Hayden Panettiere Attends GQ Man of the Year Awards in Los Angeles • CelebMafia

Panettiere’s cobalt cut-out dress brought early-aughts edge to the GQ carpet—equal parts pop princess and rising Hollywood power player.

On November 29, 2006, Hayden Panettiere arrived at the Sunset Tower Hotel in Los Angeles for the GQ Man of the Year Awards—still fresh off her breakout role in Heroes, and already commanding the carpet with a style that blended teen starlet charm with grown-up polish.

Her look? A cobalt blue cocktail dress with cut-out detailing near the neckline and a wide matching belt that cinched the waist with early-2000s precision. The silhouette was structured but playful, the color bold without veering into excess. It was the kind of dress that could’ve walked straight out of a Teen Vogue editorial—if Teen Vogue had a martini in hand.

Panettiere paired the dress with minimal accessories, letting the saturated hue and architectural neckline do the talking. Her hair was swept into an updo, and her makeup leaned soft: pink gloss, subtle liner, and a hint of shimmer that caught the flashbulbs just right.

The GQ event, known for its mix of Hollywood heavyweights and rising stars, was a snapshot of mid-2000s cool. And Panettiere, then just 17, held her own among the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Kanye West, and Forest Whitaker.

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