Shannen Doherty died on Saturday, July 13, after a lengthy battle with cancer, Us Weekly can confirm. She was 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 said in a statement to Us. “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 Beverly Hills, 90210 alum was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer in 2015. She shared the news nearly three years after she went into remission. “It’s going to come out in a matter of days or a week that — I’m stage IV. So my cancer came back. And that’s why I’m here,” she said on Good Morning America at the time. “I don’t think I’ve processed it. It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways.”
In February 2020, Doherty revealed in a lawsuit against State Farm that she was “dying” of terminal cancer, according to court documents. Her attorney alleged that she was unable to live “her remaining years peacefully in her home” due to the legal battle, which stemmed from damage to her home caused by the 2018 Woolsey Fire. (A jury later awarded her $6.3 million in damages.)
Eight months later, she told best friend Sarah Michelle Gellar that her diagnosis was not a “death sentence,” adding, “I feel strong and healthy and confident and happy.”
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Amid her cancer battle, Doherty and Kurt Iswarienko split after 11 years of marriage in April 2023. “Divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted. Unfortunately, she felt she was left with no other option,” a source told Us at the time.
A few months later, she revealed via Instagram that her breast cancer had spread to her brain. “January 12, the first round of radiation took place. My fear is obvious. I am extremely claustrophobic and there was a lot going on in my life,” Doherty captioned a video of herself tearfully undergoing treatment. “That fear … The turmoil … the timing of it all … This is what cancer can look like.”
The Tennessee native began her career as a child actress on Little House on the Prairie before moving on to roles in Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Our House. She made an impression in the 1988 dark comedy Heathers and went on to star in TV series Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed.
In October 2021, Doherty appeared in a TV movie called List of a Lifetime, which follows a woman named Brenda (Kelly Hu) as she attempted to complete a breast cancer bucket list.
“I feel like I have a responsibility in my more public life, which I separate from my acting life … to talk about cancer and perhaps educate people more and let people know that people with stage IV are very much alive and very active,” the actress said in September 2021 of her participation in the film. “My husband says that you would never know that I have cancer. I never really complain. I don’t really talk about it. It’s part of life at this point.”
