Shannen Doherty Dies: Star of ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ & ’Charmed’ Was 53

Shannen Doherty, the actress who became a household name for her role as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210, has died at the age of 53.

News of Doherty’s death comes after a years-long battle with breast cancer. The actress’s death was confirmed by her publicist in a statement shared with People. “It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty,” Leslie Sloane told shared with the outlet. “On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease.”

Along with being known for playing Brenda Walsh on the ‘90s teen hit, Beverly Hills, 90210, Doherty was also well-known for her roles in the cult classic film Heathers and supernatural series Charmed.

(Credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Doherty appeared alongside Winona Ryder and Christian Slater in the 1988 film Heathers, portraying one of the titular Heathers, Heather Duke. Apart from Heathers and 90210, Doherty was also known among television viewers for playing Prudence Halliwell, the eldest of the Halliwell witch sisters which also included Alyssa Milano’s Phoebe and Holly Marie Combs’ Piper.

While Doherty starred in Charmed since its 1998 debut, she didn’t finish out the series with her costars, exiting the series in 2001 after three seasons. Although she may not have stuck with Charmed, Doherty reprised her role as Brenda Walsh more than once after Beverly Hills, 90210 concluded its run in 1994.

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The performer reprised her role in the 2000s spinoff 90210, appearing in seven episodes. Meanwhile, Doherty played herself in Fox’s meta reunion series BH90210 alongside her costars Jennie Garth, Brian Austin Green, Jason Priestley, Tori Spelling, Ian Ziering, and Gabrielle Carteris. The spinoff taped following the death of Luke Perry who played Brenda’s onscreen love, Dylan McKay.

In addition to these iconic roles, Doherty’s other TV credits include playing Jenny Wilder in Little House on the Prairie, Kris Witherspoon in Our House, and Alexandra Hudson on North Shore. Doherty also hosted Syfy’s prank series Scare Tactics.

She also had episode stints on shows such as Riverdale, 21 Jump Street, Magnum P.I., and Father Murphy among others. On the film side of things, in addition to Heathers, Doherty was known for Mallrats and more.