Shannen Doherty, Who Played Prue Halliwell In Charmed, Has Died At 53

Shannen Doherty, the actress best known for playing Brenda Walsh in "Beverly Hills 90210" and Prue Halliwell in "Charmed," has died at the age of 53 after living with breast cancer for almost a decade. The news was first shared with People by Doherty's publicist, Leslie Sloane, who released the following statement:

"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."

In an interview with People last year, Doherty explained that she was initially diagnosed with breast cancer, which then spread to her bones. More recently the cancer also spread to her brain and she had to have surgery to have one of the larger tumors removed. "I named him Bob. His name was Bob," she shared. "And Bob had to get removed and dissected to see his pathology."

Doherty pointed out that people with cancer are often "put out to pasture" prematurely, but she hadn't written herself off: "I'm not done with life. I'm not done with living. I'm not done with loving. I'm not done with creating." While she was keen to keep living for as long as possible, she also noted, "I'm not afraid of death, because I know where I'm going [and] I know the people that I'm going to see."

Doherty continued to work long after her original cancer diagnosis in 2015, on projects that included TV reboots of "Beverly Hills 90210" (she appeared in both the 2008 reboot and 2019's meta-reboot "BH90210") and the 1988 film "Heathers." The latter was a spiritual mother to "Mean Girls" — albeit with a considerably darker and edgier storyline — and Doherty's role as Heather Duke put her on the map. Though "Heathers" wasn't a major box office hit upon its initial release, it has since developed cult classic status.

Following the death of her close friend and "Beverly Hills 90210" co-star Luke Perry in 2019, Doherty appeared in a tribute episode of "Riverdale" in which the gang mourn Perry's character, Fred Andrews. In an emotional guest performance, she played an unnamed woman who was being helped with a flat tire by Fred when he was struck by a hit-and-run driver. She offers Archie some consolation, telling him that his father saved her life and that she was with him when died.

In addition to being one of the stars of "Charmed" in its early seasons, Doherty also directed several episodes of the fantasy series — including the season 3 finale "All Hell Breaks Loose," which featured her final appearance as Prue. She left the show following conflict with co-star Alyssa Milano, and recently said on her podcast that she was fired from the show after Milano allegedly gave the producers an ultimatum (Milano has denied this).

Speaking to Elle magazine in 2020, Doherty expressed that her battle with cancer and the necessary slowdown of the coronavirus pandemic had given her a renewed appreciation for life:

"I try to treasure all the small moments that most people don't really see or take for granted. The small things are magnified for me. We have this endless well within us, and it's just about continuing to dig in that well for the strength to face adversity — and so that we can also see all the beauty."