Hollywood pays tribute to Shannen Doherty of ‘Beverly Hills 90210’ fame
FILE – In this Jan. 14, 2012, file photo, Shannen Doherty participates in a panel for the television show “Shannen Says” on WE tv during the AMC Networks portion of the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif. Doherty, the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star, has died, Saturday, July 13, 2024. She was 53. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, File)
LOS ANGELES – Actress Shannen Doherty, known for her roles on “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Charmed,” has died following a 9-year battle with breast cancer, her publicist Leslie Sloane announced Sunday. She was 53.
Jason Priestly, Doherty’s costar on “Beverly Hills 90210,” said Sunday that he was “Shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of my friend Shannen. She was a force of nature and I will miss her. Sending love and light to her family in this dark time,” Priestly wrote on Instagram.
Another cast member from the Fox series, Brian Austin Green, wrote: “Shan. My sister – You loved me through everything. You were a big part of my understanding of love. I’ll miss you more than I know how to process right now.
Thank you for the gift of you.”
Actress Olivia Munn, who recently shared her own breast cancer battle with the public, wrote that she was “absolutely heartbroken over the passing of Shannen\ Doherty.”
“We bonded through a shared battle and a desire to help other women.
Looking back on the last text she sent me just a couple months ago, she asked how I was doing and if she could do anything for me. True to form, Shannen was offering her support even though she was in the final stage of fighting this horrific disease,” Munn said. “Cancer is really f—— scary and Shannen faced it with such dignity, strength and grace. I’m sending all of my love to her mother who was her best friend, hero and champion every step of the way.”
Her “Charmed” costar Alyssa Milano issued her own statement about Doherty’s death Sunday.
“It’s no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at its core (she) was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of,” Milano told multiple media outlets. “She was a talented actress, beloved by many and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her.”
“Charmed” costar Rose McGowan posted the following tribute:
“Shannen Doherty had the heart of a lion. Passion for craft is often mislabeled as trouble. Shannen was passion. I met her in the ’90s and was awed.
Getting to really know her later in life, a beautiful gift. This woman fought to live.”
“Beverly Hills, 90210” castmate Gabrielle Carteris wrote on social media, “So young _ so sad. May you #RIP Shannon. I know Luke is there with open arms to love you.”
Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and after going into remission, announced the cancer had returned in 2017.
On Feb. 4, 2020, Doherty announced that her cancer had advanced to stage four and in June 2023 said it had spread to her brain and bones and was terminal.
“I definitely have days where I say, `Why me?”’ Doherty told People following her initial diagnosis. “And then I go, well, `Why not me? Who else?
Who else besides me deserves this?’ None of us do.”
“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty,” Sloane told People magazine. “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.”
The Memphis, Tennessee native, who began her career at age 11, was best known for playing Brenda Walsh on the Aaron Spelling-produced teen nighttime soap opera “Beverly Hills, 90210” from 1990 until she left in 1994 following its fourth season.
Brenda and her twin brother Brandon, played by Priestly, were portrayed as a fish out-of-water family that had recently moved from Minnesota to Beverly Hills. During its early seasons, the show often focused on her fraught relationship with boyfriend Dylan (Luke Perry), as she debated losing her virginity and later coped with their subsequent breakup after he took up with her best friend Kelly (Jenny Garth).
After leaving the show, Doherty was cast in 1998 as Prue Halliwell on “Charmed,” a Spelling-produced series about a trio of sisters who discover they were descended from a line of good female witches and use their “Power of Three” to fight the forces of evil. Doherty left the series, which co-starred Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs, in 2001 following its third season.
Doherty reprised her role as Brenda Walsh on seven episodes of the CW spinoff “90210” in its initial 2008-09 season and Fox’s six-episode 2019 reboot, “BH90210.” In 2007, Entertainment Weekly ranked the character at No. 96 on its list of 100 Greatest Television Icons.
She began her career with a recurring role on “Little House on the Prairie” and also made TV appearances on such shows as “Father Murphy,” “Airwolf” and the original version of “Magnum, P.I.”
In 2006, Doherty produced and starred in her own reality show, “Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty” on the Oxygen channel and was among the contestants during the 10th season of “Dancing with the Stars” in 2010.
On the big screen, Doherty co-starred in the 1998 dark teen comedy turned cult classic “Heathers” along with Winona Ryder and Christian Slater and 1985’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” with Helen Hunt and Sarah Jessica Parker. Doherty appeared in two Kevin Smith films, “Mallrats” in 1995 and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” in 1998. She also did voice work for the 1982 animated film “The Secret of NIMH.”
Doherty’s personal life included three marriages and the loss of her Malibu home in the 2018 Woolsey Fire for which she was later awarded $6.3 million by a federal jury after suing State Farm for failing to fully compensate her.
She was married from 1993 to 1994 to Ashley Hamilton, son of actors George Hamilton and Alana Collins. In 2002, Doherty married Rick Salomon, but the marriage was annulled after nine months.
On Oct. 15, 2011, Doherty married photographer Kurt Iswarienko but filed for divorce in April 2023. She later accused Iswarienko of attempting to prolong their divorce to avoid paying spousal support.
She was also briefly engaged to Max Factor heir Dean Jay Factor but the relationship ended after he accused her of physical violence and repeated threats and filed for a restraining order on May 25, 1993. However, her father said Factor was the abuser, not his daughter.
Doherty’s survivors include her parents, Tom and Rosa Doherty and a brother, Sean B. Doherty. (CNS)
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