Hayden Panettiere‘s autobiography, This Is Me: A Reckoning, hit bookshelves last week. But while the mainstream media obsesses about her bombshell revelations regarding the Academy Award winning actor and director who exposed himself to her, the British rock star she was coerced to get into bed with, her abusive relationship, her brother’s mysterious death, and losing custody of her daughter, we want to know only one thing: What did Panettiere have to say about her time on One Life to Live and Guiding Light?
Key Takeaways
- Hayden Panettiere played Sarah Roberts on OLTL.
- Hayden Panettiere played Lizzie Spaulding on GL.
- Hayden Panettiere thinks her soap-opera past affected her dramatic present.
Starting Out
Hayden was still in elementary school when she landed her first soap role, as Sarah Roberts, daughter of Tina (Andrea Evans) and Cord (John Loprieno) on OLTL. S
he doesn’t remember much from her days on that soap, but she does recall not realizing what a big deal 6-time Emmy winner Erika Slezak was in the industry. (Fun fact: Hayden’s mother, Lesley Vogel, also has an ABC soap past. She played con artist Edie, married to Doug, played by future Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston, in the early days of Loving. Panettiere eventually played a recurring role on Bryan’s other show, Malcolm in the Middle.)
Break Out Role
Panettiere has many more memories from playing GL’s Lizzie, including her constantly being pushed to burst into a torrent of tears, whether from Lizzie visiting her suicidal mom, Beth (Beth Chamberlin), in the hospital, Lizzie battling leukemia, Lizzie shooting Beth’s abusive boyfriend, Carl, and Lizzie just being your typical soap-opera traumatized kid.
Cause and Effect
Panettiere admits that she was an excellent crier, which is why the writers kept putting her in such dramatic scenes. She would summon up the tears by imagining a variety of sad scenarios, from losing her hamster to imagining the deaths of her parents and brother. She would work herself into near-hysteria, then let loose while the cameras were rolling. It made her a production and fan favorite, but the actress now wonders if all that drama she put her body through as if it were real was responsible for her later addictions and depression.
She is extremely honest about her struggles, and doesn’t so much blame the show as speculate about it. She offers reasons, not excuses, which makes the book a fascinating read.
