Shannen Doherty obituary: Star of Beverly Hills 90210 (2024)

Born: April 12th, 1971
Died: January 13th, 2024

The slick television series Beverly Hills 90210, which focused on the lives and loves of young, privileged Los Angelenos, was first aired in 1990 to fairly low ratings and general indifference. As it began tackling serious issues relevant to its young audience, it grew into a phenomenon that ran throughout the decade and came to define it culturally; the New York Times credited it with single-handedly inventing the teen soap opera.

The show reached US audiences of more than 21 million and made worldwide stars of its main cast members, Luke Perry, Jason Priestley and Shannen Doherty.

Doherty, who has died aged 53 of cancer, played the wholesome Brenda Walsh, whose family, including her twin brother Brendan (Priestley), arrives in California from Minnesota in the first episode.

Shortly after enrolling at West Beverly Hills High, Brenda starts breaking rules, procuring a fake ID to enter a nightclub and dating a supposed bad boy, Dylan (Perry), against her father’s wishes. The first season ends with her losing her virginity, while the second begins with her believing herself to be pregnant. Her mother is aghast at the transformation: “You didn’t wear this much make-up in Minnesota,” she says.

Shannen Doherty obituary: Star of Beverly Hills 90210 (1)

Doherty believed the show was performing an important function. “We represent situations to our audience, and I don’t think we take a side,” she told Rolling Stone magazine in 1992. “It’s something that brings families together.”

The great responsibility she felt towards her audience also influenced the material. “In one episode, they had my character wanting to lose weight, like 8lbs or something. I’m fairly thin, and with bulimia and anorexia such big problems, I was concerned that these girls who look up to me might take it the wrong way.” The producers agreed to remove the offending scenes from the show.

She stuck around for a total of four seasons, departing under a cloud in 1994. “She was habitually late. And finally one day she showed up late, and the cast ... got very angry, and they called [the producer Aaron] Spelling, and he did not renew her contract. He gave her the face-saving moment to say that she didn’t want to come back,” said the series showrunner, Charles Rosin, in 2008.

Doherty felt she had been misrepresented. “If you consider ‘difficult’ being a strong woman who sticks up for herself, yeah, I admit to it. I’m open to different ideas, but if you get on my bad side and don’t listen to me and you don’t treat me with as much respect as you treat a man, you’ve got a problem.”

The show ran for a further six seasons without her, though she was back on board in 2008 for seven episodes of a revived version, now called simply 90210 and populated largely by new, younger cast members. More interesting was a further show, BH90210, which aired for a single season in 2019 and adopted a postmodern approach, following some of the original cast playing heightened versions of themselves as they try to get a reboot of the show off the ground. Doherty, who had initially been reluctant to participate, signed up after expressing a wish to honour Perry, who died in March 2019, at age 52. (His death was mentioned in the first episode of BH90210.)

She was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and moved to southern California at the age of six with her mother, Rosa (née Wright), who owned a beauty salon, and her father, Tom Doherty, who was a mortgage consultant. She was educated at the Lycée Français in Los Angeles. As a child, she convinced her parents to take her to acting auditions, and got her first television role in 1981, at the age of 10, on the drama Father Murphy.

The following year, she was a regular on Little House on the Prairie and in three of that show’s subsequent TV specials. She had a recurring role in the drama Our House (1986-88) and appeared in films including the black comedy Heathers (1989) . “I got offered every horror film in the book, and I said ‘no’ to every single one of them because I wasn’t willing to compromise, to sacrifice the art.” Just in time, she auditioned successfully for Beverly Hills 90210.

After leaving the show, she played the lead in Kevin Smith’s ramshackle comedy Mallrats (1995). Savaged by critics, the film flopped but later found an enthusiastic following on video and DVD. She had more success on the long-running series Charmed, which began in 1998; she also directed several episodes.

Her marriages to the actor Ashley Hamilton and the poker player Rick Salomon both ended in divorce. The preparations for her wedding to Kurt Iswarienko, her third husband, whom she married in 2011, were shown in detail on the eight-part reality TV show Shannen Says (2012). Doherty filed for divorce from Iswarienko last year.

Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 but went into remission in 2018. It was in early 2020, amid publicising her fight against insurers who refused to pay out for the damage to her house in Malibu from a wildfire in California, that she revealed the illness had returned and was now terminal, and in 2023 she announced that the cancer had spread to her brain.

She is survived by her mother, Rosa, and her older brother Sean.

