Shannen Doherty has passed, aged 53, after a long battle with stage 4 breast cancer

Charmed actress Shannen Doherty has died at age 53 after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Doherty’s longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane, confirmed the news of her death to People magazine this morning just three weeks after the much-loved star revealed she was undergoing a new round of treatment for stage 4 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,” she said in a 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.”

Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and entered remission two years later, however, her cancer tragically returned in 2020.

After undergoing a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation, Doherty continued to receive treatment but revealed in June 2023 that the cancer had spread to her brain. In November of the same year, she said it had also spread to her bones.

She told People magazine at the time that while it was devastating to hear, she was not giving up hope, “I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better. I’m just not — I’m not done.”

Doherty is survived by her close family. She never had children and recently divorced from Kurt Iswarienko, her husband of 12 years.

The late actress was no stranger to discussing her illness or life after death and told fans in an episode of her podcast Let’s Be Clear, in January her wishes after she died.

“I want [my remains] to be mixed with my dog, and I want it to be mixed with my dad. I do not want to be buried and not cremated,” she said at the time. She continued to share the idea that she wanted her ashes to be scattered in Malibu, California as Doherty and her father spent “precious time” there together.

In regards to her funeral, the actress said “There’s a lot of people that I think would show up that I don’t want there,” she said. “I don’t want them there because their reasons for showing up aren’t necessarily the best reasons, like, they don’t really like me and, you know, they have their reasons and good for them, but they don’t actually really like me enough to show up to my funeral.”

She added, “I kinda want to take the pressure off them and I want my funeral to be like a love fest. I don’t want people to be crying or people to privately be like, ‘Thank God that b**ch is dead now’.”

Doherty has had a lengthy acting career after landing her first role in 1982 when she appeared in multiple TV series, including the memorable Jenny Wilder on Little House on the Prairie.

Beginning to make a name for herself in the industry, Doherty - who was born in Memphis, Tennessee - landed her first major role in 1990 when she starred as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210.

During the four years Doherty portrayed Brenda, the budding actress quickly earned industry recognition. She earned a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Actress starring in a Television Series and went on to act in a series of films.

In 1998, Doherty was cast in what may be her most memorable role when she played Prue Halliwell in the hit 2000s show, Charmed.

Starring alongside Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs, Doherty suddenly left the show after the third season with the mysterious decision quickly followed by reports of a cast feud and Doherty herself telling Entertainment Tonight, “There was too much drama on the set and not enough passion for the work.”

In 2021, Milano told the news outlet she felt competitive with her former co-star which ultimately contributed to the tension on set. “You know, I could take responsibility for a lot of our tension that we had,” she said.

“I think a lot of our struggle came from feeling that I was in competition rather than it being that sisterhood that the show was so much about. And I have some guilt about my part in that.”

In the years after Charmed, Doherty continued her acting career on a smaller scale. She reprised her 90210 role in 2008 and again in 2019.

Most recently, Doherty swapped acting for the microphone and hosted her own podcast, Let’s Be Clear, where she frequently updated fans about her health.

Less than three weeks ago, she used her platform to tell fans she was undergoing a new round of treatment for her cancer.

“It becomes very real in an incredibly different way, because I have no idea how long I’m gonna be on the chemo for,” she said. “I have no idea if it’s gonna be three months or if it’s gonna be six months or if we’re gonna - if after three months, it’s not working, if we’re gonna change again.

“That’s not something that I can predict. It’s not something my doctors can predict. And it’s scary.”

Doherty said she was expecting to start her first round of chemotherapy “probably a couple of days after” the podcast episode was released on June 24.

She added: “To just be walking into the unknown - I just feel like my life has been unknown for over a year now, between divorce and cancer.”

Tributes have started to flow for the actress, including from Milano, “It’s no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at its core was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of,” the star said in a statement to Us Weekly.

“She was a talented actress, beloved by many and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her.”

This article was first published by NZ Herald and is republished here with edits and permission.