Shannen Doherty obit

Shannen Doherty, Actress on ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ and ‘Charmed,’ Dies at 53

She also appeared on 'Little House on the Prairie' and starred in 'Heathers' and 'Mallrats' before cancer took its toll. 

She was not on the list.

Shannen Doherty, who starred on Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed before exiting both Aaron Spelling-produced shows amid conflicts with co-workers, has lost her long battle with cancer. She was 53.

Doherty died Saturday. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2015; after treatment and several surgeries, she announced in April 2017 that she was in remission. In February 2020, she tearfully revealed on Good Morning America, “I’m stage 4 — my cancer came back,” then said in June 2023 that cancer had spread to her brain.

“I definitely have days where I say, ‘Why me?’ And then I go, ‘Well, why not me? Who else? Who else besides me deserves this?’ None of us do,” 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,” publicist Leslie Sloane said in a statement to People. “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.”

After holding down regular roles on the NBC shows Little House on the Prairie and Our House and starring in the critically acclaimed Heathers (1988), Doherty in 1990 was hired to play Brenda Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210, created by Darren Star.

Her character and twin brother, Brandon (Jason Priestley), move with their dad from Minnesota to Southern California, and they try to fit in at West Beverly High.

Doherty, however, was dismissed from the show after the fourth season concluded in May 1994 amid reported clashes with her co-stars and producers. She did not do herself any favors when, halfway through shooting the season finale, she cut her hair, which made continuity on the episode difficult.

“There was definitely a time that I did not want to be there. I was unhappy,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2005. “It sounds odd to say that I was on a hit show making a lot of money and I was unhappy, because it makes me sound unappreciative — I wasn’t.

“It’s just that the sacrifice at the time seemed too large to me. The sacrifice of a camera pointed in my face 24 hours a day while I was desperately trying to grow up, to figure out my spirituality, to figure out my boyfriends. I mean, I was a teenager.”

“She’s a very intelligent young woman who isn’t afraid to speak her mind,” Priestley said.

Doherty starred with Ben Affleck and Jason Lee in Kevin Smith’s Mallrats (1995), then returned to primetime when she was cast as Prue Halliwell, the oldest of three sister witches — Alyssa Milano as Phoebe and Holly Marie Combs as Piper were the others — on The WB series Charmed, created by Constance M. Burge.

Doherty and Milano were said not to get along, and then Prue was killed by a demon assassin in the season-three finale in May 2001. Rose McGowan ostensibly replaced her in the cast.

“Diplomacy wasn’t my forte back then, and I was too vocal about things that really could have been left alone,” Doherty wrote in her 2010 book, Badass: A Hard-Earned Guide to Living Life With Style and (the Right) Attitude. “Who cared if I thought an episode was stupid? Who cared what I thought of the script? It was my job to do my best with what was in front of me.”

90210 went six more seasons without her and Charmed lasted another five while Doherty found herself a focus of the tabloid media. On the cover of People in 1993, she was described as a “hard-partying, check-bouncing bad girl [who] may be going way too far.”

Shannen Maria Doherty was born on April 12, 1971, in Memphis, Tennessee. Her mother, Rosa, owned a beauty parlor, and her father, Tom, was a financial adviser who was in bad health for years before he died in 2010 at age 66.

Doherty worked on Pepsi commercials when she was 10 and then appeared in 1981 on a two-part episode of the Merlin Olsen-starring Father Murphy, produced by Michael Landon.

Doherty was hired to portray Jenny Wilder — adopted by Laura (Melissa Gilbert) and Almanzo (Dean Butler) after her father dies — on the final season of Little House on the Prairie, also produced by Landon. She also played Jenny in three subsequent telefilms.

In 1985, she was eldest daughter Kathleen Kennedy on the CBS miniseries Robert Kennedy and His Times; appeared with Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt in Girls Just Want to Have Fun; and guest-starred on yet another Landon show, Highway to Heaven.

