Sarah Michelle Gellar Mourns Best Friend Shannen Doherty in Tribute: ‘There Was So Much Love’

Sarah Michelle Gellar paid tribute to her longtime friend Shannen Doherty with a heartfelt message following the death of the Beverly Hills, 90210 actress. Gellar posted sweet photos of her and Doherty from their decades of friendship and shared ways to honor Doherty’s legacy.

“How do you possibly find the right words to sum up 30 years of friendship?” she began her Instagram tribute. “I keep reminding myself it only hurts this much because, there was so much love. Thank you, for all your kind words and support.”

The Ringer alum continued, “I love all the messages about how @theshando was important to you. So let’s honor her. More than anything, Shan loves animals, especially dogs. In her memory let’s support our favorite animal charities. Whether that’s donating money, stopping by your local shelter and just offering cuddles and walks to animals housed there or even just tagging them in the comments so other people can learn about their work. I know that would make our girl happy (and illicit that deep throaty laugh we all loved).”

Fellow celebrities quickly took to the comments to react to Gellar’s message about Doherty. Kristin Chenoweth responded, “Perfectly said. I know how close you two were. She is flying with the angels now! ThunderPup and i will be donating to vanderpump dogs!”

Rebecca Gayheart wrote, “Beautiful way to honor her, you always get it right SMG.”

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Doherty died at the age of 53 on July 13 from cancer-related complications. The Charmed actress was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.

Gellar and Doherty had been friends since the 1990s when they were starring on their WB shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed. In 2020, the besties reflected on their cherished friendship in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

“Your support [is the best thing about our friendship], but it’s not just your support, it’s your intelligence,” Doherty told Gellar at the time. “It’s so nice for me…to be able to have intelligent conversations. That to me is the most precious thing about the two of us.”