Shannen Doherty, “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Charmed” star, dies at 53
The actress died after a long battle with breast cancer.
Shannen Doherty, known best for her roles on the hit TV series Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed, has died at 53 after a long battle with breast cancer.
"It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty," her publicist Leslie Sloane said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly. "On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease."
"The devoted daughter, sister, aunt, and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie," Sloane's statement continued. "The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace."
After being diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2015, Doherty began documenting her progress and treatment on social media. Having undergone chemotherapy over the years, she revealed in April 2017 that her cancer was in remission.
A year later, she received unclear test results. "I’m staying positive and taking stock of my life," she wrote on Instagram at the time. A few days later, Doherty came back to her followers with better news: "Still in remission."
“I think what’s beautiful and hard and interesting about cancer is that it tears you down and builds you, and tears you down and builds you,” the actress said to Chelsea Handler of the experience a year after her diagnosis. “It remakes you so many different times. The person I thought I was supposed to be or was going to be or who I thought I was six months ago is now somebody completely different. I realize, ‘Wow, I really thought that I was so brave and so gracious this entire time and really I was just hiding.'”
Doherty had a single mastectomy in 2016 and underwent breast reconstruction in 2018. However, in 2020, her cancer returned. "I don’t think I’ve processed it," she told ABC News on Good Morning America. "It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways."
Born in Memphis, Tenn., Doherty got her start in Hollywood as a child actress. At 10 years old, she appeared on her first television series, Father Murphy, which she followed up with The Phoenix. Her first film role came with the animated The Secret of Nimh as the voice of Teresa, the oldest of the Brigsby children. Doherty was 12 at the time.
She received multiple nominations for Young Artist Awards for her turns on Little House on the Prairie, Our House, and Airwolf.
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For her big break in film, Doherty transformed into Heather Duke, one of the three mean girls who ruled their high school in 1988’s Heathers, which also starred young Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.
However, she officially became a household name when she landed her breakout role on the series Beverly HIlls, 90210 as Brenda Walsh, a teenage girl whose family moves her and her twin brother, Brandon (Jason Priestley), from Minnesota to Beverly Hills. The Fox drama premiered in 1990 and became TV’s hottest teen show thanks to its photogenic cast and its storylines focusing on the heightened drama of adolescence.
Though the show ran for 10 seasons, Doherty departed after the end of season 4, following tension with her costars as well as the stress of dealing with her father’s illness. She was ultimately fired from the show after cutting her hair halfway through filming the season finale without telling anyone, throwing off the episode’s continuity.
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Doherty rebounded in 1998 with another popular TV series, Charmed, originating the role of Prue Halliwell, the telekinetic eldest member of the trio of Halliwell sister witches. She appeared on the show with Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs for the first three seasons, but her character was killed off in the season 3 finale, with Rose McGowan joining the cast in season 4.
Rumors suggested that on-set feuding between Doherty and Milano contributed to the former’s departure, while the newly onboarded executive producer, Brad Kern, had written the season 3 finale in a way that “gave everyone options about what they were or were not going to do.”
"There were internal issues that were problematic," he told TV Line in 2010. “ I’d rather not get into the dirty laundry this many years later, but it is safe to say that there were changes being thought about."
Multiple possible reasons circulated over the years for why Doherty eventually left the show, but she told Entertainment Tonight in her first sit-down interview, “There was too much drama on set and not enough passion for the work. I’m 30 years old and don’t have time for drama in my life anymore.” She and Milano later mended their relationship.
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Doherty launched a podcast in 2023 called Let's Be Clear, which she used as a living memoir to talk about her career, friends, relationships, and cancer battle. On one episode, she spoke about her decision not to return for the Charmed finale, even though the door was open for her.
“I regret it in one sense," she said. "I regret it for the fans. But I don't regret it for me, because I was so incredibly wrecked from getting fired that, I think, even years, years, years later, had I walked on that set, it just would've stirred everything back up for me. And it would've crushed me all over again."
After Charmed, Doherty returned to the world of 90210 for a reboot of the show on the CW. She also appeared in films like Bukowski and Back in the Day and made-for-TV movies like All I Want for Christmas and Witchslayer Gretl. She also had a minor role in the Paramount Network’s Heathers TV series, though the show was canceled after its first season.
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