The late-night Aug. 16 notification that Hayden Panettiere died took my breath away. She was 36 years old.

Panettiere’s career coincided with my own coming of age. One of the first VHS tapes I owned was "A Bug’s Life." In 2005, I checked my local Blockbuster multiple times for copies of "Ice Princess," the Disney movie she starred in with the late Michelle Trachtenberg. "Bring It On: All or Nothing" was a movie my cheer friends and I watched. I watched "Heroes" on Netflix as a teenager – her storyline as Claire Bennet was the only one I cared about.

Almost immediately, my side of the internet was filled with stills and clips from Panettiere’s acting career, from a "Remember the Titans" clip where she discusses football plays with Denzel Washington’s character instead of playing with dolls. A montage of her and Trachtenberg in "Ice Princess" began making the rounds.

I could immediately feel the outpouring of grief from women like me, who grew up with........

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