Shannen Doherty, an actress who starred on the popular series “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Charmed” and documented her nine-year battle with breast cancer, has died, according to her longtime publicist. 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,” Doherty’s publicist Leslie Sloane said in a statement.
Although Doherty and the characters she played usually seemed to inhabit a glossier, more beautiful world, she was always someone viewers could relate to on screen, and was a self-proclaimed “badass” in real life.The Memphis-born star began acting as a child with appearances in TV series such as Voyagers, Our House and Father Murphy, before joining the cast of the long-running Little House on the Prairie as Jenny Wilder at the age of 11 in 1982.
Her first major film role came in 1985 with Girls Just Want to Have Fun, which also starred Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt.
Three years later, she played Heather Duke, a member of the high school clique in cult 1988 teen drama Heathers, starring alongside Winona Ryder, Lisanne Falk, and Kim Walker.
When a rebooted television series was commissioned in 2016, Doherty played the mother of one of the new generation of Heathers.
In 1990, Doherty landed the biggest role of her career – as Brenda Walsh in the original Beverly Hills, 90210.
The TV series followed a group of teenagers as they dealt with relationship and family issues that were relatable beyond the glamorous Beverly Hills setting.
