Shannen Doherty has died after a years-long battle with cancer at 53.
“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,” Doherty’s publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed in a statement to People on July 14. “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.”
The beloved actor—best known for her playing Brenda Walsh on the seminal ‘90s teen soap Beverly Hills, 90210, as well as Prue Halliwell on the witchy hit series Charmed—first revealed her breast cancer diagnosis in 2015. Doherty went into remission in 2017 after undergoing chemotherapy and a mastectomy, but the cancer returned in 2019 and developed into stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. A few years later, in June 2023, Doherty shared that she underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor after the cancer had spread.
Throughout her cancer battle, Doherty continued to spread awareness about the disease and star in multiple films and television projects, including six episodes of the Beverly Hills, 90210 reboot, BH90210. She also took on a guest starring role in Riverdale to pay tribute to her former costar Luke Perry, who died from a stroke in 2019.
Doherty also began hosting her iHeart Radio podcast, Let’s Be Clear, in November 2023, and recently announced plans to cohost a Charmed rewatch podcast with fellow former cast members Holly Marie Combs, Drew Fuller, and Brian Krause.
“People just assume that [battling stage 4 cancer] 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,” Doherty told People in November 2023. “We’re vibrant, and we have such a different outlook on life. We are people who want to work and embrace life and keep moving forward.”
