‘She Was a Rebel’: Co-Stars Remember Shannen Doherty

In a photograph from a 1993 profile in Vanity Fair, actress Shannen Doherty lounged in a puddle of Borzoi, a cigarette between her lips.

The image was widely circulated on social media after Doherty died of cancer on Saturday at 53. It seemed to capture much of what fans will miss about the actress: her easy glamour, her reputation for defiance, her grit.

“She was perfect,” writer Maris Kreizman wrote alongside the photograph in a post on X.

Throughout the weekend, celebrities and fans shared tributes to Doherty, a mainstay of 1990s television, who played strong-willed characters on Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed. Many said the actress possessed a similar resolve.

“Shannen Doherty had the heart of a lion,” actress Rose McGowan, who replaced Doherty in the fourth season of Charmed, wrote on Instagram on Sunday. “Passion for craft is often mislabelled as trouble. Shannen was passion.”

Tori Spelling, who acted alongside Doherty on Beverly Hills, 90210, a glossy soap opera about life in one of the most exclusive ZIP codes in America, said on Instagram that she would remember the actress’ determination and her sardonic sense of humour. “She was a rebel in an era when most women didn’t feel comfortable being strong,” she wrote.

Some 90210 castmates also addressed rumours of infighting, which fueled a reputation for prickliness that followed Doherty throughout much of her career. (The first two words of that Vanity Fair profile? “She’s difficult.”)

Jennie Garth, a star of 90210, wrote on Instagram on Sunday that Doherty was one of the strongest people she had ever met. “We were so often pitted against each other but none of that reflected the truth of our real relationship, which was one built on mutual respect and admiration,” she added.

Spelling said in 2014 that she had asked her father, Hollywood mega-producer Aaron Spelling, to write Doherty off the show. The two women wrestled with some of their unresolved disagreements on an April episode of Doherty’s podcast, Let’s Be Clear.

In addition to her TV work, Doherty starred in the movies Heathers (1988) and Mallrats (1995). In 1998 she was cast in the series Charmed as one-third of a coven of sister witches that included Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano. She left after three seasons, following reports of tension with castmates.

In a statement to Entertainment Tonight, Milano acknowledged that the two had a “complicated” relationship. Doherty “was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of,” she wrote. “She was a talented actress, beloved by many, and the world is less without her.

Doherty learned she had breast cancer in 2015. She discussed much of her experience publicly, including her mastectomy and her plans for a selective funeral invitation list.

Actress Olivia Munn, who underwent a double mastectomy last year, wrote on Instagram on Sunday that she had reached out to Doherty for support after her own breast cancer diagnosis. “We became instant friends,” she wrote.

In the last text Munn received from Doherty, “Shannen was offering her support even though she was in the final stage of fighting this horrific disease,” she added.

On social media, fans remembered Doherty as a fixture of their childhood television screens, an adolescent crush, an advocate for breast cancer awareness, and a virtuoso of roles that were not strictly hero or villain.

“If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, how could you not know the power and presence of Shannen Doherty?” film-maker Michael Varrati wrote on X on Sunday. “She was at times both an emblem of rebellion and standing in your power.”

Kevin Smith, who directed Mallrats, posted a lengthy tribute on Instagram on Sunday about the times Doherty had made him laugh throughout their nearly 30 years of friendship.

One commenter felt similarly, despite never having met Doherty: “She impacted my life so much and I’m literally just some random person.”

Written by: Callie Holtermann

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