Shannen Doherty, 'Beverly Hills, 90210' and 'Charmed' actress, dies at 53
Actress Shannen Doherty, best-known for her roles on TV's original "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Charmed" series, has died at 53.
"It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress, Shannen Doherty. In Saturday, July 13th 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. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace," a representative said in a statement.
Olivia Munn said she was heartbroken and shared a video of Doherty saying she was not afraid of death in an Instagram story Sunday.
"When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer I remember how she bravely let the world into her journey and reached out to her," the actress said, who has shared her own cancer struggle.
Munn also shared that Doherty reached out to her a few months ago in what would be their final texts with each other.
"True to form, Shannen was offering her support even though she was in the final stage of fighting this horrific disease. Cancer is really f--king scary and Shannen faced it with such dignity, strength and grace," she said.
Doherty began acting as a child but became a household name in early 90s with her role as as the bright-eyed Brenda Walsh in the Aaron Spelling-produced hit teen television drama "Beverly Hills, 90210." Doherty also appeared in movies like "Heathers," "Mallrats," and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back." She returned to TV in another Spelling-helmed light drama series, "Charmed," as good witch Prue Halliwell.
In June 2023, Doherty gave her Instagram followers a sobering look at her then-ongoing battle with stage 4 breast cancer. Sharing a video from the previous January that showed her being fitted with a face mask used for radiation treatment for brain cancer, Doherty explained that a CT scan "showed mets in my brain," referring to metastases, meaning cancer cells had migrated there.
Then in a Dec. 11, 2023 cover story for People magazine, Doherty revealed that the cancer had spread to her bones.
"I don't want to die," Doherty told People. "I'm not done with living. I'm not done with loving. I'm not done with creating. I'm not done with hopefully changing things for the better. I'm just not -- I'm not done."
In January 2024, Doherty shared on her podcast that she'd recently begin a new, unspecified cancer treatment infusion, saying it had begun "breaking down the blood-brain barrier," enabling the treatment to get to her brain.
"For me, that happens to be a miracle," Doherty said, adding of her overall fight against cancer, "I think hope is always there."
Doherty revealed in a February 2020 interview with "Good Morning America" that her breast cancer had returned as stage 4, some five years after she was first diagnosed with the disease and it subsequently went into remission following treatment.
"I definitely have days where I say, 'Why me?' And then I go, 'Well, why not me? Who else? Who else besides me deserves this?' None of us do," she said in the interview. "But I would say that my first reaction is always concern about how -- how am I going to tell my mom, my husband?"
The actress explained then that she was going public with her diagnosis because she was afraid the news would be revealed in a then-potential trial with her insurance agency. Doherty sued State Farm after her California home was damaged in the Woolsey Fire in 2018, claiming the insurer failed to adequately reimburse her for that damage. A federal jury sided with Doherty in October 2021 and awarded her $6.3 million.
"I'd rather people hear it from me. I don't want it to be twisted. I don't want it to be a court document. I want it to be real and authentic," Doherty said prior to the trial. "And I want to control the narrative. I want people to know from me, I just didn't want them to know yet."
That had been Doherty's philosophy from the beginning. She first shared in August 2015 that he had been diagnosed with breast cancer a few months earlier. At that time, she'd filed a lawsuit against her former business managers, whom she said "habitually blundered" tasks that included making her insurance payments, causing her coverage to lapse and resulting in a late diagnosis, after the cancer had spread. They later settled out of court.
Doherty went on to document her cancer treatment on her social media, including when friends and family helped shave her head in late July, 2016, as she underwent chemotherapy and her hair began to fall out. A week later, she revealed to "Entertainment Tonight" that her cancer had spread further and that she'd undergone a single mastectomy in May 2016.
"The unknown is always the scariest part," Doherty told "ET." "Everything else is manageable. Pain is manageable, you know, living without a breast is manageable. It's the worry of your future and how your future is going to affect the people that you love."
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Doherty began acting as a child. At age 11, she was cast as Jenny Wilder in the TV series "Little House on the Prairie." Movies followed -- she appeared in the 1985 musical comedy "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" alongside Sarah Jessica Parker and starred in the 1989 cult classic dark comedy "Heathers," opposite Winona Ryder and Christian Slater -- before she landed her most famous role: Brenda Walsh in "Beverly Hills, 90210."
At the time, Doherty, who was written off 90210 after season four, had received bad press for allegedly being difficult to work with, which she attributed to being typecast after her role as a cliquey high school diva in "Heathers."
"I'm not saying I don't have my moments of bitchiness," Doherty told People in November 1992, "But it's never for no reason. I think that life is short, you should live it and be happy. I've always been a ballsy kid."
"I know it pisses some people off, but isn't the end result much better?" she added.
Doherty's next major TV role came a few years later, when she was cast as Prue Halliwell in "Charmed." Amid reports of conflict with her co-star Alyssa Milano, Doherty left the show after three seasons, telling "Entertainment Tonight," "There was too much drama on the set and not enough passion for the work."
Doherty continued to work steadily, including a reality TV venture with her former "Charmed" co-star Holly Marie Combs, "Off the Map with Shannen & Holly," and an appearance on the TV series "Riverdale."
Doherty is survived by her mother, brother, and uncle.