On the 1986-88 series Our House, Doherty’s Kris Witherspoon and her two siblings move with their mother (Deidre Hall) from Indiana into their grandfather’s home in California after her dad dies.

After Charmed, Doherty appeared as herself in Smith’s Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (2004); starred in several telefilms; and played the illegitimate daughter of a billionaire on the short-lived Fox primetime soap North Shore.

On reality shows, she competed on Dancing With the Stars, hosted Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty and Scare Tactics and starred on Shannen Says, in which she planned her 2011 wedding to photographer Kurt Iswarienko, and Off the Map with Shannen & Holly, where she reteamed with Combs.

Doherty filed for divorce from Iswarienko in April 2023. Earlier, she had brief marriages to professional poker player Rick Salomon and Ashley Hamilton, son of actor George Hamilton.

Regrading her troubles on 90210, Doherty told People in 2019: “Somebody had a problem with me being late, but perhaps they didn’t know I was late because my dad was in the hospital, or maybe because I was in a horrible marriage. I didn’t share, or I wasn’t asked. I’m not saying it was all a misunderstanding, but a large portion of it was a misunderstanding.”

She returned as Brenda for seven first-season episodes of a 2008-13 reboot, and for 2019’s BH90210, she played a version of herself. Doherty forged ahead on the latter after she was told her cancer had returned and former castmate Luke Perry had died at 52.

“One of the reasons, along with Luke, that I did BH90210 and didn’t really tell anybody [that her cancer was back] because I thought, people … with stage 4 can work too,” she said. “Like, you know, our life doesn’t end the minute we get that diagnosis. We still have some living to do.”

 

Actress

How to Make a Deal with the Devil

The Devil

Post-production

 

Jean-Claude Van Damme in Darkness of Man (2024)

Darkness of Man

4.4

Vivian

2024

 

Mel Gibson and Kevin Dillon in Hot Seat (2022)

Hot Seat

4.3

Chief Pam Connelly

2022

 

Bruce Willis and Chad Michael Murray in Fortress (2021)

Fortress

3.3

Dobbs

2021

 

Shannen Doherty and Favour Onwuka in Dying to Belong (2021)

Dying to Belong

6.0

TV Movie

Katherine

2021

 

Kelly Hu and Sylvia Kwan in List of a Lifetime (2021)

List of a Lifetime

6.4

TV Movie

Diana Carroll

2021

 

Riverdale (2017)

Riverdale

6.5

TV Series

Stranded Motorist

2019

1 episode

 

Daryl Hannah and Shannen Doherty in Undateable John (2019)

Undateable John

4.9

Charlene

2019

 

BH90210 (2019)

BH90210

6.9

TV Series

Shannen Doherty

2019

6 episodes

 

Grace Victoria Cox and James Scully in Heathers (2018)

Heathers

5.6

TV Series

Dr. Destiny

JD's Mom

2018

3 episodes

 

Shannen Doherty and Matreya Scarrwener in No One Would Tell (2018)

No One Would Tell

6.4

TV Movie

Laura Collins

2018

 

Shannen Doherty, Tom Green, Zack Ward, Stefanie Estes, and James Cullen Bressack in Bethany (2017)

Bethany

4.1

Susan

2017

 

Rock in a Hard Place

4.4

TV Series

Janice

2016

1 episode

 

Back in the Day (2016)

Back in the Day

4.0

Maria

2016

 

Borgore & Sikdope: Unicorn Zombie Apocalypse (2014)

Borgore & Sikdope: Unicorn Zombie Apocalypse

5.3

Music Video

News Anchor

2014

 

All I Want for Christmas (2014)

All I Want for Christmas

5.0

TV Movie

Brenda Patterson

2014

 

Christopher Lloyd and Shannen Doherty in Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys (2014)

Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys

3.6

TV Movie

Cate

2014

 

Patrick Gorman in Bukowski (2013)

