Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Shannen Doherty, known for her roles in Charmed and Beverly Hills 90210, has died aged 53 after a battle with cancer.
The actor died of breast cancer on July 13 after being diagnosed in 2015. Throughout her decades-long career in Hollywood, Doherty had amassed an estimated net worth of $5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
While working as a child actor, the Tennessee native landed the recurring role of Jenny Wilder on Little House on the Prairie. In 1985, Doherty starred as Maggie Malene in the teen movie comedy Girls Just Want to Have Fun, alongside Helen Hunt and Sarah Jessica Parker.
However, it was after her role in the 1988 cult film Heathers that Doherty shot to global fame as Brenda Walsh in the teen drama series Beverly Hills, 90210. Doherty quit the series after four seasons in 1994 and, in 2008, was cast in a reboot produced by The CW.
During the original Beverly Hills, 90210, Doherty reportedly made $17,500 per episode. That’s compared to Fox’s one-season BH90210 reboot, for which she earned $70,000 per episode, sources told The Hollywood Reporter.
Another of the actor’s defining roles came courtesy of Beverly Hills, 90210 producer Aaron Spelling in 1998 as Prue Halliwell in Charmed, a series about three sisters who are witches.
Doherty was reportedly paid $75,000 per episode of Charmed. Doherty directed a few episodes of the series during the second and third seasons. She left Charmed in 2001 at the end of the third season, resulting in her character’s death.
Doherty had a one-year marriage to Sunset Beach actor Ashley Hamilton in 1993 and a nine-month marriage to Rick Salomon in 2002. Salomon is a high-stakes poker player, who went on to marry Pamela Anderson twice – both marriages of which lasted for just one year.
The Charmed star went on to marry photographer Kurt Iswarienko in October 2011. After 11 years of marriage, Doherty filed for divorce in April last year after “she felt she was left with no other option.” The actor’s representative confirmed the news in a statement to Entertainment Tonight, noting that “divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted”.
The actress’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, confirmed Doherty’s passing in a statement to People. “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,” she told the outlet. “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.”
Doherty has been open about her battle with breast cancer, which returned to stage four in February 2020 after going into remission in 2017. In June 2023, Doherty revealed that her cancer had spread to her brain. Five months later, the actor told fans that her cancer had spread to her bones, but said that she would keep fighting the disease through treatment because “I’m not done with living”.
Last month, the actor gave an update on her “really hard” year amid her divorce and cancer treatment. Speaking on the Let’s Be Clear podcast, Doherty said: “Obviously, divorce is not easy, especially when you really loved someone. And I did love my husband.
“And when you get so hurt by their actions that you just feel betrayed and like a sucker, it’s really hard,” she added, before noting that she would be undergoing more chemotherapy after the episode was released.
