United Kingdom, Aug. 22 -- Anna Paquin has spoken out about the dangers faced by female child stars following the death of Hayden Panettiere.

Saying young performers were "not as protected" by Hollywood as they should have been, actress Anna, 44, shared the message on Instagram, days after Hayden, 36, was found unresponsive at a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, and pronounced dead despite attempts to resuscitate her.

Anna, who became a child star herself and won an Oscar at 11 for The Piano, also used her warning to reference former young actors Michelle Trachtenberg and Daveigh Chase, who died aged 39 and 35 respectively.

Anna wrote: "It's not a coincidence that so many former, specifically pre-sexualised female, child 'stars'...