Cult actress from the hit series “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Charmed”, Shannen Doherty died on Saturday July 13 after battling breast cancer for several years.
She fought the disease until the end. Actress Shannen Doherty died on Saturday, July 13 at the age of 53. It was her publicist, Leslie Sloane, who made the terrible announcement in a press release relayed by Variety magazine. “It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty,” she wrote. And added: “On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after years of fighting.”
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, Shannen Doherty decided to make her illness public by documenting it on Instagram in order to raise awareness among as many people as possible. Invited onto the set of the show “Good Morning America” on February 4, 2020, the actress announced that she had suffered a relapse of the disease and was at stage 4 of the latter after an announced remission in 2017. A relapse that she had decided not to hide from her fans in order to prove that one could be sick and continue to work. “A devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend, she was surrounded by her loved ones and her dog Bowie” at the time of her death, her agent said. “The family asks that their privacy be respected so that they can grieve in peace,” she added.
Child TV star
A star of the 1980s and 1990s, Shannen Doherty had seen her name shine at the top of the bill thanks to her roles in the hit series “Beverly Hills” and “Charmed”. She had subsequently left her role in both programs after several behind-the-scenes setbacks with her acting partners. Born on April 12, 1971 in Menphus (Tennessee), nothing predestined Shannen Doherty to a career in the small screen. Daughter of a father who was the director of a transport company and a mother who was a beautician, her life took another turn at the age of 7, when she and her family moved to Los Angeles. Encouraged to try out junior castings, she finally managed to land her first role at the age of 10, after being spotted by Michael Landon to play Laura’s niece in the cult 1970s series Little House on the Prairie. A successful first role that earned her a nomination for best young actress in a drama series. Shannen Doherty subsequently made several film appearances in the 1980s, such as in Fatal Games in 1989.
Revelation in “Beverly Hills 90210”
Her career took off in the 1990s for her role as Brenda Walsh in the cult series Beverly Hills 90210. Considering herself the star of the show, the actress subsequently experienced several disagreements with the production from season 2 of the show. She would subsequently leave the series in season 4 in 1994, in particular because of her behavior (fights, drunken evenings and comments that created a bad atmosphere on the set). A departure that created trouble on the series, the latter having lost nearly 7 million viewers thereafter.
A rebound in Charmed then a crossing of the desert
She bounced back in 1998 in a new series from producer Ian Spelling, Charmed. She played one of the three main roles. If the series was a new success on television, it was marked by strong tensions with her sidekick Alyssa Milano. The filming turned into a real open war between the two actresses. Shannen Doherty ended up leaving the flagship series at the end of season 3. The rest of her career would be marked by several failures, the release of an autobiography, participation in several reality TV shows and an eventful return in the reboot of Beverly Hills, “90210 Beverly Hills, New Generation”.