Reuters, July 14, Los Angeles: After a protracted fight with cancer, American actor Shannen Doherty, best known for her part as high school student Brenda Walsh on the popular television series “Beverly Hills, 90210,” passed away at the age of 53.
Leslie Sloane, a publicist, announced in a statement on Sunday that Doherty, who had been open about her breast cancer treatment, passed away on Saturday.
Sloane added in the statement, “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.”
In 2015, Doherty made public that she was receiving medical care for the illness. After a brain tumor was removed from her in 2023, it was discovered that the cancer had progressed to her bones.
The actor, who had previously been in the film “Heathers,” became well-known on “90210” when she played Brenda, a Minnesota honor roll student who found it difficult to blend in with her peers in the affluent zip code.
On the episode, she was involved in a romantic triangle with Luke Perry’s Dylan McKay and Jennie Garth’s Kelly Taylor. Real life conflicts with Garth and other cast members led to Doherty’s departure from “90210” in 1994 during the show’s fourth season. The show went on without her until 2000.
The supernatural series “Charmed” starred Doherty as Prue Halliwell in 1998, after “90210” producer Aaron Spelling cast her as the eldest of three sisters possessing magical skills. Although the show was popular, there were rumors of drama going on behind the scenes.
People magazine referred to Doherty as “the iconic ‘bad girl’ of the nineties,” noting her notorious partying ways, her tendency to arrive late on shoots, and her conflicts with both her bosses and other performers.
The actor admitted that she accepted “full responsibility for her actions” and that her behavior “would get a little carried away” while she was frequenting nightclubs in her early 20s in a 2023 podcast called “Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty.”
