Hayden Panettiere Welcomes Daughter Kaya Evdokia

12/13/2014 at 11:55 AM ET
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Hayden Panettiere Welcomes Daughter
Frazer Harrison/Getty

Hayden Panettiere just took center stage: her baby girl is here!

The Nashville star is a new mom after welcoming her first child with fiancé Wladimir Klitschko on Tuesday, Dec. 9, her rep confirms to PEOPLE exclusively.

Born in Hawaii, daughter Kaya Evdokia Klitschko weighed in at 7 lbs., 14 oz., and measured 20 inches long.

“We are over the moon and madly in love!” the proud new parents tell PEOPLE.

The actress, 25, stayed mum throughout much of her pregnancy, letting her growing belly speak for itself.

But while walking the red carpet at the Emmys in August, Panettiere not only showed off her bump in a glittery gown — she also confirmed the sex of her baby the way!

“I want to go shopping, I want to paint the room,” she said after letting the sex slip.

In November, the mom-to-be admitted she was ecstatic to find out she would be welcoming a daughter. “I’m thrilled that I am having a girl first because I feel like I know a lot about raising a strong woman,” she told Hello magazine.

“I feel very empowered myself and I think my daughter will, too.”

Panettiere announced her engagement to heavyweight boxing champion Klitschko, 38, in October 2013.

— Anya Leon with reporting by Julie Jordan

RELATED GALLERY: Baby Bump Brides – Engaged and Expecting!

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Showing 81 comments

Becca on

I have been waiting for this news! Congrats Hayden. I love her name!

Carol on

Such a GORGEOUS name! Well done, Hayden! Congratulations on the birth of your baby girl. I bet little Kaya is a cutie.

Lilah on

Congratulations! Wladimirit is such a sexy beast!

Kelly on

Love that name!

Elizabeth on

Congratulations! 🙂

Lenora on

Sugar and spice and everything nice! Congrats! 🙂

courtney on

congrats to the family on the healthy birth of daughter Kaya. nice weight for the baby too considering Hayden is petite

Jay on

Pretty name!! Best wishes to the family!!!

KellyGreen on

Love the name! Congrats 🙂

Jess on

Sweet! Congrats!!

ana on

Baby’s name is Kaya Evdokia. Her middle name is of greek origin and has very nice meaning, so i don’t understand why you didn’t write her whole name in this article. Congrats to new parents.

Rachel on

Felt like she was pregnant forever! Congrats such a cute name!

Denise on

I just like her more and more. She seems like such a warm, fun, loving person who has her priorities straight. I love the name, Kaya is both sweet and feminine yet powerful. I wish them a lot of love and happiness together.

Shauna Silva on

I bet Kaya is a love! Congrats to you two! 🙂

Ellsworth on

It annoys me when people say someone has their priorities straight. That usually just means that they have the same priorities as the person writing the comments. People can have different priorities and that’s okay.

John on

Wonderful news! Can’t wait to see photos

Guest on

Love Hayden on Nashville! Congrats on your baby girl!!

Anonymous on

Congrats Hayden she has a very beautiful name and I hope she won’t bother you crying while you’re on set for Nashville.

Holly on

Beautiful baby name!

Jennifer on

Congrats Hayden on the birth of your baby your daughter have a gorgeous name now I hope both of you enjoy that beautiful little baby of yours Congrats again

maryhelenc on

Congrats to Hayden & her fiance! I bet Kaya is beautiful!

klutzy_girl on

Cute! Congratulations to them.

Storm on

Is the name pronounced the same way as Kaia, or more like Cay-a? I prefer the spelling with the i but still a cute name and thank goodness not a boy’s name!!! Kids often balance out in terms of height relative to their parents so she should be a good height too.

Mon on

Lovely couple and lovely name for the new baby! Bet the baby is gorgeous! 🙂

stell on

Her middle name is Ukrainian Evdokia

AvaElizabeth on

the full name of the baby is Kaya Evdokia (think the second name is ukrainian?)

thinker on

double K name. I like it. but oh, how do you tell your precious child that daddy makes millions beating people up? Legally?

The piece refers to her by her work (the show she is in) but refers to him only as “fiance.” He happens to be NUMBER ONE in his profession. I’m pretty sure she isn’t….

