Shannen Doherty, 90210 icon and Charmed actress, dies at 53

Some absolutely devastating news has come in today regarding Shannen Doherty; the TV icon has passed at the age of 53.

In a statement to People Magazine, the actress’ longtime publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed the news with the following:

“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  … 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.”

It is extremely rare that someone manages to become extraordinarily famous for two separate roles in hit shows, but this is precisely what happened with Doherty through much of the 1990’s. First, she was Brenda Walsh throughout several seasons of Beverly Hills, 90210. Following that, we saw her as Prue Halliwell for the first several years of Charmed. She developed a dedicated following, and the fact that both of these shows ended up spawning revivals / reboots later cements further just how culturally significant they were.

Even in the midst of her long battle with cancer, Doherty continued to work over the past several years, doing her best to inspire others along the way. Back in 2023, she told the aforementioned publication that she was still prepared to fight the disease however she could:

“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.”

We do believe more tributes are going to come out to Shannen throughout the days ahead, especially as more learn of her passing and have time to process it. She was a star at a very particular time of television, right before the advent of the internet and back when watching television live was a tradition. It is difficult to imagine many having the same sort of pop-culture impact as she did on the original 90210 in this era.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to everyone who loved her during this difficult time.