Shannen Doherty Has Died at Age 53

Shannen Doherty has died after battling cancer for nearly a decade. She was 53 years old. 

The sad news was confirmed by the actress's publicist Leslie Sloane over the weekend. "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," 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.”

Doherty, who is best known for her role as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Two years later, she had gone into remission—however, by 2020 the cancer returned and she revealed her diagnosis of metastatic stage 4. Finally, in June 2023, Doherty shared that the cancer had spread to her brain, and within a few months, her bones. 

“I don’t want to die," she told People in November 2023. "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. I’m just not — I’m not done.”

Despite her diagnosis, Doherty continued to work. Months after her breast cancer came back in 2019, she began filming the 90210 reboot BH90210. And while she was apprehensive about diving back into filming, she decided to do the show as a tribute to her late co-star Luke Perry, who died of a stroke in March 2019. 

“It was so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was seemingly healthy to go first,” she told ABC News at the time. “It was really shocking and the least I could do to honor him was do that show. I still haven’t done enough in my opinion.” She added, "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."

Doherty had no children and is survived by her brother, Sean Doherty.

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