Hayden Panettiere's Younger Brother Jansen Panettiere Dead at 28

The Panettiere family has suffered a tragic loss.

Jansen Panettiere, the younger brother of Hayden Panettiere, has died at the age of 28, his rep confirmed to Deadline.

According to TMZ, Jansen passed away over the weekend in New York. Citing law enforcement source, the outlet reported that authorities were called to a home on Feb. 19 around 5:30 p.m. local time, though investigators do not suspect foul play at this time.

A cause of death has not been revealed. 

Born five years after Hayden, Jansen—like his older sister—broke out into Hollywood at a young age. His earliest gigs included an appearance on a 2002 episode of Disney Channel's Even Stevens and voice work for the Jacob Two-Two animated series.

From there, Jansen earned acting credits on Hope & Faith, Third Watch, Tiger Cruise and Everybody Hates Chris. He also continued with voiceover work, lending his talents to Blue's Clues, Robots, Ice Age: The Meltdown and The X's.

During the 2010s, Jansen made appearances in films such as The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry, The Perfect Game, 8, The Forger and The Martial Arts Kid, as well as the TV show The Walking Dead.

Outside of acting, Jansen had a passion for painting and often shared his work on Instagram. His last post was a photo of his partner, Catherine Michie, posing next to a colorful portrait. 

In the wake of his death, Catherine mourned the artist in a tribute: "Jansen, I met you only a year ago, but you have been my best friend and biggest fan."

 

"I will never forget the first time I saw your face and the first things you said to me," Catherine continued in a Feb. 19 post. "Words cannot express the pain of knowing I won't hear your laugh again. I hope you find peace, and I'm sorry I wasn't there when you needed me most."

She added, "The world is better because you were in it. I know we will paint together again someday. I'll always be your sugarpop."

Last month, Jansen shared a picture of himself receiving a haircut from his sister. Alongside the black-and-white snapshot, which showed the Nashville actress happily snipping his brown locks, Jansen captioned, "Not the first haircut she's tried to give me."

E! News has reached out to Jansen and Hayden's reps for comment but hasn't heard back.

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