Blake Lively is calling for people to be more “kind” in the wake of the deaths of actors Hayden Panettiere and Michelle Trachtenberg.
On Monday evening, Blake posted a picture of the two late actors – who died in August 2026 and February 2025, respectively – on Instagram, showing them behind the scenes of the 2005 teen movie Ice Princess.
“Be. Kind,” the former Gossip Girl star urged her followers.
She added: “You never know what others are going through. Thank you to both these women for all the joy you brought so many.”
In the late 2000s, Blake and Michelle shared the screen in the later seasons of Gossip Girl.
Reacting to Michelle’s death last year, which the New York City medical examiner’s officer later said was from complications caused by diabetes, the A Simple Favour actor remembered her former co-star’s “electricity”.
“You knew when she entered a room because the vibration changed,” Blake recalled in her tribute.
“Everything she did, she did 200%. She laughed the fullest at someone’s joke, she faced authority head on when she felt something was wrong, she cared deeply about her work, she was proud to be a part of this community and industry as painful as it could be sometimes, she was fiercely loyal to her friends and brave for those she loved, she was big and bold and distinctly herself.”
In recent years, Hayden had spoken candidly about the issues she’d faced throughout her time in the spotlight. This included opening up about her past struggles with abuse, addiction and her mental health in her 2026 memoir, This Is Me: A Reckoning.
This week, Greenville Police shared that they’d been called to an apartment block in the South Carolina city on Sunday night, after an “acquaintance” of Hayden contacted emergency services.
“Upon arrival, medical assistance was administered; however, the individual, later identified as Hayden Panettiere, was pronounced deceased at the scene,” a police rep explained.
The statement went on to say: “The case is under investigation by the Greenville Police Department in conjunction with the Greenville County Coroner’s Office. The preliminary investigation has not indicated any signs of foul play or suspicious circumstances.”
A subsequent autopsy report also said that there had been “no signs” of any physical trauma that may have contributed to Hayden’s death.
