Hayden Panettiere’s addiction battle damaged liver: ‘Yellow’

Hayden Panettiere is speaking out about the shocking toll that substance abuse has taken on her body.

The actress, who has previously detailed her battle with alcohol and opioid addiction, told Women’s Health UK that she started seeing the serious physical side effects following her 30th birthday in 2019.

“My body was like, ‘enough,’” the now 33-year-old confessed in the April issue of the publication.

“‘I hit 30. My face was swollen. I had jaundice. My eyes were yellow. I had to go to a liver specialist. I was holding on to weight that wasn’t normally there. My hair was thin and coming out in clumps.”

Panettiere told the publication that she first starting abusing alcohol after moving to Tennessee to star in the hit series “Nashville” back in 2012.

“I was being told how to be and how to live by so many people in my life,” she stated. “I wanted certain decisions to be my own, and nobody could stop me. What I put in my body was like an act of defiance.”

The actress, who battled postpartum depression, told Women’s Health that her drinking “ramped up” following the birth of her daughter, Kaya, in 2014.

Shortly after, Panettiere was prescribed opioids after an “old neck injury flared up.”

She told Women’s Health that she quickly developed a dependency on the pain pills and that her “tolerance got so high so fast that it became a problem.”

The actress first checked herself into rehab in 2015, saying she felt as if she was “drowning.”

But the beauty soon hit the bottle again, saying alcohol became a crutch that helped ease anxiety and the pressures of being in the public eye.

“I [also] struggled with sleep deprivation,” she declared. “Sleep is massive. It affects your motor skills, your ability to think, and your overall health.”

After seeing a liver specialist and realizing the impact the substances were having on her body, Panettiere sought further treatment.

“I did a lot of work on myself, she emotionally revealed. “After eight months of intensive therapy, I felt like I had this blank canvas to work with.”

Elsewhere in her interview with Women’s Health, Panettiere revealed that she underwent a breast reduction last year, saying the surgery helped her self-esteem.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with somebody who wants to tweak something if it makes them feel more confident,” she stated. “That’s all I have to say about it. My confidence is back.”

The Emmy nominee has now returned to the spotlight, having recently revived her role as the character Kirby in “Scream VI.”

However, Panettiere is suffering following the sudden death of her younger brother, Jansen, who was found dead on Feb. 19 at the age of just 28.

The artist’s family revealed eight days later that his cause of death was an enlarged heart.

Panettiere spoke lovingly of her brother in an interview with Good Morning America less than a month after his death, declaring: “He’s right here with me.”