Panettiere (pronounced "PAN-a-tee-AIR" per an appearance on Last Call with Carson Daly was born in Islip, New York to Lesley Vogel and Skip Panettiere, and has Italian ancestry. She began appearing in commercials at just eleven months old, before landing a role as Sarah Roberts on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live and later as the child Lizzie Spaulding on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light when she was eight years old. Panettiere played the role until 2001. Since that time, she has appeared in over a dozen full-length feature films, as well as several made-for-TV movies. She has also had a starring role in FOX's Ally McBeal and a recurring guest role in Malcolm in the Middle. She also recently appeared on an episode of Punk'd, as an accomplice in punking her boyfriend, Stephen Colletti. She also has guest starred in Law & Order: SVU. Panettiere currently stars as Claire Bennet in the NBC series Heroes as a high school cheerleader with the power of rapid self-healing.

Neutrogena decided to make her the cover girl for their new worldwide ad campaign; in this regard Panettiere followed in the footsteps of actresses Jennifer Love Hewitt, Mandy Moore, Kristin Kreuk, Mischa Barton and Jennifer Freeman. Panettiere also provided the voice of Kairi, one of the main characters of Square Enix/Disney's Kingdom Hearts series.

Another current project for Panettiere is a music album. She has recorded several singles for various films such as Disney's Ice Princess and the Disney Channel Original Movie Tiger Cruise. She recently recorded a song for "Girl Next", a compilation album of various up and coming female singers, the song is called "Your New Girlfriend". Her debut album is set for a 2007 release.

Panettiere currently lives in Palisades, New York with her parents and younger brother, Jansen, though she travels frequently for movies and other projects. She also resides in Los Angeles, California, Orlando, Florida, and in Warren, Michigan.

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