Bukowski

6.3

Katharina Bukowski

2013

 

Witchslayer Gretl (2012)

Witchslayer Gretl

3.2

TV Movie

Gretl

2012

 

Eddie McClintock and Jaime Murray in Suite 7 (2010)

Suite 7

7.0

TV Series

Adrienne

2011

1 episode

 

Shannen Doherty and Kavan Smith in Growing the Big One (2010)

Growing the Big One

6.3

TV Movie

Emma Silver

2010

 

Mari-Kari (2010)

Mari-Kari

7.8

TV Series

Mari

Kari

2010

8 episodes

 

Dylan McDermott, Nick Stahl, Rosamund Pike, Zoe Saldana, Paz Vega, and Lake Bell in Burning Palms (2010)

Burning Palms

5.4

Dr. Shelly

2010

 

The Bellamy Brothers: Guilty of the Crime (2009)

The Bellamy Brothers: Guilty of the Crime

6.6

Music Video

Petra

2009

 

Encounter with Danger (2009)

Encounter with Danger

4.8

TV Movie

Lori

2009

 

Shenae Grimes-Beech, Michael Steger, Dustin Milligan, AnnaLynne McCord, Jessica Stroup, and Tristan Mack Wilds in 90210 (2008)

90210

6.2

TV Series

Brenda Walsh

2008–2009

7 episodes

 

Defunct (2008)

Defunct

Fanny Thornton

2008

 

The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon (2008)

The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon

3.6

TV Movie

Susan Jordan

2008

 

Kiss Me Deadly (2008)

Kiss Me Deadly

5.2

TV Movie

Marta

2008

 

Shannen Doherty and Natasha Calis in Christmas Caper (2006)

Christmas Caper

5.7

TV Movie

Cate Dove

2006

 

Gina Gershon, Tom Skerritt, James Brolin, Shannen Doherty, Swoosie Kurtz, Randy Quaid, and Robert Wagner in Category 7: The End of the World (2005)

Category 7: The End of the World

4.5

TV Mini Series

Faith Clavell

2005

2 episodes

 

Love, Inc. (2005)

Love, Inc.

4.4

TV Series

Denise Johnson (uncredited)

2005

1 episode

 

Brooke Burns, Nikki Deloach, and Amanda Righetti in North Shore (2004)

North Shore

6.7

TV Series

Alexandra Hudson

2004–2005

11 episodes

 

View of Terror (2003)

View of Terror

5.2

TV Movie

Celeste Timmerman

2003

 

Parker Posey, Shirley MacLaine, and Shannen Doherty in Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay (2002)

Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay

5.7

TV Movie

Lexi Wilcox

2002

 

The Rendering (2002)

The Rendering

5.2

TV Movie

Sarah Reynolds

2002

 

Shannen Doherty in Another Day (2001)

Another Day

5.6

TV Movie

Kate

2001

 

Ben Affleck, Chris Rock, Will Ferrell, Shannon Elizabeth, Kevin Smith, Jason Lee, and Jason Mewes in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

6.8

Shannen Doherty

2001

 

Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, and Shannen Doherty in Charmed (1998)

Charmed

7.2

TV Series

Prue Halliwell

1998–2001

67 episodes

 

Gary & Mike (2001)

Gary & Mike

7.4

TV Series

Breeze (voice)

2001

1 episode

 

Satan's School for Girls (2000)

Satan's School for Girls

4.2

TV Movie

Beth Hammersmith

Karen Oxford

2000

 

Mallrats: Deleted Scenes (1999)

Mallrats: Deleted Scenes

7.8

Video

Rene

1999

 

Shannen Doherty, Aidan Devine, and Joseph Griffin in Striking Poses (1998)

Striking Poses

4.9

Gage Sullivan

1998

 

Shannen Doherty and James Marshall in The Ticket (1997)

The Ticket

5.2

TV Movie

CeeCee Reicker

1997

 

Nowhere (1997)

