“Ice Princess” director Tim Fywell has penned a sweet tribute to the two stars of his beloved 2005 ice skating movie, Hayden Panettiere and Michelle Trachtenberg, following Panettiere’s death on Sunday at the age of 36. Trachtenberg also passed away in February of last year, at 39 years old.
After the news of Panettiere’s death, “Ice Princess” started trending on social media as those who grew up with the Disney movie realized that its two young stars are both now gone. The film follows Casey Carlyle (Trachtenberg), a teenager who decides to give up a Harvard scholarship to pursue her dream of becoming a professional figure skater. Along the way, Casey meets skater Gen (Panettiere), and helps her to improve using algorithms generated on her computer. “Ice Princess” also starred Joan Cusack and Kim Cattrall as Casey and Gen’s mothers, respectively.
“It was really upsetting to hear yesterday of the death of Hayden Panettiere at the age of 36,” Fywell said in a statement to Variety. “I remember a brave, sparky, dedicated young actress who lit up the set in rehearsals and then the screen with her vibrant talent. Michelle Trachtenberg, Hayden’s co-star in the movie, and she were an amazing pair.”
The British director remembers the two as having “very different personalities.” Trachtenberg was “kooky, fun, with an infectious laugh and her brilliant sad-funny comic timing,” while Panettiere was “plucky and determined and perfectionist, spending hours practicing her skating and utterly focused on getting every acting take spot-on and truthful. Which she did.”
Fywell continued: “In what was often a tough and technically complicated shoot, and my first Hollywood movie, they were delightful to work with and great to have around. I remember them both with huge affection, how they were 20 odd years ago, at that relatively uncomplicated time of their lives, two shining talents, gone far too soon.”
Others have also remembered Panettiere and Trachtenberg together, including “Spy Kids” star Alexa PenaVega, who wrote on social media that her “heart is heavy” because Panettiere’s death marks the passing of another fellow child star. Vega also mentioned Daveigh Chase, who died at 35 in June.
“Hayden, Michelle, Daveigh… my heart is heavy today,” PenaVega wrote. “These aren’t just names from my childhood. They’re girls I grew up alongside, sharing a world that was exciting and also incredibly hard. We were kids navigating something so big, and not everyone had the foundation or support they deserved.”
She added, “Today, I’m grieving and holding their families close in my prayers and thinking of everyone still fighting battles we can’t see. Hug your people close today.”
Corbin Bolies contributed to this report.
