Shannen Doherty loses battle with cancer at age 53

“The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie."

Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed star Shannen Doherty has died aged 53 after a battle with 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,” Doherty’s longtime publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE overnight.

“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,” Sloane continued.

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Shannen Doherty dies at age 53. Image: Instagram

The Beverly Hills 90210 star was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and went into remission in 2017. In 2020, she announced it had returned as Stage 4 cancer.

“I definitely have days where I say, ‘Why me?’” Doherty told PEOPLE of the development in her health. “And then I go, well, ‘Why not me? Who else? Who else besides me deserves this?’ None of us do.”

Doherty, best known for playing Brenda Walsh on the monster 1990s hit series Beverly Hills 90210, had battled cancer for close to a decade.

It is the second major cast loss for the beloved show after Doherty’s on screen love interest Luke Perry – who played teen rebel Dylan McKay – died in 2019 at the age of 52 following multiple strokes.

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Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, but went into remission following treatment by 2017. In 2020, she announced it had returned as Stage 4 cancer.

“It’s like anybody with Stage 4 faces this sort of thing, where others want to put you out to pasture,” she told Elle magazine the same year.

In June 2023, she revealed the cancer had spread to her brain, writing in an Instagram post that a January CAT scan “showed Mets [metastasis] in my brain”.

“My fear is obvious,” she told fans.

By November the cancer had spread to her bones.

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RELATED: Shannen Doherty to appear in Luke Perry tribute

Hollywood stardom

Doherty broke into the world of Hollywood as a child actor on the TV series Little House on the Prairie.

She appeared in the animated film The Secret of NIMH and an episode of the TV series Airwolf.

In 1985, she starred as Maggie Malene in the teen movie Girls Just Want to Have Fun alongside Helen Hunt and Sarah Jessica Parker.

Her breakout role came in 1990, when she was cast to play the role of Brenda Walsh in the series Beverly Hills, 90210.

She earned a nomination for Best Young Actress Starring in a TV series at the Youth in Film Awards.

Following her exit from the show, Doherty starred in several television movies, including Mallrats, Christmas Caper, and the series Charmed, which ran for eight seasons in the late 90s and early noughties.

Originally published as Shannen Doherty loses battle with cancer at age 53