Doherty's publicist called her a "devoted daughter, sister, aunt, and friend."
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Shannen Doherty’ title=”Shannen Doherty at the “BH90210″ Press Conference at the Four Seasons Hotel on August 08, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California.”>
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Shannen Doherty
Shannen Doherty, known best for her television roles on Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed has died after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 53.
"It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty," the actress' publicist Leslie Sloane said in a statement to PEOPLE. "On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease."
"The devoted daughter, sister, aunt, and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie," Sloane's statement continued. "The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace."
Diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2015, Doherty documented her progress and treatment on social media. Having undergone chemotherapy over the years, she revealed in April 2017 that the cancer was in remission.
A year later, she received unclear test results. “I’m staying positive and taking stock of my life,” she wrote on Instagram at the time. A few days later, Doherty came back to her followers with better news: “Still in remission.”
“I think what’s beautiful and hard and interesting about cancer is that it tears you down and builds you, and tears you down and builds you,” the actress explained to Chelsea Handler of the experience a year after her diagnosis. “It remakes you so many different times. The person I thought I was supposed to be or was going to be or who I thought I was six months ago is now somebody completely different. I realize ‘Wow, I really thought that I was so brave and so gracious this entire time and really I was just hiding.'”
Born in Memphis, Tenn., Doherty got her start in Hollywood as a child actress. At 10 years old, she appeared on her first television series, Father Murphy, which she followed up with The Phoenix. Her first film role came in the animated The Secret of NIMH as the voice of Teresa, the oldest of the Brigsby children. Doherty herself was 12 at the time.
She received multiple nominations for the Young Artist Awards for her turns on Little House on the Prairie, Our House, and Airwolf.
Doherty’s big break in the world of film came when she transformed into Heather Duke, one of the three mean girls who ruled their high school in 1988’s Heathers, which also starred young Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.
However, she really became a household name when she landed her breakout role on Beverly HIlls, 90210 as Brenda Walsh, a teen whose family moves her and her twin brother, Brandon (Jason Priestley), from Minnesota to Beverly Hills. The Fox drama premiered in 1990 and was TV’s hottest teen show thanks to its photogenic cast and storylines focusing on the heightened drama of adolescence.
Though the show ran for 10 seasons, Doherty departed after the end of season 4, following tension with her other costars as well as the stress of dealing with her father’s illness. She was ultimately fired from the show after cutting her hair halfway through filming the season finale without telling anyone, throwing off the episode’s continuity.
Doherty rebounded in 1998 with another popular TV series, Charmed, where she originated the role of Prue Halliwell, the telekinetic eldest member of three Halliwell sister witches. She appeared on the show with Alyssa Milano and Holly Mary Combs for the first three seasons, but her character was killed off in the season 3 finale, with Rose McGowan entering in season 4.
Rumors suggested on-set feuding between Doherty and Milano contributed to the former’s departure, while the newly onboarded executive producer, Brad Kern, had written the season 3 finale in a way that “gave everyone options about what they were or were not going to do.” He told TV Line< in 2010, “There were internal issues that were problematic. I’d rather not get into the dirty laundry this many years later, but it is safe to say that there were changes being thought about."
Multiple reasons were given for why Doherty eventually departed the show over the years, but she told Entertainment Tonight in her first sit-down interview on the matter, “There was too much drama on set and not enough passion for the work. I’m 30 years old and don’t have time for drama in my life anymore.” She and Milano had since mended their relationship.
Post-Charmed, Doherty returned to the world of 90210 for the reboot on the CW. She also appeared in films like Bukowski and Back in the Day, and made-for-TV films like All I Want for Christmas and Witchslayer Gretl. She had a minor role in the Paramount Network’s Heather TV series, though the show was canceled after its first season.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.