Nowhere

6.5

Val-Chick 2

1997

 

Faster Baby, Kill

TV Series

Denise Pearson

1997

1 episode

 

Sleeping with the Devil (1997)

Sleeping with the Devil

5.7

TV Movie

Rebecca Dubrovich

1997

 

Friends 'Til the End (1997)

Friends 'Til the End

6.3

TV Movie

Heather Romley

1997

 

Kevin Dillon and Shannen Doherty in Gone in the Night (1996)

Gone in the Night

6.7

TV Movie

Cindi Dowaliby

1996

 

Shannen Doherty in Mallrats (1995)

Mallrats

7.0

Rene

1995

 

Shannen Doherty in A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story (1994)

A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story

6.8

TV Movie

Margaret

1994

 

Salma Hayek and Antonio Sabato Jr. in Rebel Highway (1994)

Rebel Highway

5.4

TV Series

Angel Norton

1994

1 episode

 

Luke Perry, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green, Ian Ziering, and Gabrielle Carteris in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990)

Beverly Hills, 90210

6.5

TV Series

Brenda Walsh

Wendy Edwards

1990–1994

111 episodes

 

Judd Nelson and Shannen Doherty in Blindfold: Acts of Obsession (1994)

Blindfold: Acts of Obsession

4.4

TV Movie

Madeleine Dalton

1994

 

Almost Dead (1994)

Almost Dead

4.5

Katherine

1994

 

Leslie Nielsen in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)

Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult

6.5

Shannen Doherty (uncredited)

1994

 

Slaughter: Real Love (1992)

Slaughter: Real Love

6.8

Music Video

Woman

1992

 

Obsessed (1992)

Obsessed

5.6

TV Movie

Lorie Brindel

1992

 

Corin Nemec, Abraham Benrubi, Billy Jayne, and Troy W. Slaten in Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1990)

Parker Lewis Can't Lose

7.8

TV Series

Shannen Doherty

1992

1 episode

 

Forever Young (1991)

Forever Young

7.3

TV Movie

Party Girl

1991

 

Freeze Frame (1990)

Freeze Frame

5.3

TV Movie

Lindsay Scott

1990

 

Kellie Martin, Chris Burke, Patti LuPone, and Bill Smitrovich in Life Goes On (1989)

Life Goes On

7.1

TV Series

Ginny Green

1990

1 episode

 

Johnny Depp, Holly Robinson Peete, Peter DeLuise, Dustin Nguyen, and Steven Williams in 21 Jump Street (1987)

21 Jump Street

7.2

TV Series

Janine DeGray

1989

1 episode

 

The Secret of Lost Creek (1989)

The Secret of Lost Creek

8.1

TV Series

Jennie Fogel

1989

 

It's OK to Say No to Drugs

Video

1988

 

Winona Ryder and Christian Slater in Heathers (1988)

Heathers

7.2

Heather Duke

1988

 

Our House (1986)

Our House

7.2

TV Series

Kris Witherspoon

1986–1988

46 episodes

 

Alf Loves a Mystery (1987)

Alf Loves a Mystery

6.2

TV Movie

The Lady in Red

1987

 

Outlaws (1986)

Outlaws

7.2

TV Series

Andrea Halifax

1986

1 episode

 

Barbara Billingsley, Tony Dow, and Jerry Mathers in The New Leave It to Beaver (1983)

The New Leave It to Beaver

5.8

TV Series

Laurie

1985

1 episode

 

Michael Landon in Highway to Heaven (1984)

Highway to Heaven

6.8

TV Series

Shelley Fowler

1985

1 episode

 

Jack Scalia and Lindsay Wagner in The Other Lover (1985)

The Other Lover

5.8

TV Movie

Alson Fielding

1985

 

Helen Hunt, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Lee Montgomery in Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985)

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

6.0

Maggie Malene

1985

 

Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985)

Robert Kennedy and His Times

7.4

TV Mini Series

Kathleen Kennedy

1985

3 episodes

 

