Shannen Doherty, best known for her prominent roles on Charmed and Beverly Hills, 90210, has died at age 53.
As reported by People, Doherty passed away yesterday (July 13) after a nine-year battle with breast cancer.
“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,” Doherty’s longtime publicist Leslie Sloane told People in a statement.
Sloane continues: “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.”
Her cancer diagnosis was first revealed in 2015. Two years later, she said that, after an initial phase of remission, the breast cancer had returned. In 2020, as reported by Today, court documents in her lawsuit against insurance company State Farm referred to her illness as “terminal”.
Shannen Doherty and ‘Charmed’ co-star Holly Marie Combs in 2016. CREDIT: Amanda Edwards/WireImage
Last month, Doherty revealed on her podcast ‘Let’s Be Clear’ that she was to undergo surgery and start a new treatment protocol after she was told by doctors in 2023 that her regular treatment had stopped working.
“Your body adjusts to them, becomes immune to them. Your cells change. Your cancer cells adapt — the molecular makeup of them changes and then you have to go into a different protocol,” she explained, per Today.
Doherty began work in Hollywood at a young age – at 11, she did voice work for 1982 animated film The Secret of NIMH, while she clinched a supporting role in 1985 for teen comedy Girls Just Want to Have Fun alongside Helen Hunt and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Her breakout role came in 1990 with TV drama Beverly Hills, 90210, which saw her take on a lead role alongside Jason Priestley where they played a pair of teen twins who move with their parents to California.
Shannen Doherty (right) in 1990 with ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ co-stars Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth, and Gabrielle Carteris. CREDIT: Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images
And it was with Charmed that propelled her career further – while Doherty would only go on to star in its first three seasons, the wildly popular teen fantasy show became her most notable project yet.
Since her Charmed departure – which she had alleged in a podcast last December that it had to do with co-star Alyssa Milano – Doherty mainly starred in made-for-TV films and television series, along with an appearance on the 2008 revival of 90210.
Doherty’s most recent onscreen appearance is Darkness of Man, an action film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme that released in May.
Besides acting, Doherty had also been active as a podcaster. Alongside ‘Let’s Be Clear’ is ‘House of Halliwell’, a podcast co-hosted by Doherty and her former Charmed co-stars Holly Marie Combs, Brian Krause and Drew Fuller. Doherty issued its first “reboot” episode only last Wednesday (July 10) after a period of inactivity.
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