Alyssa Milano is moving forward and letting go of the past.
In a heartfelt tribute, Milano honored her former “Charmed” co-star Shannen Doherty, who passed away on July 13. Despite their long-standing feud, Milano’s message was filled with respect and admiration. “It’s no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at its core was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “She was a talented actress, beloved by many, and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her.”
Doherty’s death came after a nearly decade-long battle with breast cancer. She was first diagnosed in 2015, went into remission in 2017, but the cancer returned in 2020. By June 2023, the cancer had metastasized to her brain and later spread to her bones.
“On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease,” Doherty’s publicist Leslie Sloane said in a statement to NBC News. “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.”
Even through her health struggles, Doherty continued to work, including hosting her podcast “Let’s Be Clear.” On a December episode, the long-standing tension between her and Milano resurfaced when “Charmed” co-star Holly Marie Combs claimed Milano had Doherty fired from the series after season three.
Milano denied the allegations. “I did not have the power to get anyone fired,” she wrote on Instagram in February. “Once Shannen left we had 5 more successful seasons and I am forever grateful.” She further addressed the issue at MegaCon Orlando, expressing her sadness over the lasting toxicity that surrounded the show.
“I’ve, I think, been very upfront and taken accountability for and apologized for whatever part I played in the situation and I’ve been very forthcoming about that,” she said. “I even don’t know if I could put myself out there any more than I already have to try to fix it. It’s heartbreaking. It’s hard. This is the uncomfortable part that I wish was different. So apologies to all of you who love us anyway.”
Doherty, on her part, was not as receptive to Milano’s statements. “At this point in my life, with my health diagnosis — sorry if I start crying — with fighting a horrific disease every day of my life, it is also incredibly important to me that the truth actually be told as opposed to the narrative that others put out there for me,” she shared at MegaCon. “We told it together. We told our truths, and we are standing by our truths.”
“There is no revisionist history happening in the truth that I know we told,” Doherty continued. “There’s no brush flinging or shoe flinging. There is no lateness to set. There is no mediator for months on end. I recall the facts as if I were still living in them. And what I will say is that what somebody else may call ‘drama’ is an actual trauma for me, that I have been living through it for an extremely long time.”
Her battle with cancer gave Doherty the courage to speak out about the “trauma” she faced. “So that I can actually heal from a livelihood that was taken from me, a livelihood that was taken away from my family, because someone else wanted to be No. 1 on the call sheet,” she said. “That is the truth.”
Shannen Doherty, a child actor who became one of the biggest stars of the 1990s on the high school drama “Beverly Hills, 90210,” passed away after facing breast cancer for several years. She was 53.
“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,” said Doherty’s publicist Leslie Sloane.
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and went into remission two years later. Unfortunately, in February 2020, court documents revealed that her Stage 4 cancer was incurable.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways,” Doherty said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” at the time. “There are definitely days where I say, ‘Why me?’ And then I go, ‘Well, why not me? Who else besides me deserves this?’ None of us do.”
In June 2023, she shared on Instagram that her cancer had spread to her brain. “On January 5th, my scan showed Mets in my brain,” Doherty wrote, alongside a video of her receiving radiation treatment.
Born on April 12, 1971, in Memphis, Tennessee, to a mother who owned a beauty salon and a father who worked in a bank, Doherty’s acting career started early. By age 10, she had made her acting debut on “Father Murphy,” leading to a role on “Little House on the Prairie” for an 18-episode run.
Her breakthrough role came with “Beverly Hills, 90210,” where she played Brenda Walsh and became a superstar in the early ’90s. Despite her success, Doherty developed a reputation for being difficult to work with, leading to her departure from the show after four seasons.
“The best thing that ever could have happened to me was I got off ‘90210’ when I did,” Doherty told Entertainment Weekly in 2008. “It let me find a little bit of peace and discover who I was as a person. Not the person who the press made me out to be.”
Jason Priestley, her co-star on “90210,” expressed his sadness on social media, saying she was “a force of nature and I will miss her.”
After “90210,” Doherty starred in the 1989 high school dark comedy “Heathers” and later reunited with “90210” producer Aaron Spelling for “Charmed,” playing a witch alongside Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs. Her role on “Charmed” rekindled her early career success, though she left after three seasons.
In the early 2000s, Doherty moved into reality television, hosting “Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty,” and continued to work on various film and TV projects. She reprised her role as Brenda Walsh twice: for an extended guest-starring turn on the 2008 reboot “90210” and in the 2019 series “BH90210.”
Doherty also faced personal challenges, including two divorces. Her third marriage, to photographer Kurt Iswarienko, ended in divorce in April 2023. Despite her struggles, friends and co-stars noted Doherty’s resilience and determination.
Her “Charmed” co-star Rose McGowan paid tribute, saying Doherty “had the heart of a lion” and was “a soft-hearted badass as there ever was.”
Shannen Doherty’s life and career were marked by both triumph and hardship. Through it all, she remained a beloved figure to many fans and colleagues. As Alyssa Milano said, “The world is less without her.”
