibu, where Hayden’s father, Skip Panettiere, close friends, and Hollywood power players will gather to honor the late actress.
The Hayden Panettiere celebration of life location was chosen with intention. Sources say Hayden loved the ocean and whales, making the coastal Malibu setting especially meaningful to her family. Hayden’s parents separated in 2008 and finalized their divorce in 2016. She and her mother had a tumultuous relationship during the final years of her life. Her relationship with Hickerson was also complicated, he was arrested twice for domestic violence against her in 2020, though charges were later dropped or reduced, and the two remained in contact.
Hayden died on August 16 after being found unresponsive inside an Airbnb in Greenville, South Carolina. Her cause of death has not been officially confirmed, but her autopsy found no signs of trauma. Law enforcement sources believe she died after taking a black market oxycodone pill laced with fentanyl. Investigators say Hayden had a longtime drug dealer in Los Angeles who supplied her with prescription pills, and the DEA has searched her L.A. home as part of the ongoing investigation.
