SHANNEN DOHERTY, who starred in shows and films like “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Charmed,” and Heathers,” has sadly passed away at 53 years old.
Doherty’s publicist gave a statement to CNN regarding the actress’s passing, which said: “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.”
Her publicist adds that her loved ones were with her as she passed, requesting privacy for Doherty’s family so they can have time to grieve.
Doherty has long been vocal online about her battle with breast cancer, which she’s been fighting for the past five years.
Doherty’s career
While Doherty was most known for her role in “Beverly Hills, 90210,” she’s been acting since she was a child. As young as 11 years old, she played Jenny Wilder on the show “Little House on the Prairie.”
She was also a voice actor for the film “The Secret of NIMH,” and would then make appearances in shows such as “Magnum, PI” and “Airwolf.”
She would then go on to star in the comedy film “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” alongside “Sex and the City” star Sarah Jessica Parker before becoming a recurring character in “Our House.”
It was in 1988 that Doherty started to make it big, following her first major motion picture role in Director Micael Lehmann’s “Heathers.” Here, she starred alongside Christian Slater, Winona Ryder, Kim Walker, and Lisanne Falk.
The film follows the story of a teenage girl, Veronica Sawyer, who meets Jason Dean. In a world where the likes of The Heathers rule school, and of jocks who think a good date is tipping over cows and forcing yourself onto your partner, Jason Dean decides to take matters into his own hands by getting justice through any means possible.
The movie would go on to be a big hit, earning over USD 1.1 million at the box office. In the film, Doherty played Heather Duke, making her mark in the industry given her quick ability to turn from a shy, insecure girl into a domineering villain.
She also made a return in the 2018 television remake of the film.
She would then go on to star in the TV show, “Charmed,” which aired from 1998 up to 2001.
Created by Constance M. Burge, this series looks at the story of the Halliwell sisters, who are descendants of a long line of female witches. Together, they have to use their powers – otherwise known as the “Power of Three” – to be able to defeat the forces of evil lurking on Earth.
Here, Doherty plays one of the Halliwell sisters, Prue. She’s the oldest of the bunch; she has powers such as telekinesis and, later on, astral projection. She’s also well-versed in hand-to-hand combat and is known as the strong, responsible one, as well as the leader of the group.
Doherty does a hell of a good job of bringing dimension to her character, and the series remains a cult classic up to this day.
She would then go on to land a role in the iconic series “Beverly Hills, 90210,” which aired from 1990 to 1994, and is considered to be the show that was able to turn Doherty into a household name.
The series looks at how two teenagers, Brandon and Brenda Walsh, deal with changes as they move from Minneapolis, Minnesota, all the way to Beverly Hills, California. The show touched on a number of different topics and was remade in 2019, which Doherty was also a part of.
Doherty would continue to star in a number of films and television shows following this, such as her own reality show, “Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty,” the independent film “Burning Palms,” and the popular competition show “Dancing With The Stars.”
