Los Angeles (Associated Press) Shannen Doherty, The “Beverly Hills 90210” star, whose life and career were rocked by illness and tabloid coverage, has died at age 53.
Doherty died Saturday, according to a statement from her publicist, Leslie Sloan. She had been battling breast cancer for years.
“A devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend, surrounded by loved ones and her beloved dog, Bowie, the family requests privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace,” Sloane said in a statement. People magazine.
Her illness was made public in a lawsuit filed in 2015. To her former business manager, In it, she claimed they mismanaged her money and allowed her health insurance to lapse. She later detailed the details of her treatment after a unilateral mastectomy. In December 2016, she posted a photo of her first day of radiation treatment, saying it had been “horrifying” for her.
In February 2020, Doherty revealed that her cancer had returned, She was in stage 4. She said she came forward because her health condition could be revealed in court. She said her California home It was damaged by fire in 2018.
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Doherty moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was seven and became an actor within a few years.
“It was completely my decision,” she told The Associated Press in a 1994 interview. “My parents have never forced me to do anything. They support me. If I became a professional soccer player, it wouldn’t be a problem at all. They would still support me and love me the same.”
In 1990, the wide-eyed, dark-haired actress rose to fame when she played Brenda Walsh in producer Aaron Spelling’s hit teen soap opera, set in upscale Beverly Hills, where she and her twin brother Brandon, played by Jason Priestley, were Midwestern eccentrics.
However, Doherty’s fame came with media scrutiny and reports of her emotional outbursts, drinking, and impulsivity, the latter of which became especially evident after her very short marriage to George Hamilton’s son. Doherty’s second marriage was in 2002 to Rick Salomon, who had been implicated in the sex tape scandal with Paris Hilton; the marriage was annulled within a year. In 2011, Doherty married photographer Kurt Iswarienko. She is They plan to divorce in April 2023.
She left 90210 at the end of its fourth season in 1994 (the show aired until 2000), reportedly fired by Spelling due to conflicts with co-stars and chronic tardiness.
But in a 1994 interview with The Associated Press, Doherty said his life had been peaceful.
Shannen Doherty (Rebecca Dubrovitch) in the TV movie SLEEPING WITH THE DEVIL. Air date: April 22, 1997. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
“If they pick up the Enquirer and all it says about me is that I installed a pay phone next to my house and I was spotted buying $1,400 worth of bedding at Stroud’s and I don’t go to expensive stores, then you can bet,” she said. “If they can push that story out of their heads, then they’re cool.”
Three years later, in 1997, Doherty was ordered by a Beverly Hills District Court judge to undergo anger management counseling after he smashed a beer bottle into the windshield of a man’s car during an argument. In another legal battle, he was arrested for drunk driving in 2001, but pleaded not guilty and was ordered to complete a five-day work release program.
Doherty reunited with Spelling when he cast her as Prue Halliwell on “Charmed” in 1998. In an interview with The Associated Press that year, Doherty expressed regret about the past.
“I brought a lot of it on myself,” Dougherty said. “I don’t think you can point at somebody and say, ‘Oh, it’s your fault,’ and I wouldn’t do that myself, because I was still growing up.”
Doherty added that her character had been “severely misunderstood” by the media.
Spelling said at the time that their relationship wasn’t as bad as some made it out to be.
“There were some stumbles along the way, but hey, everybody does,” said Spelling, who died in 2006. “Everything Shannen did was exaggerated by the newspapers.”
Doherty starred on Charmed from 1998 to 2001 alongside Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano. At that point her character was replaced. Played by Rose McGowan, Doherty starred in the sequel series to “Beverly Hills, 90210” seven years later, alongside original series star Jennie Garth, and competed on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2010. She also participated in the third reboot of “Beverly Hills, 90210.” It’s called “BH90210” A meta-parody of the show that aired for one season in 2019.
She also “Riverdale” tribute episode It was dedicated to the show’s star and her late on-screen boyfriend from “Beverly Hills, 90210.” — Luke Perry.
Doherty struggled to regain her stardom from 90210, but appeared in big-screen films like Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and TV movies like The Margaret Mitchell Story, in which she played the author of Gone with the Wind. Her lowest point was the erotic thriller Blindfold, in which she co-starred with Judd Nelson.
Doherty’s lawsuit against her former business managers was settled in 2016. She has been open about how cancer has affected her, posting photos of her thinning hair after treatment and describing her fears in an August 2016 interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“The unknown is always the scariest part,” she said. “Will the chemotherapy work? Will the radiation work?” she said. “I can tolerate the pain, I can tolerate being without a breast. I’m worried about my future and how my future will affect the people I love.”
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Longtime television writer Lynn Elber is retiring from The Associated Press in 2022.
