Jansen Panettiere

American actor (1994–2023)

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Jansen Rane Panettiere ( PAN-ə-tee-AIR; September 25, 1994 – February 19, 2023) was an American actor, known for his roles in films The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry, The Perfect Game, The Martial Arts Kid, and How High 2. He has also provided the voice roles of Periwinkle in the sixth and final season of the Nick Jr. children's live-action/animated TV series Blue's Clues, young Stripes in Racing Stripes, young Rodney Copperbottom in Robots, Truman X in the Nickelodeon animated TV series The X's, and Shovelmouth Boy in Ice Age: The Meltdown.

Early life

Panettiere was born Jansen Rane Panettiere on September 25, 1994, in Palisades, New York, to Lesley R. Vogel, a former soap opera actress, and Alan Lee "Skip" Panettiere, a fire department lieutenant. He was the younger brother of actress and model Hayden Panettiere.

Career

Panettiere had a supporting role in the Disney Channel Original Movie Tiger Cruise, which starred his sister Hayden. This was one of two productions featuring both siblings onscreen, the other being The Forger. Panettiere voiced Periwinkle in the Nick Jr. show Blue's Clues for its sixth and final season, replacing Kenny Kim. He lent his voice to Racing Stripes. He portrayed the voice of Truman X in The X's. He starred as Luke Malloy in the made-for-television Nickelodeon film The Last Day of Summer, airing on July 20, 2007. It was released on DVD on August 28, 2007.

His next film, The Perfect Game, was going to be released in theaters on August 8, 2008, but Lionsgate Films decided to push it back to the spring of 2010. The Perfect Game is directed by William Dear, based on the true story of how a group of boys from Monterrey, Mexico became the first non-U.S. team to win the Little League World Series. Panettiere also co-starred with Gavin MacLeod in The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry, a film directed by Rich Christiano about faith and friendship. He appeared with Martin Sheen, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Christine Lahti, as Elliott Perry in Dustin Lance Black's play 8, a reenactment of the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial, at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre on March 3, 2012. The performance was broadcast on YouTube to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights. In 2019, Panettiere guest starred in the AMC network series The Walking Dead and co-starred in MTV's How High 2.