Shannen Doherty, 'Beverly Hills, 90210' star, dies at 53 after cancer battle

Shannen Doherty, the actress known for her roles on "Charmed" and "Beverly Hills, 90210," has died after a battle with cancer. She was 53.

Doherty's death was confirmed Sunday by publicist Leslie Sloane in a statement shared with USA TODAY after People broke the news of the star's death. On Saturday, the actress "lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease," Sloane's statement read.

"The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie," the statement said. "The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace."

Doherty has been open about her health in recent years after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. In November, she shared in a People magazine cover story that the cancer had spread to her bones.

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The actress starred as Prue Halliwell, one of the sisters with magical powers on TV's “Charmed,” and had roles on TV's “Little House on the Prairie,” as well as in the movie comedies “Mallrats” and “Heathers.”

She got her big break on Fox's teen soap “Beverly Hills, 90210,” portraying high schooler Brenda Walsh, who with her twin brother Brandon (Jason Priestley) adjusts to life among the wealthy when their family moves from Minnesota to California.

In 2016, she told USA TODAY that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. For a brief period, it appeared Doherty was in the clear. After a single mastectomy that same year, she completed radiation and chemotherapy treatment in February 2017 and announced she was in remission two months later.

Then in February 2020, Doherty revealed that her breast cancer had metastasized to Stage 4. In June 2023, she announced on Instagram that a CT scan months prior showed the cancer had spread to her brain, for which she was receiving radiation. "My fear is obvious," she wrote in her post. "I am extremely claustrophobic and there was a lot going on in my life. ... The turmoil….. the timing of it all…. This is what cancer can look like."

When she shared in November 2023 that the cancer had spread to her bones, she sought to dispel the idea that she was helpless.

"People don't know a lot about cancer. I think they sort of assume 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 told People. "We're vibrant, and we have such a different outlook on life. We're just so grateful for every second, every hour, every day we get to be here. We are people who want to work and embrace life and keep moving forward."

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Shannen Doherty got her start with early roles on 'Little House on the Prairie' and 'Father Murphy'

Doherty was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 12, 1971, the second child of Rosa and John Thomas Doherty. Her family relocated to Los Angeles when she was 7. Doherty nabbed her first acting gig just a few years later, appearing in two episodes of the 1981 to 1983 Western drama “Father Murphy,” created by Michael Landon of "Little House on the Prairie" fame. Doherty fondly remembered the job by sharing a photo of herself in costume on Instagram in 2021.

“We worked in Tucson, Arizona, in 100-degree-plus weather wearing buckskins and I loved every minute,” she captioned the image of her younger self beaming. “It remains one of my fondest memories.”

Landon later cast Doherty in the ninth season of frontier drama “Little House” as Jenny Wilder, a role she revived for three TV movies. Doherty found success on the big screen as well, booking parts in “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1985), a lighthearted teen dance movie, and “Heathers” (1988), a caustic comedy co-starring Christian Slater and Winona Ryder.

The actress cemented her place in pop culture with 'Beverly Hills, 90210' and 'Charmed'

Doherty played Brenda on “Beverly Hills, 90210” from 1990 to 1994. While there were reports she was fired for her behavior, executive producer Aaron Spelling discounted those rumors in a 1998 interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“I tell ya the truth, all those stories about Shannen were so overblown,” said Spelling, who died in 2006. “Was she late on the set a couple of times? Sure, but who isn’t? Shannen was not fired from ‘90210.’ She had received some TV movie offers, and we sat down and talked about it and she made the decision.”

Spelling and Doherty reunited in 1998 on “Charmed,” for which he served as an executive producer, but exited after three seasons, her character was killed off.

Although Doherty reportedly feuded with her co-stars on both Spelling-produced series, she told Parade in an interview promoting her 2010 book, "Badass: A Hard-Earned Guide to Living Life With Style and (the Right) Attitude," that she was ready to leave her old ways in the past.

“I have a rep," she admitted. "Did I earn it? Yeah, I did. But, after a while, you sort of try to shed that rep because you’re kind of a different person. You’ve evolved and all of the bad things you’ve done in your life have brought you to a much better place.”

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Since then, Doherty had starred in a string of TV horror movies including "Satan's School for Girls" (2000), "Witchslayer Gretl" (2012) and "Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys" (2014).

Doherty returned to the role of Brenda for multiple episodes in 2008 and 2009 for CW's "Beverly Hills" revival "90210." She also appeared in 2019's short-lived "BH90210," in which her former co-stars played caricatures of themselves. The show was canceled after six episodes.  

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Doherty worked amid her health struggles. During a "Good Morning America" appearance in February 2020, she she decided to join the reboot in part to pay tribute to the Luke Perry, who played Brenda's love interest Dylan McKay and died March 4, 2019, following a massive stroke. Doherty also wanted to set an example to others battling cancer.

"I thought ... people can look at that and say, 'Oh, my God, yeah. She can work, and other people with Stage 4 (cancer) can work, too,'" she said. "Our life doesn't end the minute we get that diagnosis."

Doherty continued to work, acting in TV movies and feature films. She explained her decision to continue acting in a Q&A with Variety published in October 2021. 

"I couldn’t imagine not doing the things that I love in life," she said. "Whether that be acting or directing, or playing with my dog or riding horses or hanging out with my family and my friends. I can’t imagine not being able to do any of those things. So when you can’t imagine not doing them, you just go, 'Well, I’m going to continue to do all of it!' "

Doherty was married to poker player Rick Salomon (2002 to 2003) and actor Ashley Hamilton (1993 to 1994), though she's expressed regret over those brief unions.

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"I probably shouldn’t have married the people I married," she told The Washington Post in 2011. "I haven’t exactly had the best radar for good men."

She and photographer Kurt Iswarienko were married from 2011 until Doherty filed for divorce in April 2023.

They did not have any children, which stemmed in part from Doherty's fear of a premature demise, she revealed to Health in 2019.

"Am I going to last five years? Ten years? I certainly wouldn’t want my 10-year-old burying a mother," she said. "I’ve always wanted a kid. But maybe I’m supposed to mother in a different way."

Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff