Heroes star and perennial Hollywood Gossip crush material Hayden Panettiere was been laying low of late, but she’s the cover girl for the June / July 2008 issue of Teen Vogue! Here are some excerpts from her interview …

On the entertainment industry only having bad girls:

“In Hollywood, there is no such thing as being a nice girl. Or being, you know, not messed up. If you’re not, [the tabloids will] make you that way. Nothing is private and when they write about you, it’s almost always false.”

THG NOTE: We were right about Hayden Panettiere and Milo Ventimiglia … although we reported it months before they went public with their love.

On raising awareness of animal rights, especially whales and dolphins:

“[Heroes] put me in a place to speak for things that I’m passionate about. When I was younger, I’d always donate to the humane society.”

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Actress Hayden Panettiere has spoken out in defense of Paris Hilton’s airheaded party girl image, insisting the heiress is actually a “genius.”

The 18-year-old Heroes star, who has actually been a close friend of Paris Hilton’s for several years (?!), says the 27-year-old media slut socialite is actually more level-headed than the dumb “character” she projects to the public.

Hayden Panettiere says of Paris Hilton:

“She’s a nice girl and a lot brighter than people give her credit (for) but no one sees her like that because she plays this character all the time.”

“She’s actually a marketing genius.”

You know, she may be right. Paris probably paid Hayden for this positive PR … diabolical. We’re just surprise she didn’t defend Kim Kardashian too.

Sure, she’s smokin’ hot and 18, but Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere has confessed that becoming a mega-star has turned her into a recluse.

“I don’t ever go out,” she tells the UK’s Daily Mirror of her life in the spotlight, where she drives everywhere to avoid being recognized on the street. “I stay at home. I go from garage to garage, and try to keep myself out of sight.”

Maybe she’s just afraid of sexual harassment.

Hayden, who has catapulted to fame since taking on the role of cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes, thinks that fame can be a giant pain in the ass.

“I love where I live and that I have wonderful friends there and I love what I do, but it really has a major impact on your life,” says our girl. “This business is very intrusive. People want to know what you’re doing every day, and it becomes less about your craft and your art, and your love for acting, than it is about when you put food in your mouth, or when you’re walking your dog.”

The lovely Hayden Panettiere has been in the industry since she was 11 months old, when her mother got her cast in the first of more than 50 advertisements.

Hayden herself starred in the daytime soap operas One Life To Live and Guiding Light in her early years, and, now that Heroes has made her a Hollywood A-lister, her next move is to set the big screen alight in various films.

As for following the likes of Lindsay Lohan - being more famous for her legal problems and sexual endeavors than movies and TV - don’t bank on it.

“The interesting thing to me is, the glamour of Hollywood has been dimmed down by people that don’t necessarily love what they do or their craft,” Panettiere says.

“I think people who are mainly in the public eye and deal with this [attention], a lot of them like it, enjoy it. I don’t enjoy going out, it’s a nightmare in my opinion.”

You’ve got a keeper, Milo Ventimiglia. Be good to her.

Really, at this point, who among us hasn’t hit on that smokin’ hot, dangerously young, petite blonde co-worker with the fine ass … or told said blonde that, say, you’re considering leaving your wife of 25 years just to be with her?

Smokin’ hot Heroes star Hayden Panettiere is likely well-versed in this sort of conduct and talks about it in the following parody of a sexual harassment Public Service Announcement (PSA) on the Will Ferrell-owned site, FunnyorDie.

Check out the video here …

This guy is winning over the fam.

We reported in January that Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia got the stamp of approval from Hayden Panettiere’s mother, Leslie Panettiere.

Now he has the OK from her 13-year-old brother, Jansen Panettiere.

“Milo is cool, he’s a pretty chill guy,” Jansen Panettiere told Us Weekly at the Alvin and the Chipmunks DVD release party in L.A. Thursday.

Hayden Panettiere and young Jansen Panettiere are both actors!

As you surely know, Hayden Panettiere, 18, and Milo Ventimiglia, 30, have been dating since last year, following a long string of denials that they were dating.

Ventimiglia had a crush on his Heroes co-star since she back when she was dating reality star and VJ Stephen Colletti. That ended last summer sometime.

Milo confessed it “the minute she broke up with Stephen,” a source said.

A source close to the actor shrugged off their 12-year-age gap between the two hotties, saying, “[Hayden] is really like a 30-year-old.

Please, don’t say that, source. You’re killing us.

Isn’t it always nice when two former Stephen Colletti playthings reunite for a celebrity gossip photo finish - and wear the exact same piece of clothing?

Whether they planned it or not (our guess is they didn’t), that’s what we got in a fashion breakdown of Hayden Panettiere and Kristin Cavallari!

The petite Heroes actress wore her “Gypsy 05″ hoodie to the store last month, while Kristin Cavallari, the feisty former Laguna Beach star, happened to put on the very same eco-friendy sweatshirt to run errands in L.A.

