Actress Madeline Zima, who starred alongside Hayden Panettiere in the NBC superhero drama series “Heroes,” has spoken out positively about the late star following her recent tragic passing.
Panettiere, was just 36 when she passed away following a cardiac arrest on Sunday, August 16, just five days shy of her 37th birthday.
Stars have come out en masse to pay tribute to Panettiere since she died, including “Heroes” creator Tim Kring and Panettiere’s on-screen father in the show, Jack Coleman.
The latest member of the show’s cast to speak out is Zima, who was also Panettiere’s friend in real life. Zima portrayed Gretchen Berg in the series for ten episodes in 2009 and 2010. Berg and Panettiere’s character, Claire Bennet, famously shared a steamy kiss in “Heroes” Season 4.
Zima spoke to TMZ to have her say on Panettiere in the wake of her sad passing.
Madeline Zima Calls Hayden Panettiere ‘The Most Lovable Person’
GettyMadeline Zima sat down with TMZ for their “TMZ In The Know” YouTube series, hosted by Jakson Buhaj, and heaped praise on her former “Heroes” co-star Hayden Panettiere.
Zima began by saying, “Yeah, I’m a mom now myself and I thought about this a lot as part of the reason I wanted to speak about Hayden, [is] that I hope her daughter knows how much, I’m sure, Hayden loved her and loves her still.”
She went on, adding, “And that she was all heart, and joy, and gutsiness, and protecting other people. And even if that meant that she had to protect people from herself, she was just a very good human being — a real salt of the earth person.”
The actress concluded, “And I met thousands of people this industry and she’s one of the kindest and most loving — fiercely loving — and I hope that when her daughter goes and Googles stuff about her mom, that she feels that, from all the people that worked with her, and knew her, she was the most lovable person, and she loved people very fiercely.”
It was a lovely, heartfelt tribute and we second Zima’s notion that we hope Panettiere’s daughter only ever reads kind words about her mother.
Zima’s Recent Career
GettySince appearing in “Heroes,” Madeline Zima has enjoyed an ongoing career with roles on both the small and big screens.
This year, she has appeared in an episode of the medical detective drama “Watson” and in John W. Kim’s comedy movie “Reunion.”
Other recent roles include Alex Noyer’s 2025 horror thriller film “Love Is the Monster,” the 2024 sci-fi thriller movie “Subservience,” the 2024 drama film “Wink,” and a 2024 episode of the crime comedy drama series “High Potential.”
Her one confirmed upcoming role will be in Ron Carlson’s drama movie “Sunset & Lorraine,” which is in the post-production stage and expected to release later this year.
It was kind of Madeline Zima to speak out about Hayden Panettiere and to share her hopeful thoughts regarding the late actress’ daughter. We wish her all the very best in her ongoing career and hope to see more of her on our screens soon.
Madeline Zima’s filmography info was courtesy of IMDb.
