Hayden Panettiere 'sadly lost her way', says estranged mother: 'I wish she had stayed true to herself'

Lesley Vogel, Hayden Panettiere's mother and former manager, has publicly commented for the first time since Panettiere's death at 36.

In an interview with NBC News, Vogel said she believed her daughter was highly talented but had struggled to stay true to herself amid the pressures of the entertainment industry, and said she wished things had gone differently.

The comments come after a long public rift between the two. Panettiere's memoir, released in May, described her mother as controlling during her early career, including an incident involving an injury handled to avoid missing work, and pressure to dress differently than she wanted.

Vogel responded publicly at the time, suggesting the memoir's timing was tied to book sales and speaking about the difficulty of watching a child struggle with self-destructive choices.

She said: "I think Hayden was an amazingly talented person in so many departments and I think young people who grow up in the entertainment industry — it is a struggle and it’s a very challenging industry and it’s not unusual for them to sadly find the wrong path," she said adding that Hayden 'lost her way'. "I wish she had stayed true to herself because she had many incredible attributes."

Panettiere had said in the months before her death that she and her mother weren't currently close, though she remained open to reconciling.

In the recent NBC interview, Vogel also referenced Panettiere's younger brother, who died in 2023, saying she takes comfort in believing the two are now together.