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.
“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.”
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and after going into remission, she announced her cancer had returned in 2017.
On February 4, 2020, Doherty announced 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.”
The Memphis, Tenn. native, who began her career at age 11, was perhaps best known for playing Brenda Walsh on the Aaron Spelling-produced TV series “Beverly Hills, 90210” from 1990 until she left during the fourth season in 1994.
Brenda, and her twin brother Brandon, played by Jason Priestly, were portrayed as a fish-out-of-water family that had recently moved from Minnesota to Beverly Hills. During it’s early seasons, the show often focused on her fraught relationship with boyfriend Dylan, played by the late Luke Perry, as she debated losing her virginity and later coped with their subsequent breakup after he took up with her best friend Kelly, played by Jenny Garth.
After leaving the show, Doherty was cast as Prue Halliwell on “Charmed,” a TV series about a trio of sisters who discover they were descended from a line of good female witches who used their “Power of Three” to fight the forces of evil. The show aired on the WB network from 1998 to 2006.