Erica on

Congratulations, on the birth of your daughter, Kaya, Hayden! May she grow up beautiful and healthy!

Hea on

Congrats!

Beth on

Very lovely name.

mm on

“Panettiere announced her engagement to heavyweight boxing champion Klitschko in October.”

Champion pretty much says he’s Number 1 in his profession.

susan mills on

Fantastic news! So happy for them both – sending wishes of love, happiness and joy!

Dawn on

Congrats to your baby girl!!!!!! Love you on my favorite show Nashville

mommytoane on

Big baby for such a tiny mom! Congrats to the happy parents

Leah on

Congratulations and that’s a lovely name

Jan on

Congrats to Mom, Dad and Baby! Can’t wait to see photos of this little one.

Louise Sawyer on

I taught a boy named Kaja [pronounced KY-UH] years ago at a Montessori school. Kaya or Kaja can be universal but it is usually considered a girl’s name. Kaja was seven years old in 1991 & his parents were of Russian/Ukranian descent. Kongrats, Kaya Klit!

MaNu on

Dear People Magazine,,
this is not an “Exclusive” of your magazine… German websites already reported it today morning (european time, when it was still late at night in the US…) okay, maybe it’s exclusive for the US magazines…

But anyway, congrats to the little family!

carolyn on

I adore them on their own and together. So i am very happy by this news. Cogratulations to them. Beautiful name. Beautiful family.

pam on

Congratulations on your new baby princess. She will bring you nothing but joy. Love your life now with Kaya.

CC on

If she had her priorities straight, she would’ve gotten married first, then had a baby! No one has morals anymore!

lola on

Congrats on your baby girl. Cute name. Her poor body after this baby! She was so huge! She’s so petite. Daddy is so tall you just knew the baby would be a little bigger. 20″ is big for her frame.

Sue Kandal on

Congrats to the new mom & dad!!!!! I love the name that you picked out for your little princess!!!!

Romancegirl on

Love the name! But I’m wondering….Will she teach her daughter to be strong and have her own baby out of wedlock? Hayden – GET MARRIED!

Amanda_M87 on

I thought the kids would be a ten pounder, since her fiancé is huge. Thank goodness she wasn’t.

carolyn on

To CC…
There was a wedding planned, but due to the unrest in Wlad’s country of Ukraine, where they wanted to have a ceremony, the Wedding was postponed. You cannot postpone a baby.

carolyn on

Romancegirl. Previous comment for you too…Be nice if you do not know the circumstances.

QDPie109 on

Yay, I have been looking forward to this news. Probably one of my favorite celebs!!!!

Stormie on

They were going to get married but his family is stuck in a war torn country so please educate yourself on their situation. Being married has no bearing if you will be a good parent or not. Plenty of married couples are horrible parents I know because I came from one. If this little girl is raised with love then who really cares if they are married.

Callie on

Finally! I felt like this was the longest pregnancy ever. Congratulations! Love the name too. Very feminine and beautiful.

Caya on

My name is pronounced Kay-a but spelled with a C. Anyways, Congrats on your bundle of joy!!!

LinZ on

Small baby considering how big she was during pregnancy. I thought it would be a 10 pounder.

Rita on

So happy for you Hayden! Welcoming to the new little one that will indeed make you wonder how you made it that long without her! Love her name, too. She will bring you both so much joy♡I was also 25 when I had my first baby a precious girl. Happiness to you all! Ps. Can you give away when you return to Nashville(I love)will Juliet (you allow) your little one to sometime be THE baby on set between Avery and Juliet? Either way I’ll be watching you’re great on the show? Now just enjoy the little angel as your gonna be a great Mom!

Buttons on

Happy to hear the news. I so remember Hayden on Guiding Light as such a darling little girl. Congrats to Mommy and Daddy!

carolyn on

Ashley…Your op. & a judgementle one without knowing the circumstances, and if you educate yourself there were circumstances. A wedding was planned, but due to the war going on in his country it was posponed.

carolyn on

Ps. I’m celebrating!!!

