Heroes and Nashville star Hayden Panettiere attended Monday's Scream VI premiere in New York two weeks after her brother, actor Jansen Panettiere, died of an enlarged heart at the age of 28.
Hayden, 33, previously appeared as character Kirby in 2011's Scream 4 and 2022's Scream.
"We saw Kirby get stabbed, but we never saw her die. We didn't see her rescued either," Hayden told Women's Health magazine.
"She has that human trauma, and it's changed her. That's something I can obviously relate to."
While on the promotion trail for the latest installment in the franchise, Panettiere talked about her brother's death on Good Morning America, holding her hand over her heart and saying, "He's right here with me."
She also opened up to Women's Health about her personal struggles with postpartum depression, alcoholism and opiate addiction, body image issues and insomnia.
"My body was like, 'enough,'" she recalled. "I hit 30. My face was swollen. I had jaundice. My eyes were yellow. I had to go to a liver specialist. I was holding on to weight that wasn't normally there. My hair was thin and coming out in clumps."
The actress said she got help and did "a lot of work" on herself during her four-year hiatus from Hollywood.
"After eight months of intensive therapy, I felt like I had this blank canvas to work with," she said.