Shannen Doherty, an actress best known for her roles as Brenda Walsh in “Beverly Hills, 90210” and Prue Halliwell in “Charmed,” has sadly passed away after a battle with breast cancer at 53 years old. Doherty, who was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in 2019, spoke about preparing for death by letting go of most of her material possessions in an episode of her podcast, “Let’s Be Clear.” She shared that she’d been clearing out some of her storage units to make things easier on her family, particularly her mother, when she died.
Doherty said, “My priority at the moment is my mom. I know it’s going to be hard on her if I pass away before her.” The 52-year-old explained how selling and donating some of her extra possessions, mainly furniture, would lead to less work for her mom when she’s gone. She added, “Because it’s going to be so hard on her, I want other things to be a lot easier. I don’t want her to have a bunch of stuff to deal with. I don’t want her to have four storage units filled with furniture.” In another episode of her podcast, Doherty said she was responding well to a new type of cancer infusion treatment and called the results a “miracle,” though she didn’t share exactly which drug she was receiving.
Doherty said while speaking with her radiation oncologist, Dr. Amin Mirhadi, “After four treatments, we didn’t really see a difference, and everybody wanted me to switch, and I just kind of was like we’re going to keep going with this and see.” The actress continued, “After the sixth or seventh treatment, we really saw it breaking down the blood-brain barrier. Do I call that a miracle? For me, that happens to be a miracle right now. That, like I sort of rolled the dice and said, let’s keep going.”
In 2023, Doherty revealed that her cancer had spread to her bones and brain. Doherty went public with her breast cancer diagnosis in August 2015. As part of her treatment, Doherty underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and reconstructive surgery. Two years after her initial cancer diagnosis, Doherty revealed that she was in remission. Unfortunately, in February 2020, she announced that her cancer had returned and was stage 4.
Doherty was born in 1971 in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in her mother’s Southern Baptist faith. Her first significant motion picture role was in “Heathers,” which premiered in 1988. She gained worldwide fame and attention for her breakout role as Brenda Walsh in “Beverly Hills, 90210” in 1990. She left the show after the fourth season in 1994. Her career afterward consisted mainly of made-for-TV movies, though she had a lead role in 1995’s “Mallrats” and later cameoed in “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” In 1998, she was cast in “Charmed,” where she played one of the lead characters, Prue Halliwell, the oldest of three sisters who are witches.
She also directed a few episodes of the show during the second and third seasons. However, she left the show in 2001 at the end of the third season, resulting in her character’s death. Most recently, Doherty reprised her role as Brenda Walsh in “BH90210” in 2019 and appeared in the movie “Fortress” in 2021. Doherty is survived by her mother, Rosa, and her brother, Sean.