Courteney Cox has spoken publicly about Hayden Panettiere for the first time since her death, and her memory went immediately to the last time they worked together.
Cox, 62, reflected on her Scream costar while attending the Toronto International Film Festival, where her second directorial feature, Evil Genius, had its world premiere. “She’s a really wonderful actor,” Cox told Entertainment Weekly.
Cox remembered Panettiere during their last collaboration as “fun and happy and smart” and said the two had a great time working together before describing her death as obviously horrible.
Panettiere died Aug. 16 at age 36. Her death remains under investigation, and the Greenville County Coroner’s Office has not announced an official cause of death.
Cox Remembered Their Last Time Working Together
Cox and Panettiere appeared together in two Scream movies more than a decade apart. Panettiere joined the franchise as Kirby Reed in 2011’s Scream 4, while Cox was already firmly established as Gale Weathers.
They reunited for Scream VI in 2023, when Kirby returned as an FBI agent investigating Ghostface killings in New York. Cox told Entertainment Weekly that it was that last experience she remembered particularly warmly.
Paramount lists both Cox and Panettiere among the returning franchise veterans in the sixth film, alongside Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding. Cox focused on how she remembered her on set, talented, intelligent and enjoyable to work with.
‘Scream VI’ Brought Kirby Back After a 12-Year Absence
Kirby was stabbed and left badly wounded in the 2011 film, but her death was never definitively shown. The 2022 Scream quietly settled the question through an onscreen YouTube recommendation titled “Interview with Woodsboro Survivor Kirby Reed.”
Panettiere then returned physically in Scream VI, 12 years after her first appearance. Kirby was no longer the horror-obsessed Woodsboro teenager. She had become an FBI agent whose own experience surviving Ghostface placed her directly inside the new investigation.
Panettiere had actively pushed for that comeback. During a 2023 ABC News interview, she said she contacted the filmmakers while the 2022 movie was being made because she hoped Kirby was still alive and wanted the chance to return.
The role ultimately became Panettiere’s first movie after a four-year break from acting. She later described the return to the franchise as feeling like coming home.
Panettiere Said Wes Craven Changed the Way She Acted
Panettiere’s connection to Scream went back to Wes Craven, who directed Scream 4 in what became his final installment of the franchise before his death in 2015. In a 2025 Entertainment Weekly interview, Panettiere said Craven had an “incredible impact” on her as an actor and that she continued using lessons he taught her on later projects.
One involved the exact timing of suspense. Panettiere remembered Craven instructing her to move much more slowly than felt natural while filming, explaining that the pace would make sense once music and editing created the finished sequence.
She said watching the completed scenes proved him right. Panettiere said his kindness and behavior on set became an example of the kind of director she hoped to become herself someday.