Shannen Doherty, Star of “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Charmed,” Dies at 53: 'Devoted Daughter, Sister, Aunt and Friend'
The 'Beverly Hills 90210' and 'Charmed' star was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015
Shannen Doherty has died after years of living with cancer, PEOPLE has confirmed. She was 53.
"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," Doherty's longtime publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE on Sunday, July 14.
"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," Sloane continued.
The Beverly Hills 90210 star was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and spoke candidly to PEOPLE in November 2023 about her Stage 4 breast cancer, which had by then spread to her bones, saying at the time that she didn't "want to die."
“I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better,” she told PEOPLE. "I’m just not — I’m not done.”
Following her 2015 diagnosis, the actress revealed less than two years later in April 2017 that she had gone into remission, however, by 2019, the cancer returned. Doherty announced her diagnosis of metastatic stage 4 cancer publicly in 2020. Then, in June of 2023, the actress shared that the cancer had spread to her brain and that she had undergone surgery.
Doherty posted on Instagram on June 6, 2023, sharing in a candid and emotional message that the cancer had spread to her brain. Then, later the same month in another post, that she had undergone surgery in January 2023 — describing the fear she felt ahead of the procedure as "overwhelming" — to remove a brain tumor, which she had named Bob.
“He had to get removed and dissected to see his pathology,” she told PEOPLE in November 2023. “It was definitely one of the scariest things I’ve ever been through in my entire life.”
Despite that, the actress was determined to continue working as she lived with the disease.
“People just assume that it means you can’t walk, you can’t eat, you can’t work. They put you out to pasture at a very early age —‘You’re done, you’re retired,’ and we’re not,” she said, adding “We’re vibrant, and we have such a different outlook on life. We are people who want to work and embrace life and keep moving forward.”
Indeed, before her death, Doherty hoped to raise funds, and awareness, for cancer research — at the same time demonstrating to others that people like herself, with terminal cancer, are still individuals with plenty to contribute.
“When you ask yourself, ‘Why me? Why did I get cancer?’ and then ‘Why did my cancer come back? Why am I stage 4?,’ that leads you to look for the bigger purpose in life,” she said.
Her candid comments echoed her words from a 2020 interview with Amy Robach for ABC News that aired on Good Morning America, in which she was equally pragmatic.
"I definitely have days where I say, 'Why me?'" Doherty told Robach of the development in her health at the time. "And then I go, well, 'Why not me? Who else? Who else besides me deserves this?' None of us do."
Related: How Shannen Doherty Is Bravely Battling Cancer – in Her Own Words
That interview with Robach marked Doherty first revealing her breast cancer had returned as stage 4 cancer after she had previously gone into remission.
"It's going to come out in a matter of days or a week that I'm stage 4. So my cancer came back, and that's why I'm here," Doherty said on Good Morning America. "I don't think I've processed it. It's a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways."
Related: Shannen Doherty Gives Update amid Cancer Battle: 'Taking Care of Myself and Embracing Every Day'
Related: Shannen Doherty's Life in Pictures
Although she gained praise for openly talking about living with cancer later in life, Doherty rose to fame as Brenda Walsh on the original Beverly Hills, 90210, which premiered in October 1990.
The actress left the show after the fourth season in 1994. (She later revisited the character with several guest appearances on the 2008 reboot 90210.)
After her Beverly Hills fame, Doherty was cast in Charmed as Prue Halliwell, the oldest of three sisters who are witches. Along with starring in the series, she also directed several episodes, she left the show at the end of the third season in 2001.
Related: Shannen Doherty Believes She's a 'Better Actor Than Ever' Following Her Cancer Diagnosis
Related: Sarah Michelle Gellar Reveals What She's Learned from Her Best Friend Shannen Doherty
Doherty worked steadily throughout her career and even ventured into reality television with the short-lived Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty and as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.
In 2019, she signed on to join the TV reboot of Beverly Hills, 90210, once again playing an adult version of the character that made her famous.
Though the actress said she was aware of her stage 4 cancer diagnosis, she kept it a secret from the cast after the unexpected death of her costar Luke Perry in March 2019 at age 52.
"It's so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was, you know, seemingly healthy to go first," Doherty told Robach on Good Morning America in 2020. "It was really, like, shocking."
Doherty said participating in the TV reboot, which aired on Fox, was the "least I could do" to honor Perry — and it was also an opportunity to prove that she could continue to work despite her health.
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"One of the reasons, along with Luke, that I did 90210 and didn't really tell anybody [was] because I thought, people can look at that [as] people with stage 4 can work too," she explained.
Her strength was recognized by her fellow actors on the show, with Brian Austin Green speaking to PEOPLE in praise of her.
"Shannen is absolutely leading by example and showing people that even in the toughest of times, you can keep your head up and you can be a good person,” Austin Green said. “And she is: She’s an amazing person and an inspiration.”
Most poignantly, Doherty talked in her 2023 PEOPLE interview about her love of life, her gratitude for being able to wake up and spend time with her family, friends and dog and her hopeful approach to the future.
"My greatest memory is yet to come," she told PEOPLE. "I pray. I wake up and go to bed thanking God, praying for the things that matter to me without asking for too much. It connects me to a higher power and spirituality. My faith is my mantra.”
She shared that cancer had made her more aware of life and the world around her.
“I know it sounds cheesy and crazy, but you’re just more aware of everything, and you feel so blessed. We’re the people who want to work the most, because we’re just so grateful for every second, every hour, every day we get to be here.”
An early draft of this article was written by Jodi Guglielmi and Aili Nahas.
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