Shannen Doherty obituary: Star of Beverly Hills 90210 (2024)

FAQs

Were Luke Perry and Shannen Doherty friends? ›

As in real life, when relationships fade after we leave high school, Doherty and Perry lost touch following “90210.” Doherty said they didn't remain tight. “But later we became extremely close,” she said in February at MegaCon Orlando, according to People.

Was Shannen Doherty married when she died? ›

Late actress Shannen Doherty's divorce from Kurt Iswarienko was finalized just one day before she died after a long battle with cancer. Doherty, who died on July 13 at age 53, signed papers for a "default or uncontested dissolution" of her marriage, according to court documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight.

How old was Shannen Doherty when she got cancer? ›

According to the New York Times, she learned she had breast cancer in early 2015, at the age of 43. She underwent treatment, and in 2017 she announced that the cancer was in remission. It returned in 2020, and in June 2023 Doherty announced that the cancer had spread to her brain.

What caused Shannen Doherty's death? ›

Doherty, the star of “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Charmed,” died Saturday after years with breast cancer, her publicist said.

Did Shannen and Luke Perry date? ›

Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry were more than just costars — they were friends for decades. The two starred in the 90s television drama Beverly Hills, 90210 as love interests Brenda and Dylan, and they remained close until Perry's death at age 52 in March 2019 following a stroke.

Are Holly Combs and Shannen Doherty still friends? ›

Through cast feuds, health scares and other surprises, the pair maintained a deep friendship. “You give her the hits and she just keeps on coming because she's never been stronger,” Combs said on a July 2023 episode of the “House of Halliwell” podcast when discussing Doherty's cancer diagnosis. “She feels really good.”

Does Brenda come back to 90210 after season 5? ›

She later spent her last night with Dylan, telling him she would not be gone forever. The couple will reconcile briefly in the final scene of the fourth season, though (because of Shannen Doherty's departure) Brenda's character was removed from the script and she never returned to Beverly Hills.

Why didn't Shannen Doherty take tamoxifen? ›

Doherty added on her podcast that because she believed IVF contributed to her breast cancer diagnosis, she initially declined the treatment Tamoxifen when she went into remission in 2017. "I don't want to say that I made a very uninformed decision.

How rich is Shannen Doherty? ›

The actor died of breast cancer on July 13 after being diagnosed in 2015. Throughout her decades-long career in Hollywood, Doherty had amassed an estimated net worth of $5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Does Shannen Doherty have any children? ›

Shannen Doherty died without having children of her own and in January, she reflected on the ways her cancer had affected this dream. Shannen Doherty never gave up her dream of becoming a mother.

Who does Shannen Doherty not want at her funeral? ›

Everyone knows she had disagreements with Jennie Garth from Beverly Hills, 90210 and Alyssa Milano on Charmed and now according to sources close to the funeral planning, those two actresses will not be invited to pay their respects to Shannen.

What was Shannen Doherty's last Charmed episode? ›

All Hell Breaks Loose (Charmed)
"All Hell Breaks Loose"
Directed byShannen Doherty
Written byBrad Kern
Production code4300066
Original air dateMay 17, 2001
9 more rows

Who is Shannen Doherty's brother? ›

Sean Bryant Doherty is the elder child of Tom Doherty and Rosa Doherty. His younger sister was Shannen Doherty. Doherty has Irish Catholic ancestry on his father's side, and English, Scottish, and Scots-Irish ancestry on his mother's side.

Are Shannen Doherty and Sarah Michelle Gellar still friends? ›

Sarah Michelle Gellar is remembering a friendship of a lifetime. Two days after Shannen Doherty died at the age of 53 following a long cancer battle, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum remembered her close friend with an emotional tribute. “How do you possibly find the right words to sum up 30 years of friendship?”

Why did they break up Brenda and Dylan? ›

Season 2. Season two begins with the pregnancy scare between Brenda and Dylan. Brenda has to tell her parents about the situation, when her mom finds the pregnancy test, and after struggling with the responsibilities that come with a sexual relationship, Brenda decides to end the relationship with Dylan.

Who was Brandon's best friend on 90210? ›

Steve Sanders

Although irresponsible, he begins to reveal a more mature side of his personality through his friendship with Brandon Walsh.

Did Shannen Doherty have kids? ›

I look at kids who don't have parents at all, and I think if I adopt a child or whatever it is, any amount of time is better than nothing. Maybe. I don't know." Despite not having any little ones of her own, Doherty was a proud aunt to her brother Sean's kids.

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