Summary
Shannen Dohertyhas passed away. The iconic actor was born on July 14, 2025, in Memphis, Tennessee and began her onscreen career when she was just 10 years old. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Brenda Walsh in the first four seasons of the iconic teen dramaBeverly Hills, 90210and Prue Halliwell in the first three seasons of the supernatural showCharmed. She also appeared in many big screen projects, including the iconic dark teen comedyHeathers, the Sarah Jessica Parker comedyGirls Just Want to Have Fun, and theKevin Smith movieMallrats.
PerPeople, Shannen Doherty’s publicist Leslie Sloane has confirmed thatthe actor has died at the age of 53 due to cancer. Doherty first revealed her breast cancer diagnosis in 2015, later sharing in June 2023 that it was terminal and had spread to her brain. While the latest news as of January 2024 had a positive inflection as she was trying a new treatment, the star “lost her battle.” Read Sloane’s full statement below:
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.
Shannen Doherty’s Career Remembered
Doherty’s status as an iconic television star was cemented when she was just 11 years old and joined theLittle House on the Prairiecastin the role of Jenny Wilder. She played the character in 18 episodes of season 9 through the end of the series, reprising the role in several TV movies based on the property.Through the late 1990s, she was almost never without a major television role, as she joined the Wilford Brimley dramaOur Housein 1986 before transitioning to more teen and new adult-oriented roles with90210andCharmed.
As the 1990s progressed, shegained a tabloid reputation for being a Hollywood “bad girl"due to on-set issues like chronic lateness, a feud with her90210co-star Jennie Garth (who later said the feud was based on “immaturity” and had long since ended), and alleged animosity with herCharmedco-star Alyssa Milano. She left both shows before the end of their runs, being replaced on90210by Tiffani-Amber Thiessen’s Valerie Malone and onCharmedby Rose McGowan’s Paige Matthews.
In 2010, Doherty admitted that she had earned her reputation, but said she had “evolved” and was in a “better place.”
However, as the years progressedShannen Dohertyworked to shed her reputation and later reunited with herBeverly Hillsco-stars on both the CW reboot90210and the short-lived 2019meta rebootBH90210. In fact, her role on the latter show (which featured the original stars playing fictionalized versions of themselves) parodied her friction with the rest of the cast. She was also the cast member who was chosen to pay tribute to her late co-star Luke Perry in a moving guest appearance on his showRiverdale.
