Alexa PenaVega, 37, grew up a child star alongside her peers, Michelle Trachtenberg, Daveigh Chase and Hayden Panettiere, all of whom died in the last year and a half.
“Hayden, Michelle, Daveigh…my heart is heavy today,” the SPY KIDS star shared in an Instagram post. “These aren’t just named from my childhood. They’re girls I grew up alongside, sharing a world that was exciting but also incredibly hard.”
Chase, who voiced Lilo in LILO & STITCH, died from AIDS and chronic polysubstance use in June. Panettiere, who played Claire in HEROS and Princess Dot in A BUG’S LIFE, does not have an official cause of death reported yet. However, she died from a cardiac arrest on Aug. 16 that may have been caused by a drug overdose, according to emergency dispatch audio that PEOPLE obtained.
Trachtenberg died from complications related to diabetes mellitus, Doc Wire News reported.
“Today, I’m grieving and holding their families close in my prayers and thinking of everyone still fighting battles we can’t see,” PenaVega wrote. “Hug your people close today.
Former child stars David Henrie and Daniella Monet commented that they also feel the same.
View this post on InstagramRelated: Hayden Panettiere Shares Sobriety Journey: ‘I Feel Like I Have a Second Chance’
When another former child star passes away from an apparent drug-related cause and no one is surprised, that is a deeply sad thing. There is a connection between Hollywood actors, fame, drugs and early deaths — most of which could have been prevented.
Chase’s father said she struggled with drugs from the age of 13. Her mother, Cathy, claimed her issues began after she got in a motorcycle accident in 2016 and was prescribed painkillers.
“She was seeking drugs and was partying with the wrong people,” Cathy said. “I never kicked my daughter out. She wanted freedom and these people got her hooked on some drugs. That was the beginning.”
However, that may have not been her first introduction to drugs, as she would have been around 26 at the time of the accident. Her father said exposure started around age 13.
Cathy said she “tried desperately to try to get [Daveigh] help, but you can’t legally force someone who doesn’t want that help.”
Panettiere has been open about her battle with drugs and opioids in the past. She claims she first got into drugs when someone on her management team gave her “happy pills” before red carpet events. At the time, she was just a teenager.
The first time she went to rehab was in 2015.
At the peak of her alcohol addiction, “I would have the shakes when I woke up and could only function when sipping alcohol,” she said.
Panettiere died just five days before her 37th birthday.
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