Hayden Panettiere’s mom Lesley Vogel slams haters after daughter's death: 'That’s my domain'

Hayden Panettiere’s mother, Lesley Vogel, opened up about the death of her two children in an emotional interview.

For those unaware, Hayden passed away at the age of 36 on August 16, 2026. She was found lifeless from cardiac arrest at an apartment in Greenville, South Carolina, by first responders. Her tragic passing comes after she lost her younger brother, Jansen Panettiere, on February 19, 2023. His death was also sudden, as he succumbed to cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart) combined with aortic valve complications at the age of 28.

The Monday, August 24 episode of Good Morning America hosted Lesley, who reflected on her life after losing her young children.

Expressing her unfiltered feelings to ABC News reporter Rhiannon Ally, the grieving mother of two said, “It’s a process. And I think it will probably hit me later on. I would say to the haters out there, you don’t have a right to tell me how I mourn the loss of my second child. That’s my domain.”

Calling to mind the moment when she was told about Hayden’s death, the 70-year-old actress and producer teared up and confessed that she “couldn’t feel anything.”

She explained, “I was numb. I was just numb. I just couldn’t feel anything. I still [am] not grasping this is real. It doesn’t feel real. My mind tells me it’s not at times. It’s going to be a process.”

“I think you just have to find that inner strength. I have been knocked down throughout my life and I’m not complaining, because I have the strength to get back up. … It’s how we get back up that defines who we are,” Lesley Vogel stated.