Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed Actress Shannen Doherty Dies at 53
After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, actress Shannen Doherty succumbed to the illness last Saturday, July 13.
“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease,” confirmed Doherty’s publicist Leslie Sloane.
Sloane added, “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.”
Referred to as the “quintessential Hollywood bad girl of the Nineties” by Rolling Stone, Doherty has been open about her battle with cancer. Two years after her diagnosis, the famous Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed star revealed her illness was in remission.
Doherty said to PEOPLE in 2017, “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.”
Sadly, her cancer returned in 2019. The following year Doherty said that her cancer had reached metastatic stage 4. In June 2023, she announced that it had reached her brain and she underwent surgery. Though she felt overwhelmed by the procedure to remove her brain tumor, she nicknamed it Bob in a show of good humor.
“He had to get removed and dissected to see his pathology,” she told a news outlet in November 2023. “It was definitely one of the scariest things I’ve ever been through in my entire life.”
Despite her health issues, Doherty was determined to keep busy. “People just assume that it means you can’t walk, you can’t eat, you can’t work. They put you out to pasture at a very early age—‘You’re done, you’re retired,’ and we’re not,” she reasoned.
“We’re vibrant, and we have such a different outlook on life. We are people who want to work and embrace life and keep moving forward.”
Before she passed away, Doherty shared her intention to support cancer research through fundraising and by improving awareness.
A Glimpse Of Shannen Doherty’s Career
Born on April 12, 1971, Doherty began her career at 11 years old. Her first role was on Little House on the Prairie in 1982. She became famous in 1994 as Brenda Walsh, one of the leading characters in Beverly Hills 90210. She also appeared in the 1995 production Mallrats and Charmed which began airing in 1998.
