Director Tim Fywell Honors 'Ice Princess' Stars Hayden Panettiere and Michelle Trachtenberg
Two young talents from the 2005 cult classic are gone, and the people who knew them are feeling the loss.
Tim Fywell, who directed the 2005 Disney film Ice Princess, released a tribute to his two leading ladies after Hayden Panettiere's death last week at 36. She joins Michelle Trachtenberg, her co-star from the movie, who passed away last February at 39.
In his statement, Fywell called them "an amazing pair" and "two shining talents, gone far too soon"—a reflection on how both actresses left an imprint on audiences who grew up with that film. Ice Princess wasn't a blockbuster or a prestige project, but it had that Disney charm that stuck with people, and both Panettiere and Trachtenberg embodied something genuine in their performances.
Losing both leads from the same movie within little more than a year is brutal. It reminds you that the people you see on screen are real, and sometimes life takes turns nobody expects. The film industry and the fans who loved these two are still processing what's happened.
Read the full story at Variety → https://variety.com/2026/film/global/ice-princess-director-honors-hayden-panettiere-michelle-trachtenberg-1236837006/
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