Who wore it better, and which young hottie do you like more?

Hayden Panettiere vs. Kristin Cavallari: Always a tough call.

She plays an indestructible cheerleader on Heroes.

Offscreen, Hayden Panettiere is pretty much just as fierce.

At first, Hayden seems to have perfected the glamorous celebrity aura, as evidenced by her chic, head-to-toe black ensemble — complete with Ray-Bans perched on her head and sexy thigh-high boots on her teeny, size-5 feet.

But Hayden Panettiere is not concerned with perpetuating Hollywood ideals.

“What’s with all the salads?” she asks, checking out the menu at L.A.’s Four Seasons Hotel, where her Cosmopolitan interview is taking place.

She orders the mac and cheese, minus the ham (she’s recently become a vegetarian), and when it arrives, Hayden Panettiere dives in.

Spend a little time with the talented 18-year-old actress and you’ll soon discover that she also has an appetite for defying expectations.

Thanks to her role as unbreakable high school cheerleader Claire Bennet on NBC’s hit Heroes, this blonde cutie is one of TV’s brightest stars.

But Hayden Panettiere would rather kick butt than be pampered.

“I do as many of my own stunts as they’ll let me do,” says the petite powerhouse, who’s dating co-star Milo Ventimiglia. “Not a whole lot scares me.”

That includes the potential perils of fame.

“I think people look at me as just another one of those girls who’s going to screw up, like ‘She’s going to get into drugs, she’s going to get into parties,’” says Hayden.

“I have the occasional glass of champagne when I’m celebrating something, but generally, I don’t drink. I’m a pizza-and-a-movie girl.”

So maybe she’s no Kate Moss.

Know what? Hayden Panettiere is okay with that.

As she should be. Anorexia, heroin and Pete Doherty? Pass.

“I don’t have a model’s body,” the Heroes actress, 18, tells Cosmopolitan. “But I’m not one of those crazy girls who thinks that they’re fat. I’m okay with what I have. I can rock this body, you know.”

Gulp. We know, alright.

What keeps Hayden grounded? The talented young celebrity (and marine mammal rights enthusiast) says she skips out on the standard Britney Spears pursuits - 4 a.m. Starbucks runs, clubbing and wearing no underwear.

Hayden Panettiere and the word sex appear a combined four times above.

“I think people look at me as just another one of those girls who’s going to screw up, like, ‘She’s going to get into drugs, she’s going to get into parties,’” she says.

“I have an occasional glass of champagne when I’m celebrating something, but generally, I don’t drink. I’m a pizza-and-a-movie girl.”

When it comes to choosing a mate, the actress (who’s currently dating co-star Milo Ventimiglia, 30) wants a man who’s equally level-headed.

“I need somebody who is very secure,” Hayden Panettiere says.

“In this business, I’m constantly standing next to gorgeous people. My job is to make out with [attractive] men. Like, hello! Who wouldn’t be completely threatened by that? But, at the end of the day, you have to realize that it’s a job.”

Heroes star Hayden Panettiere was spotted at LAX airport the other day, and looking as cute as ever. But what we’re most interested in are the rumors we’ve been hearing - that she might be moving in with Milo Ventimiglia.

Somehow we doubt it, since Hayden is, you know, 18. Milo? A little older. We are all good with their relationship, but moving in is a little fast, you’d think, since she was still dating Stephen Colletti last summer. But who knows.

Just the same, the 18-year-old hottie was seen house hunting in L.A. recently with her mother. Hayden Panettiere and her mom-ager, Leslie, peeped some condos, mostly in and around Beverly Hills. We’ve heard that’s a pretty nice area.

Hayden Panettiere lives with her folks now, but wants her own place!

Everyone wants a little independence at that age. We just can’t help but wonder if Hayden is still pure as the driven snow… or Julianne Hough.

Anyway. No word on whether she’d be keen on Hayden living with her man, but Leslie Panettiere reportedly approves of Milo Ventimiglia.

Says a source: “Hayden’s mom adores Milo. She thinks he’s so cute. She tells her friends that he’s her boyfriend. She’s very proud.”

Who wouldn’t be? That Milo Ventimiglia is a handsome fella.

Er, buy Hayden Panettiere’s bag. Sorry, don’t know what was going on in our minds there. Actually we do, but it’s probably best if we don’t share.

Anyway. The Heroes star has become a fashion mogul, unveiling a brand-new, Dooney & Bourke collection called, fittingly The Hayden Bag…

Hayden Panettiere has her own bag. Insert your own bad joke here.

In other Hayden Panettiere news, the 18-year-old starlet was a guest on Larry King Live last night, joined by Rosario Dawson, Lance Armstrong, Wycelf Jean and Josh Groban to talk about the importance of your voice - and your vote.

No word on whether Hayden Panettiere endorses Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton … or John McCain. Unless someone saves the whales, or at least sounds convincing in saying they will, they may not get her support!