Shannen Doherty, Star of 'Beverly Hills, 90210' and 'Charmed,' Passes Away at 53.
Doherty's breakthrough came with her role in "Beverly Hills, 90210," a role that would define her career.
Shannen Doherty, who rose to fame as a child actor and became one of the biggest stars of the 1990s for her role in the high school drama “Beverly Hills, 90210,” passed away on Saturday after a prolonged battle with breast cancer.
“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,” said her publicist, Leslie Sloane.
She Was 53
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, and she went into remission two years later. Unfortunately, that remission was short-lived. In February 2020, court documents from a lawsuit Doherty filed against her insurance company over home damage revealed that she was "dying" of Stage 4 breast cancer, which had metastasized and become incurable.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways,” Doherty told "Good Morning America" at the time. “There are definitely days where I say, ‘Why me?’ And then I go, ‘Well, why not me? Who else besides me deserves this?’ None of us do.”
Shannen Doherty in a promotional photo for "Beverly Hills, 90210."
In June 2023, she shared an emotional post on Instagram, revealing that her cancer had spread to her brain at the beginning of the year.
"On January 5th, my scan showed metastases in my brain," Doherty captioned a video of her receiving radiation therapy.
"My fear is obvious. I am extremely claustrophobic, and there was a lot going on in my life,” said Doherty. “But that fear, the turmoil, the timing of it all—this is what cancer can look like.”
Born on April 12, 1971, in Memphis, Tennessee, Doherty grew up with a mother who owned a beauty salon and a father who worked in a bank. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was seven, and by the age of 10, she had made her acting debut on the short-lived series “Father Murphy.”
Series producer Michael Landon noticed her talent and cast her on his hit show “Little House on the Prairie” the following year. She played Laura Ingalls Wilder’s adopted daughter for an 18-episode run.
This exposure led to a succession of roles, including a three-year stint (1986-88) on the Wilford Brimley family drama “Our House” as one of the leads and a starring role in the 1989 high school dark comedy “Heathers.”
Shannen Doherty, center, starred alongside Wilford Brimley in "Our House."
Her biggest break, however, came the following year with the arrival of "Beverly Hills, 90210," a role that would define her career. At just 19 years old, Shannen Doherty became a superstar in the early '90s, playing the straight-laced but short-tempered Brenda Walsh. The show quickly became a guilty pleasure for a generation.
However, things didn’t always go according to script for Doherty. She developed a reputation for being difficult to work with on set, reportedly feuding with cast and crew members, particularly co-star Jennie Garth. Headlines in celebrity magazines and reports on entertainment news shows made her as infamous as she was famous.
"She became a metaphorical reality-TV star before the concept even existed," said Robert Thompson, director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University. "It was as if the 'real' Shannen Doherty—emphasis on 'real'—had two parallel shows running simultaneously."
Doherty exited the series after its fourth season, while most of the other main cast members, including Garth, continued for another six seasons.
"Doherty reflected in 2008, 'The best thing that ever could have happened to me was I got off '90210' when I did. It allowed me to find some peace and discover my true self, away from the persona the press had constructed due to personal struggles. I was navigating difficult relationships under the spotlight, and I wasn't handling it well. I know that now.'"
"Following news of her death, Doherty's co-star Jason Priestley expressed sadness on social media, calling her 'a force of nature' whom he will miss."
Shannen Doherty's career saw a resurgence in the mid-decade with roles in director Kevin Smith’s R-rated comedy “Mallrats,” though it didn’t quite fulfill the promise of her earlier success. However, a pivotal moment came when she reunited with “90210” producer Aaron Spelling to star in the popular supernatural soap opera “Charmed,” alongside Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs. Playing a witch reignited her career, at least for the three seasons she stayed on before departing once more before the show’s end. She even directed three of the final episodes she appeared in.
After news of Doherty’s death, her “Charmed” co-star Milano released a statement: “It’s no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at its core was someone I deeply respected and admired. She was a talented actress, beloved by many, and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her.”
In the early 21st century, Shannen Doherty transitioned from one short-lived television series to another. By 2006, she ventured into reality television with "Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty," a show where she assisted participants in ending toxic relationships—a topic she understood intimately, having gone through two divorces. Her first marriage to Ashley Hamilton, son of actor George Hamilton, ended in divorce just a year after their 1993 wedding. Her marriage to Rick Salomon was annulled in 2002, nine months after they wed. In April 2023, Doherty filed for divorce from her third husband, photographer Kurt Iswarienko, whom she married in 2011.
According to friends, Doherty's temperament reportedly mellowed as she grew older. She reprised her iconic role of Brenda Walsh twice: first with an extended guest appearance on the 2008 reboot of "90210," and later in a 2019 dramedy called "BH90210," where the original cast portrayed fictionalized versions of themselves attempting to revisit their beloved show.
Thompson reflected, "It's not just that she couldn't escape the gravitational pull of that role, but that she willingly returned to it time and again."
Sadly, she is the second major cast member from "Beverly Hills, 90210" to pass away prematurely; Luke Perry died in March 2019 due to complications from a stroke.
إرسال تعليق