Los Angeles, California - Actor Hayden Panettiere, known for her major roles in popular TV shows Heroes and Nashville, has died at only 36 years old, media reports revealed on Monday.

"It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic passing of our beloved Hayden," Panettiere's father, Skip, said in a statement to ABC News on Monday.

"She was an incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her – and to the millions who watched her onscreen," he said.

He asked that her family be given privacy while they "process this unimaginable loss."

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Details about her death were not immediately given, but news outlet TMZ said there was an "open investigation" into the cause.

Born in 1989, Panettiere became a child star and went on to have numerous roles in both film and TV. Her credits include Remember the Titans, Ice Princess, Scream 4, and Scream VI.

In May, she released a bombshell memoir titled This Is Me: A Reckoning, in which she wrote about the pressures of being a child star, her experiences with addiction and recovery, and her struggles with depression and anxiety.

She had also spoken of estrangement from her mother, who managed her career as a child and later criticized her daughter's book.