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Courteney Cox Tributes Hayden Panettiere, Remembering Her as a 'Really Wonderful Actor
Confirmed
In Short: Actress Courteney Cox has paid tribute to her Scream co-star Hayden Panettiere, describing her as fun, happy, and smart.
Speaking at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, where she premiered her second directorial feature, Evil Genius, Cox reflected on her time working with Panettiere on two Scream films.
‘She was really fun and happy and smart, and it’s really sad,’ Cox said, expressing her sorrow over Panettiere’s passing.
Panettiere’s performance in Scream 4 was praised for its ferocity and success in misdirecting the audience, contributing to the film’s enduring reputation.
Panettiere’s representative criticized those using her death for gossip and speculation, stating, 'Many people who were not close to Hayden are using her death as an opportunity to fuel gossip and speculation about a situation they knew very little about.
What's confirmed
- Speaking at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, where she premiered her second directorial feature, Evil Genius, Cox reflected on her time working with Panettiere on two Scream films.
- ‘She was really fun and happy and smart, and it’s really sad,’ Cox said, expressing her sorrow over Panettiere’s passing.
- Panettiere’s performance in Scream 4 was praised for its ferocity and success in misdirecting the audience, contributing to the film’s enduring reputation.
- Panettiere’s representative criticized those using her death for gossip and speculation, stating, 'Many people who were not close to Hayden are using her death as an opportunity to fuel gossip and speculation about a situation they knew very little about.
What's still developing
- Fuji News Network and Oricon News reported on Friday that actor and narrator Leo Morimoto (birth name Haruyuki Morimoto) died suddenly from unknown causes on September 4, according to his agency.
- Courteney Cox is paying tribute to her Scream costar, Hayden Panettiere.
- Cox, who has portrayed the ambitious journalist Gale Weathers in all seven films in the slasher franchise created by director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson in 1996, hadn’t yet joined the chorus of tributes to Panettiere, who died on Aug. 16 at the age of 36.
- Expectations were high for Scream 4, should Williamson & co.
- The film’s box office success, however moderate, and enduring reputation as one of the better entries in the franchise are due in no small part to the ferocity that Panettiere brought to her new role as Kirby Reed.
- Though all signs point to Kirby as the culprit behind the Ghostface killer in the film, Panettiere’s twisty performance proves a successful misdirect, and the character lived to see another day (and Scream film — Kirby would return another near-decade later for Scream VI ).
- Philippe Bossé/ Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media (2) Speaking with EW in 2025, Panettiere raved about her experience on the Scream 4 set, especially with regard to her time with the late, great Craven.
- HAYDEN PANETTIERE’S REP SLAMS ‘GOSSIP AND SPECULATION’ AS DEATH INVESTIGATION DEEPENS In a video circulating online, Hickerson — who was seen handcuffed and bloody outside the restaurant - told Zachary, "GPD leaked it when my girlfriend died," referencing Panettiere's death and the Greenville Police Department.