Here's the Next Step Hayden Panettiere Is Taking in Her Acting Comeback

After a four-year hiatus from acting, Hayden Panettiere signed with a big talent agency. Find out more about her comeback below.

By Tamantha Gunn Aug 31, 2022 9:02 PMTags
Watch: Hayden Panettiere Shares Past Alcohol & Opioid Addictions

Hayden Panettiere is ready to bring it.

After a four-year hiatus from acting, the Nashville alum has signed with talent agency APA, her rep confirms to E! News. This major step in her comeback arrives just as Hayden finished filming Scream 6.

In the upcoming slasher film, the actress is reprising her role of Kirby Reed, the sole teenage survivor of Ghostface's killing spree in 2011's Scream 4. She will join returning cast members Jasmin Savoy Brown, Courteney Cox, Melissa BarreraMason Gooding and Jenna Ortega. According to a press release, "The Scream saga continues with four survivors of the Ghostface killings as they leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter."

Earlier the Summer, the Remember the Titans star opened up about her time out of the spotlight, during which she split from longtime boyfriend Wladimir Klitschko—father to her daughter Kaya, 7—and struggled with alcohol and opioid addiction.

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Hayden Panettiere's Best Looks

"I was on top of the world and I ruined it," she told People July 6. "I'd think I hit rock bottom, but then there's that trap door that opens."
 
The former child star said she was just 15 when someone offered her "happy pills" before walking red carpets. "They were to make me peppy during interviews," she recalled. "I had no idea that this was not an appropriate thing, or what door that would open for me when it came to my addiction."

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However, in 2018, Hayden sought treatment for her addiction and entered rehab for eight months, completing trauma therapy and inpatient treatment.

"This hasn't been easy and there were a lot of ups and downs," she noted of her sobriety journey. "But I don't regret even the ugliest things that have happened to me. I feel incredibly accomplished. And I feel like I have a second chance."