Shannen Doherty, the beloved actress known for her roles in “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Charmed,” has sadly passed away at the age of 53 after a long battle with breast cancer.
She was first diagnosed in 2015 and bravely shared her journey with the public, inspiring many with her strength and resilience. Doherty’s career spanned decades, and she left a lasting impact on television and her fans.
Born on April 12, 1971, in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in her mother’s Southern Baptist faith, she was of Irish and Native American descent. Shannen’s big break in her career came with her role as Brenda Walsh in the iconic television series “Beverly Hills, 90210.”
Active in the film and television industry since the age of ten, in 1982 Doherty had guest spots on TV series including Voyagers! and Father Murphy, which was created and produced by Michael Landon. The same year, 11-year-old Doherty won the recurring role of Jenny Wilder on Little House on the Prairie, which Landon starred in and produced. Doherty appeared in all but four episodes in the final season of the show, which was cancelled in 1983.
Doherty lent her voice to the animated film The Secret of NIMH in 1982. She appeared in an episode of Magnum, P.I. (“A Sense of Debt”), followed by an early episode of Airwolf for which she was nominated as Best Young Actress: Guest in a Series at the 6th Youth in Film Awards in 1984.
Premiering in 1990, Beverly Hills, 90210 quickly became a cultural phenomenon, and Doherty’s portrayal of Brenda made her a household name. The role led to a popularity that landed her on the covers of national tabloids and other notable roles such as Prue Halliwell in the hit series “Charmed”.
Doherty’s battle with cancer was long and protracted. In 2020 she announced her cancer had returned a year prior, and that she was stage four. In June 2023, Shannen announced that the cancer had spread to her brain and was terminal. In November 2023, she revealed that the cancer had spread to her bones. In January 2024, Doherty shared that she was undergoing a new cancer treatment and that it was successfully breaking through the blood-brain barrier, calling it a “miracle”. Sadly, however, in the end no treatment was able to stave off the inevitable and she died from the disease on July 13, 2024.
Her publicist released a statement announcing her death.
