Shannen Doherty Dies at 53

Shannen Doherty, the actress best known for her starring roles in Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed, has died. She was 53.Doherty's death was confirmed in a statement to People from her longtime publicist Leslie Sloane. She said, "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."Sloane continued, "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."Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. She went into remission in 2017, but in 2019, the cancer returned. In 2020, Doherty announced the cancer had evolved into metastatic stage 4. In June 2023, Doherty shared the cancer had spread to her brain, which was treated with surgery to remove a tumor from her brain.Doherty's first major acting role came in 1982 when she played Jenny Wilder for 18 episodes on Little House on the Prairie. Her next big role came in 1985 in the movie Girls Just Want to Have Fun alongside Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt. In 1988, she played Heather Duke in the black comedy Heathers alongside Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. https://youtu.be/WE3_uwJC4NQ?si=-pDrGXn-f9nGvXo5 Then, in 1990, Doherty became a major star thanks to Beverly Hills, 90210. The popular Aaron Spelling teen soap opera made stars out of its entire cast, which featured Jason Priestley, Luke Perry, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green, Tori Spelling and Gabrielle Carteris. Doherty played Brenda Walsh for four seasons on the series, but would return in many guest appearances. She would also reprise the role in the 2008 reboot series simply titled 90210. https://youtu.be/4Ng1IAtrbok?si=Oz4xhNtGC9uNtiUM Doherty's next major television role came via another Aaron Spelling show: Charmed. For three seasons, she played Prue Halliwell, the oldest of three witch sisters alongside Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs. https://youtu.be/uevJyYmOLls?si=UTJAmqJpYEUHY7mW Doherty would revisit Brenda Walsh again in 2019 in BH90210. The show featured the Beverly Hills, 90210 actors playing fictionalized versions of themselves in a meta take on actors reuniting for a show reboot. During the making of the show, Doherty's cancer returned, but she hid it from her castmates due to the sudden death of Luke Perry in March 2019.She told Good Morning America in 2020, "It's so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was, you know, seemingly healthy to go first. It was really, like, shocking." https://youtu.be/UojBNXngsZA?si=esGT6spOYDjQCyp9