All About Hayden Panettiere's Daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko

Hayden Panettiere has experienced a unique journey of motherhood since welcoming her daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko.

The Scream VI actress Kaya, born in December 2014, shares with ex-fiancé Vladimir Klitschko. When the former couple split in 2018, Panettiere made the heartbreaking decision to let Kaya live in Ukraine with Klitschko and lose custody of her daughter. At the time, Panettiere struggled with alcohol abuse and addiction, and later underwent trauma therapy and inpatient treatment.

“I felt terribly guilty, but at the same time, I was trying to tell myself if I’m not good, if I’m not good then I can’t be the best mom [Kaya]” the actress said about Kaya being in Ukraine during the 2022 episode Talk about the red table. “And I was going through such a difficult time and I knew that the most selfless thing I could do was make that difficult decision and just try to work on myself.”

Although Kaya still lives in Europe with Klitschko, Panettiere is in regular contact with her.

Timeline of the relationship between Hayden Panettiere and Wladimir Klitschko

“We’re lucky to be able to travel a lot,” she told PEOPLE of her vacation with her daughter in 2022. “She’s a happy kid open to a huge world. And she has more love than anyone I’ve ever met.”

Panettiere added: “She has a wonderful life. I’ve just been with her. She’s just an amazing kid. She’s smart and fun and for whatever reason, she still loves me.”

Here’s everything you need to know about Hayden Panettiere’s daughter, Kaya Evdokia Klitschko.

Panettiere accidentally posted Kay’s sex

Hayden Panettiere at the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards 2014 Kevork Djansezian/NBC/NBCUniversal/Getty

While walking the red carpet at the Emmys in August 2014, Panettiere showed off her growing baby bump — and also accidentally revealed her baby’s gender during an interview. After announcing she was expecting a girl, she said she was excited to go baby shopping and paint her daughter’s room.

A month before giving birth to Kaya, Panettiere shared how thrilled she was to “have a girl first,” saying Hello! Magazine“I feel like I know a lot about raising a strong woman… I feel very empowered myself, and I think my daughter will too.”

Kaya was born in 2014

Panettiere and her then-fiancé Klitschko welcomed their daughter Kaya in Hawaii on Dec. 9, 2014. The actress’ rep confirmed the news exclusively to PEOPLE, saying the baby weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 20 inches long at birth.

“We are great and madly in love!” the couple told PEOPLE, and the actress later said of Klitschko, “I’m happy if I get my hands on a child. He said, ‘No, no, I have her.’ Which is exactly what I thought it would be.”

The new parents also received great support from Klitschko’s mother. “[She] desperate to take the baby one night,” Panettiere told PEOPLE when Kaya was two weeks old. “It looks like she didn’t sleep much, but I feel rested!”

She added of her newborn daughter: “She’s really so cute. I’m sure it’s meant to be, because when you’re being squeezed, you’re like, ‘You’re so happy you’re cute!’ ”

Reflecting on Kay’s birth in September 2024, Panettiere told PEOPLE that her daughter was just like her from the moment she was born.

“She’s beautiful and turned out just like me,” she said. “I mean, talk about nature versus nurture. I mean, this little girl literally came out — not only does her face resemble mine, but she’s my personality. She just is.”

Panettiere struggled with postpartum depression

The Heroes star has been very open about her experience with postpartum depression and addiction after Kaya’s birth. She told E! News’ The Rundown in 2023 that she “wants someone to tell her” what she might be feeling and that she wants “to know how to pay attention to it”.

“I never heard any stories about it. I just thought there was something seriously wrong with me, so I thought, ‘[Alcohol] will fix this. Spirit!’ ” she explained. “It wasn’t. It was for a moment, but then it got worse.”

At the same time, Panettiere said her relationship with Klitschko suffered because he believed she was responsible for her postpartum depression. “[He’s] a man who doesn’t have any sisters,” she explained Talk about the red table in September 2022. “So he really thought I was doing this to myself and I could just choose to snap out of it.”

She first entered addiction treatment when Kaya was four months old and is proud that she is doing better now. She is “looking forward” to the day she can talk about her experiences with Kaya.

“I’m grateful to be equipped with the information and experience I’ve gained with postpartum depression,” she told Women’s health in March 2023.

Kaya lives with her dad in Europe

Hayden Panettiere and her daughter Kaya. Hayden Panettiere Twitter

After Panettiere and Klitschko broke up in 2018 Nashville the actress made the decision to have Kaya live with her father in Ukraine amid her battle with addiction. However, Panettiere did not know at the time that the decision would be permanent.

“I wanted to work on myself and I’m going to get better,” Panettiere said during her appearance on the 2022 show. Talk about the red table. “And when I got better, things could change and she could come to me and I could spend time with her. But that didn’t happen.”

She also called giving up custody of Kaya and signing the papers “the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.”

“It was the hardest thing I could have done,” Panettiere previously told PEOPLE. “But the best thing for my daughter was to make sure she was okay, to take care of myself and to make sure I could be a good mom to her. And sometimes that means letting go.”

She speaks several languages

While speaking with PEOPLE in 2024, Panettiere revealed that her daughter speaks five languages.

“English, Russian, Ukrainian, German, and now she’s started French too… she’s a genius,” shared the actress.

She continued, “I think language is one thing we do poorly in the US. By the time we start teaching them languages, their brains are already too formed. But when they’re babies and young, they’re like sponges. You can teach them anything. Now she doesn’t appreciate it, but I keep telling her she will!”

During the appearance at the 2017 Live with Kelly!, Panettiere admitted that then-2-year-old Kaya was “really good at Russian” — and even developed a Russian accent.

Kaya is a fearless skier

While her father is a professional boxer, Kaya showed talent in another sport: skiing.

Kaya started skiing at just 2 years old, and Panettiere showed a video of her daughter on the slopes during her 2017 performance. Live with Kelly!.

The actress also spoke about Kay’s fearlessness on the mountain Good morning America in 2017. “She has no fear,” Panettiere said. “She’d go straight into the wall if you let her.”

She is obsessed with horses

Hayden Panettiere and holding daughter Kaya. Hayden Panettiere Twitter

In February 2024, Panettiere shared with PEOPLE some of her daughter’s interests, including Kay’s love of horses.

“I believe nature comes before nurture,” she said of her 9-year-old daughter. “Riding is in my genetics – my great uncle once won the Kentucky Derby. I got a video the other day of him watching Racing stripesmovie that she watches all the time, and she was sitting on this toy hippo and she was kind of racing the hippo and going crazy — I thought she was going to rip his ears off!”

In addition to horses, Kaya is also a fan of swimming – something she shares with her mom.

“She’s just like me,” Panettiere said. “When I worked on NashvilleI was pregnant with her and I just spent a lot of time in my pool. And she came out just worshiping the water.”

Kaya inspired Panettiere to start the charity

Kaya was the driving force behind Panettiere’s commitment to her latest mission — Hoplon International, a charity she founded in March 2022 to raise money for Ukraine amid its war with Russia. Kaya lived in the countryside with her father until an upheaval made it safe to stay there.

Panettiere shared her concerns about Kaya and the situation in Ukraine with PEOPLE, saying, “What she’s dealing with and what we’re all going through right now with Ukraine is really, really hard. I talked to her and the only question she had was, ‘ Why is Putin doing this?’ It’s so heartbreaking.”

Panettiere explained that with Hoplon International, “every penny goes directly to the front lines.” She added: “Wlad and I work hand in hand. He and Vitali are on the field fighting for their country. Every time I hear his voice or get a message from him, it’s such a relief.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education