In Memoriam: Shannen Doherty Dies At 53

Shannen Doherty the beloved and popular actress who starred on the popular series "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Charmed" and then documented her nine-year battle with breast cancer, has died, according to her longtime publicist, Shannen was 53. 

According to statement by her publicist Leslie Sloane: "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", "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 statement continued.

Doherty developed a devoted fan base with roles as Heather Duke in the 1989 cult classic film "Heathers" as Brenda Walsh from 1990 to 1994 in the hit series "Beverly Hills, 902102 and its subsequent spinoff "902102 and as Prue Halliwell in "Charmed" from 1998 to 2001, she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, went into remission two years later, and in 2020 announced the cancer had returned, spread and was stage 4, and finally in June 2023 she shared that her cancer had spread to her brain. 

Doherty, who had been outspoken about living with cancer even as she was clear that it was incurable, kept that mindset as she talked about her plans for the future: "I guess I’m in a mindset now of I need to make as much money as humanly possible in the next two years, bank it, put it with my investment place, build that so that A., I don’t have to work and I only work when I really want to," she said this month. "I can also go on a lot more vacations. Then also when I pass away my mom’s got a nice little nest egg and I don’t have to worry about her".

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Doherty’s family moved to Los Angeles when she was a child and she caught the acting bug quickly, she made her acting debut at age ten with a role on the television series “Father Murphy.”, her performance won notice by legendary actor Michael Landon, and she landed the role of Jenny Wilder on his beloved series, “Little House on the Prairie.”

Doherty honed her craft in various projects including the series "Our House" the 1985 film "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and the dark teenage comedy "Heathers" in 1988, she raise the world wide fame as feisty high school student Brenda Walsh on the immensely popular Aaron Spelling teen drama "Beverly Hills 90210"

That role, in which she burned up the screen opposite costar Luke Perry as her love interest Dylan McKay, made her a household name. Doherty left the show after four seasons following reports of on-set tensions between her and some of her castmates.She returned to the big screen in 1994’s "Almost Dead" and 1995’s "Mallrats". Three years later, Doherty reunited with Spelling for the series "Charmed" with costars Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs in which they starred as three sisters who were witches.

She left her role as Prue Halliwell on that show after three years and found work again on various movies including "The Rendering" in 2002 and "View of Terror" in 2003. in 2008, Doherty reprised the role of Brenda in the CW reboot "90210" for seven episodes.

She later played herself in the meta-style reboot "BH90210" in 2019, the same year she cameoed as a stranded motorist on the CW’s "Riverdale" which costarred Perry. He died at the age of 52 in March 2019 after suffering a stroke.