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Shannen Doherty, the beloved star of Beverly Hills 90210, Charmed, Heathers and Little House On the Prairie, has died at age 53 following many years of struggle with breast cancer. Doherty’s publicist confirmed her passing with People on Saturday. Since her death, tributes from her costars and other celebrities, including Viola Davies, Katie Couric and Olivia Munn, have poured in.
Doherty’s health journey had been long and complicated. She first disclosed her breast cancer diagnosis in 2015, when it became the subject of a lawsuit in which she alleged her management had failed to keep her health insurance up to date. Doherty had several years of remission before her cancer returned in February 2020. In 2023, she had a brain tumour removed and revealed that the cancer had spread to her bones. She was open about her feelings, telling People, “I’m not done with living. I’m, not done with loving. I’m not done with creating.”
Doherty Spoke Out About “90s Bad Girl” Reputation
Doherty shot to fame in the early 90s, playing high school student Brenda Walsh on 90s television drama Beverly Hills 90210. She was referred to as an “iconic bad girl’ by People; her career dogged by rumours of on-set feuds and hard partying. Like many female celebrities, the actor had called out the unfairness of these characterisations in recent years.
In 2023, in conversation with Tori Spelling on her podcast Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty, she admitted to, like many actors of the period, “getting a little carried away” clubbing during the 90s.
The actor had previously spoken to People about the effort she had put into rebuilding her relationships with friends and costars before she left the series in 1994. She said she felt she was largely misunderstood. “I have felt misunderstood my whole life. The only difference is that now I’m okay with it. But there have been moments where we’ve been able to talk about things,” she said. She noted that she often didn’t share personal problems that affected her presence and behaviour on set. “Somebody had a problem with me being late, but perhaps they didn’t know I was late because my dad was in hospital, or maybe because I was in a horrible marriage. I didn’t share, or I wasn’t asked.”
She also noted that some of her reputation came from pushing back when she thought scripts needed to be improved. “I was raised to have an opinion and [to believe] that my opinion should be valued. So, I just kept pressing up against that machine, up against men who didn’t really want to hear my opinion,” she said on the podcast.
Tributes To Shannen Doherty From Costars Pour In
Despite difficulties on set there has been an outpouring of love for Doherty on social media, particularly from her Beverly Hills 90210 costars.
Jason Priestly, her on-screen twin, posted on Instagram: “I am 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.”
Brian Austin Green thanked Doherty for her love on his Instagram stories. “Shan. My sister… You loved me through everything. You were a big part of my understanding of love, and I’ll miss you more than I know how to process right now. Thank you for the gift of you.”
On Instagram stories, Tori Spelling, a friend of Doherty’s and guest on her podcast, shared a selfie with the actor. “I don’t have outward words yet… but WE knew, and that’s what matters,” she wrote.
Doherty’s On-Set Friendship With Luke Perry
Gabrielle Carteris, who played Andrea Zuckerman in Beverly Hills, 90210 referred to Doherty’s close friendship with co-star Luke Perry. “So young – so sad. May you RIP Shannen. I know Luke is there with open arms to love you.” Luke Perry, who died after suffering a stroke in 2019 at the age of 52.
Perry had been effusive about Shannen and her integral part in making the show a hit. When the cast reunited at a 2016 RewindCon panel, Perry addressed Shannen’s pivotal role in the series. “The reality is that she was a big part of the program’s success. She taught me a lot, and I’m just really glad she was there for me as a scene partner. If there were any issues or anything that anyone ever talked about [with] Shannen, the one thing I could always tell them was when she was on the mark. And we were doing our work, there were no problems. She was great at what she did.”
Shenae Grimes-Beech, who appeared on the 2008 to 2013 reboots of 90210 posted a emotional video on Instagram about her experiences with the star. She described Doherty as “the woman and actress I wanted to be like”. Grimes-Beech continued that Doherty made her feel “seen and comforted and cared for.”
“To the icon, the legend, the take-no-sh*t WARRIOR of a woman. Shannen Doherty… thank you for inspiring me in more ways than I can bring myself to put into words right now,” she captioned.
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