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Shannen Doherty, known for her roles in the hit TV series “Beverly Hills 90210” and the fantasy wizard series “Charmed,” was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and passed away. She was 53 years old.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of actress Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after a long struggle,” Doherty’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, said in a statement to People magazine.
Doherty rose to fame in 1990 when she played the refreshing brunette Brenda Walsh on Fox’s “Beverly Hills 90210.” Along with her twin brother Brandon, played by Jason Priestley, the Walshes were the quintessential out-of-place family who had recently moved to Beverly Hills from Minnesota and were constantly amazed by the antics of the rich kids of Los Angeles.
Brenda (Luke Perry) and Dylan’s romance sparked controversy in the first season when Brenda considered losing her virginity, then their breakup after Dylan’s affair with Brenda’s best friend Kelly (Jennie Garth) made headlines, and the show was praised for its groundbreaking approach to themes such as drug abuse and racism.
The show was a huge hit, and with that success came undue scrutiny and rumors surrounding the cast, including the teenage Doherty. The show started with Garth’s character Kelly as a rather unlikable character, but perceptions quickly changed and Brenda became the cast member everyone loved to hate. She was dubbed a diva by the press, and even had a “I hate Brenda” newsletter before the internet became popular. Doherty appeared in 111 episodes of the series before leaving at the end of season four amid reports of feuding with other cast members, especially Garth.
“Beverly Hills 90210” stars Jason Priestley (left), Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth and Ian Ziering.
By the time the show was rebooted two more times, with the cast members older and more mellow, Doherty returned as Brenda in the 2008 revival of 90210 for one season, and then in the 2019 revival of BH90210.
After her stormy exit from 90210, Doherty found her footing in Charmed, a supernatural drama about three sisters who discover they are witches and must work together to fight evil. She played Prue Halliwell, the eldest of the three sisters, alongside Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs. In 2000 and 2001, she directed three episodes of the series, “Beware the Witch,” “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” and “The Gates of Hell.” These were her final episodes. When she left the series at the end of season three, her character was killed off.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Doherty moved with her family to Los Angeles as a child and began her career appearing on the TV show Father Murphy at age 10. Michael Landon saw her on the show and cast her as Jenny Wilder in Little House on the Prairie at age 11.
Doherty then appeared in a recurring role on the family series Our House alongside Wilfred Brimley.
In feature films, she appeared in another teen classic, Heathers, as well as Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Kevin Smith’s Mallrats, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
Her other shows include “North Shore” and “Riverdale,” and she also appeared in a number of TV movies.
Shannen Doherty starred in “Beverly Hills 90201.”
© Aaron Spelling Productions/Provided
In 2006, she produced the reality show “Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty,” helping people in relationship crises who wanted to get out but couldn’t do it on their own, and later appeared in another reality show, “Off the Map with Shannen and Holly.”
Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2015 and announced she was in remission in 2017. However, by 2019, the cancer had returned and metastasized. She continued to work, appearing in TV movies such as “Dying to Belong” and “List of a Lifetime.”
In June 2023, she revealed that she had been undergoing radiation treatment for cancer that had spread to her brain.
She was briefly married to poker player Rick Salomon, son of George Hamilton’s Ashley Hamilton, and then married photographer Kurt Iswarienko in 2011. They filed for divorce in 2023.
