Hayden Panettiere

A year ago at this time, few people knew who Hayden Panettiere was, let alone how to pronounce her last name (pen-eh-TEER).

Yet the 17-year-old has become a certified Hollywood "it" girl, starring in NBC's smash hit, Heroes, as well as in various films and launching a singing career!

She's even been spotted hanging with Paris Hilton - the true sign that you've hit the big time. Or need to check into rehab ASAP. Sorry. We're getting a little ahead of ourselves, we know.

In any event, here's timeline of the brief career of Hayden Panettiere, a star you'll surely be hearing a lot more from in the coming years ...

September 25, 2006: Makes one of the best debuts in TV history �" jumping off a building, snapping her body back together, then doing it all over again! That's right, Hayden Panettiere made heads turn (on many levels) as the indestructible cheerleader Claire Bennet on Heroes.

November 1: As her star rises, Hayden Panettiere officially moves from Palisades, N.Y., to L.A. along with her parents and younger brother.

November 3: Poses for the cover of Entertainment Weekly. Inside, she tells the mag she celebrated her hit show's success by buying a Porsche and nearly running over Kanye West. Now that would have been heroic.

November 14: Photographed at L.A. eatery and mandatory paparazzi stop, Koi, holding hands with J.R. Rotem. Yes, that J.R. Rotem. The music producer whose 15 minutes of fame felt like 15 seconds after he hooked up with Britney Spears one night last fall.

Awesome.

December 4: Hangs out with that skank Paris Hilton at VH1's Big in '06 Awards. Ick. And, in the creepiest pairing of the night, Panettiere presents an award with sleazy 44-year-old Tommy Lee, who tells her (no joke) to call him when she turns 18. The man is a class act.

THG NOTE: That's August 21, 2007.

December: Becomes the new Neutrogena cover girl!

December: Stars with Anthony LaPaglia in The Architect, one of her first dramatic leading roles in a feature film.

December 14: Adopts a cause �" online safety, in the 2 Smart 4U ad campaign. In the ads, Hayden warms teenagers of the dangers lurking on the Internets. Like Perez Hilton, we're guessing.

Jaunary 3, 2007: Photographed at LAX with a mountain of luggage and rocking a sweatshirt that exclaims "Little Miss Bad." We are liking this!

January 9: Celebrates with castmates when Heroes wins for Best New TV Drama at the People's Choice Awards.

February: Poses for Vanity Fair in a white bathing suit reminiscent of a 1950s-era Marilyn Monroe. It's attractive, yet it makes us feel dirty. You know, the usual.

February 6: While shopping, bumps into Kristin Cavallari, who used to date Stephen Colletti, who's reportedly dating Panettiere. DRAMA!

May: Her debut album, still untitled, is slated to hit stores. The producer? J.R. Rotem. We don't have high hopes for the record, but we guarantee it's better than anything Sanjaya Malakar will ever produce.

Yeah. Anytime this pair of blonde cuties gets together, you know there's going to be some serious drinking and making out going on.

Oh wait, we must have confused them with Tara Conner and Katie Blair. Sorry. That's our bad. Or was it some kind of subconscious, wishful thinking?

No comment. Anyway, two Gossip favorites - Kristin Cavallari and Hayden Panettiere - were recently spotted doing some power shopping in Beverly Hills...

One thing made this happenstance meeting just a tad awkward - Hayden is reportedly dating Kristin's high school friend and ex-beau, Stephen Colletti. Drama!

Fortunately, these kittens kept their claws in check, which is more than can be said of Kristin and Lauren Conrad, whose rift all dates back to Mr. Colletti.

Here's hoping the Laguna Beach alum and the Heroes heroine run into each other more frequently. Not just for us, but because it looks like they could be pals!

She's hot. She's on a hit TV series. She's 17! That's right, Heroes star Hayden Panettiere has got it going on and she's not afraid to let the world know it, wearing a "Little Miss Bad" sweatshirt - and a mischievous grin - as she strutted through LAX Tuesday:

Hopefully, Little Miss Bad isn't trying to emulate another underage hottie with a wild side, such as embattled Miss USA Tara Conner, or her gal pal and possible make-out buddy, Miss Teen USA Katie Blair. Or, heaven forbid, the former Miss Nevada, Katie Rees. Although, from the perspective of T.H. Gossip, it could be worse than getting any combination of those young ladies together. Just saying.

Whether she's a bad girl or just fronting, Hayden is sure hauling some serious luggage through the airport. At least she no longer appears to be dragging around one particularly greasy piece of baggage - J.R. Rotem. Zing! We are here all day, fans. All. Day.

Regardless, there's no disputing the fact that a lot of guys would like to save this cheerleader, if you know what we're saying. We're saying that Hayden Panettiere is a cutie, and needs to magically become five years older so we can stop feeling creepy about saying it.

Looks like everyone's kicking J.R. Rotem to the curb and moving on to bigger and better things.

One look at the dude makes it easy to see why.

Rotem, a quote-unquote music producer whose real name is Jonathan, and whose 15 minutes of fame began when he was spotted making out with Britney Spears, was dispatched promptly by the Britster and never seen with her again after.

Alas, the shelf life of a Britney boy toy is a brief one.

J.R. bounced back quickly, though, and immediately began getting his mack on with a few other lovely ladies, most notably Lost actress Bai Ling and Heroes star Hayden Panettiere.

But the latter, a petite blonde cutie whose middle name might as well be Jailbait, apparently tired of him pretty quickly herself. She's moved on to a new man, a rotund and jolly fellow who seems like he's everywhere these days.

What a player!

Sure enough, that's our girl Hayden Panettiere and good old Saint Nick. Hopefully, Santa has some nice gifts for her this year... and we mean actual presents, like J. Crew sweaters and things. Nothing salacious (at least for another 242 days until she turns legal).

That goes for you too, DJ AM!

Anyway, it's nice to see Hayden hasn't been seen with that grease ball J.R., and seems to be in a festive mood. Unlike other stars, such as Nicole Richie, who can't seem to get in the spirit of Christmas at all. Come on, Nicole. Even Snoop Dogg is good for a little "ho, ho, ho."

The 15 minutes of fame may be ticking away for J.R. Rotem, but he's doing the best to make the most of every second.

First he was seen smooching Britney Spears, leading many to believe there could be a relationship brewing there. Alas, that appears to have been a one-shot deal - but J.R., whose real name is Jonathan, didn't let that stop him from chasing some underage tail.

Shortly after parting ways with Britney, J.R. was spotted with actress Hayden Panettiere, the 17-year-old cheerleader on Heroes. She's a definite cutie, though we're kind of sketched out saying that about a 17-year-old.

Anyway, J.R. has since been spotted around L.A. with Bai Ling (right), an alluring actress in her own right. Way to go, J.R. Now if we could just get the quote-unquote music producer and grease ball to take a shower and get rid of the damn sunglasses. It's dark out, you jackass.

Which of J.R.'s post-Britney babes do you prefer?