Hayden Panettiere's turn as indestructible cheerleader Claire Bennet on Heroes turned the 16‑year‑old into an international star, as the 2006 series put a seemingly ordinary high school student with extraordinary healing powers at the centre of a new wave of superhero television.
Heroes, which premiered in 2006, centred on ordinary people who discovered they possessed extraordinary abilities. Claire was among its most important characters, combining the familiar awkwardness of teenage years with the burden of being a superhero.