Melissa Sue Anderson, Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Linwood Boomer, and Matthew Labyorteaux in Little House on the Prairie (1974)

Little House: Bless All the Dear Children

7.4

TV Movie

Jenny Wilder

1984

 

His & Hers (1984)

His & Hers

TV Movie

Stacy - Barbara's Daughter

1984

 

Little House: The Last Farewell (1984)

Little House: The Last Farewell

7.8

TV Movie

Jenny Wilder

1984

 

Ernest Borgnine, Jan-Michael Vincent, and Alex Cord in Airwolf (1984)

Airwolf

6.7

TV Series

Phoebe Danner

1984

1 episode

 

Little House: Look Back to Yesterday (1983)

Little House: Look Back to Yesterday

7.6

TV Movie

Jenny Wilder

1983

 

Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I. (1980)

Magnum, P.I.

7.5

TV Series

Ima Platt

1983

1 episode

 

Melissa Sue Anderson, Melissa Gilbert, Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Richard Bull, Sidney Greenbush, Jonathan Gilbert, Rachel Lindsay Greenbush, and Katherine MacGregor in Little House on the Prairie (1974)

Little House on the Prairie

7.5

TV Series

Jenny Wilder

1982–1983

18 episodes

 

Voyagers! (1982)

Voyagers!

8.0

TV Series

Betty Parris

1982

1 episode

 

Michael Keaton, Shelley Long, and Henry Winkler in Night Shift (1982)

Night Shift

6.5

Bluebird

1982

 

Wil Wheaton, John Carradine, Dom DeLuise, Derek Jacobi, Hermione Baddeley, Elizabeth Hartman, and Arthur Malet in The Secret of NIMH (1982)

The Secret of NIMH

7.5

Teresa (voice)

1982

 

The Phoenix (1981)

The Phoenix

6.9

TV Series

Little Girl (uncredited)

1982

1 episode

 

Father Murphy (1981)

Father Murphy

6.5

TV Series

Drusilla Shannon

1981

2 episodes

 

Producer

Shannen Doherty in Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty (2023)

Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty

9.0

Podcast Series

producer

2023

4 episodes

 

BH90210 (2019)

BH90210

6.9

TV Series

executive producer

2019

6 episodes

 

Shannen Doherty, Tom Green, Zack Ward, Stefanie Estes, and James Cullen Bressack in Bethany (2017)

Bethany

4.1

producer

2017

 

Holly Marie Combs and Shannen Doherty in Off the Map (2015)

Off the Map

9.0

TV Series

executive producer

2015

1 episode

 

Radical Something: Pure

6.3

Music Video

producer

2014

 

Holly Marie Combs in Radical Something: Naked in Venice (2012)

Radical Something: Naked in Venice

7.4

Music Video

producer

2012

 

Shannen Says (2012)

Shannen Says

6.9

TV Series

executive producer

2012

 

Eddie McClintock and Jaime Murray in Suite 7 (2010)

Suite 7

7.0

TV Series

producer

2011

2 episodes

 

Shannen Doherty in Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty (2006)

Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty

3.9

TV Series

executive producer

2006

14 episodes

 

Shannen Doherty in Another Day (2001)

Another Day

5.6

TV Movie

co-executive producer

2001

 

Director

Shannen Doherty in Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty (2023)

Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty

9.0

Podcast Series

Director (directed by)

2023

4 episodes

 

Radical Something: Pure

6.3

Music Video

Director

2014

 

Holly Marie Combs in Radical Something: Naked in Venice (2012)

Radical Something: Naked in Venice

7.4

Music Video

Director

2012

 

Eddie McClintock and Jaime Murray in Suite 7 (2010)

Suite 7

7.0

TV Series

Director

2011

1 episode

 

Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, and Shannen Doherty in Charmed (1998)

Charmed

7.2

TV Series

Director

2000–2001

3 episodes