Shannen Doherty’s Final Wishes
After actress Shannen Doherty passed away from breast cancer last Saturday, the star’s final wishes are becoming known. A fervent dog-lover and animal rights advocate, she wanted her ashes mixed with her German shepherd “Bowie.”
In her January 2024 podcast, Let’s Be Clear, she announced, “I want [my remains] to be mixed with my dog, and I want it to be mixed with my dad. I do not want to be buried and not cremated.” She added that loved ones could use her ashes to “grow them into a tree.”
The Charmed actress then mentioned that her remains and those of her father could be scattered in Malibu, California. The locale held special meaning for the celebrity since it was where they spent “precious time” together.
Doherty shared that her funeral shouldn’t have an extensive guest list since she only wanted people who genuinely cared about her to be present.
“There’s a lot of people that I think would show up that I don’t want there,” she reflected. “I don’t want them there because their reasons for showing up aren’t necessarily the best reasons, like, they don’t really like me and, you know, they have their reasons and good for them, but they don’t actually really like me enough to show up to my funeral.”
“[They’ll show up] because it’s the politically correct thing to do, and they don’t want to look bad, so I kinda want to take the pressure off them and I want my funeral to be like a love fest. I don’t want people to be crying or people to privately be like, ‘Thank God that bitch is dead now,” Doherty explained.
In another podcast episode released in April, the Beverly Hills 90210 lead revealed she was preparing for her death by letting go of unnecessary possessions. The 53-year-old believed the gesture would make her passing easier for her loved ones.
“It feels like you’re giving up on something that was very special and important to you,” she said, referring to emptying out her storage unit. “But you know that it’s the right thing to do and that it’s going to give you a sense of peace and a sense of calm. Because you’re helping the people that you leave behind just have a cleaner, easier transition.”
In her final months, the actress talked about collecting good memories with loved ones instead of personal possessions.
“I don’t need this, it doesn’t really bring me any great joy, but what does bring me great joy is taking my mom to the places that she’s always wanted to go to,” she elaborated. “I get to build different memories—I get to build memories with the people I love. I’m not digging into the money that’s in my estate that is going to make sure everybody in my life is taken care of.”