Niko on

Congrats to Hayden & Vladimir on their new baby girl

” 7 lbs., 14 oz., and measured 20 inches

Holy smokes! This girl will probably grow up to be a basketball player, lol. Definitely gonna be a big girl….like 5’11 ft, 175 lb BIG!

Shawna on

Niko – 7 lbs 14 oz and 20 inches is really NOT a big baby. At all.

mer on

Kaya is so beautiful name! Simple yet not everywhere, I guess.

John Foote on

Congratulations!!! ❤

Ala Lemon on

@AvaElizabeth, Evdokia is a Greek name, meaning happiness. And it’s pronounced Ev-do-kEE-ah (in Greece anyway)

Anonymous on

MaNu- Did the German sites have confirmation of the birth from the rep (or another family member or someone else who would be in the know)? If they didn’t, then technically this IS an exclusive for PEOPLE (as it would mean they were the first ones to OFFICIALLY announce the birth!). 🙂

Anyway, congrats to them!

Meisha on

For once, there were only a few people who mentioned marriage before baby! Sheesh!!! This is 2014, just congratulate them!!! I was engaged before baby and we didn’t get married until this past summer when my daughter was 11, she got to be a HUGE part of her parents wedding, and hey, we stayed together and still wanted to get married and did after 14 years together. Doing things “backwards” according to some people more than worked for us!! Congratulations Hayden and Vlad!! I think they’ll do an amazing job, married or not! 😊I love that the baby doesn’t have a crazy celebrity baby name! Looking forward to seeing your beautiful girl! It’d be awesome if she was the baby on Nashville! Congrats again!

TNR_MetalHeart on

I wonder if Hayden knows that Kaya’s name has an Inuit meaning, which is “stands one’s ground and never gives up”. I know that because a friend of mine has a timber wolf/malamute hybrid named Kaya… who, by the way, is a BOY dog!

lg on

Is find it ridiculous how many people are angry bc the baby was born out of wed-lock. Those conservative douches atill live in the 1950s. She even planned a wedding but couldn’t bc of the war-like situation in ukraine. Anyways be happy the baby is healthy. And beautiful name. Kaya as girl’s name is japanese and means female warrior and evdokia means the kind and caring

Jen on

Congratulations to you both on the birth of your little girl, beautiful name. Perfect early Christmas present, xx

Olga Perez on

How wonderful ! Congratulations on the birth of your daughter Kaya, the best gift a woman and man will ever receive as a true blessing from God. Wladimirit, Hayden, and Kaya are a family that I will always keep in my prayers for love, unity, good health, and much happiness in your lives.

Hea on

Ashley said “A baby born out of wedlock is nothing to celebrate.”

What a downright evil thing to say. Where is your humanity? Your kindness? Your respect?

jake on

So she had sex with this guy and they aren’t married??? Seriously? Ridiculous.

Satan on

Really, BECCA? You’ve actually been “waiting for this news”? Your life must really suck.

Gas on

So happy for Hayden. Congrats!

csudh1486 on

It annoys me when closed minded people say ”oh another baby born out of wedlock…Hayden and Wlad are in love and their baby was created from that love.. why is that so horrible? A ring does not make that big a difference anymore

bkable on

I love Hayden – she seems so down to earth!

Congratulations 🙂 Love the name!

Wow on

Wow, FINALLY a celebrity chooses a name that doesn’t sound completely stupid! Kaya is such a beautiful name! Happy for them!

Wow on

If they really loved each other they’d get married. It doesn’t matter where they have the wedding. They don’t have to have it in Ukraine. People focus way too much on stupid things and completely miss the point- marriage means being bonded for life. You honestly should be married before you have a child. I feel like postponing for a stupid ceremony is selfish. It’s not “1950s” to believe in being a REAL family.

Either way, I hope they enjoy parenthood and that they do stay together.

xeniazara on

Beautiful family and the name also.
People have children out of wedlock because it
is easy to conceive a baby, but hard to organize
the dream wedding.
Maybe it’s natural, they will be together anyway.

Molly on

She looks amazing. Love the name Kaya.

VG on

Congratulations to the happy family.

Anonymous on

So happy for Hayden! Love the name too.

VZ on

Hayden looks great. Congratulations.

counterstrike on

Rather beneficial, looking forwards to visiting again

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