Shannen Doherty , one of the biggest stars of the 90s, died on Saturday at the age of 53, after a long battle with cancer.
Doherty, who played Brenda in the wildly successful series "Beverly Hills 90210" and then Prue, the oldest sister in "Charmed," was one of the most promising and beloved actresses of the early 90s. Unfortunately, her talent and charisma were overshadowed by rumors, scandals and dramas that occurred behind the scenes and in her personal life, which more or less sank her career into obscurity. Later she found inner peace - and the passage of time revealed that perhaps she was not actually a "bitch" but simply a strong woman who stood her ground.
'Come on bitch, we're taking it outside'
Doherty came to "Beverly Hills 90210" when she was 19 years old and with a distinguished professional resume, which included, among others, the hit series "Little House on the Prairie" and films such as "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" and "Heathers."
It took some time, but "Beverly Hills, 90210," which aired in 1990, became one of the biggest television successes of the beginning of that decade, and Doherty and stars such as Jason Priestley , Luke Perry and Jennie Garth, won the admiration that today maybe only Taylor Swift has.
Unfortunately, it turned out that there was no less action on the set than on the screen and the gossip sections were filled with reports of friction between Doherty and the rest of the crew which, it is said, stemmed from Doherty's attitude toward those around her, her excessive demands and her constant tardiness. And apparently there was also quite a bit of jealousy toward her: Doherty said that after posing for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, some of the other actors scolded her for daring to pose without them. Perry and Priestley, who were on the cover with her, did not receive similar comments.
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Luke Perry and Shannon Doherty play Dylan and Brenda from 'Beverly Hills, 90210'
(Photo: AFP)
The tension behind the scenes was so great that on one of the shooting days a violent brawl almost broke out between Doherty and Garth.
Garth denied that it came to physical blows. I don't think we ever came to blows. Scratches? I won't deny that," she said, adding: "We filmed a scene and Shannen pulled my dress and tried to hit me with her leg, she did everything to make me go out of focus. Eventually she pulled the dress up and exposed my butt so everyone could see it. So I broke down and yelled at her something like: 'Come on bitch, we're taking it outside.'"
Jason Priestley also told of another case, in which Doherty got angry at the publicist who sent her a regular car instead of a limousine, and said that at some point he ran out of patience with her. "She really didn't care about anything. At first it was a cool approach, and at some point it got tired," he said.
Doherty, for her part, has always insisted that her "problematic" attitude was an attention to detail and a quest for perfection that she demanded from herself and those around her. She admitted at the time in an interview: "I'm not saying that I don't have bad moments, because everyone has them, but they always have a reason. I've always been a brave girl. I know that sometimes it annoys people, but doesn't that make the result better?"
By the way - on the podcast "Beverly Hills 90210 Show," where the creators of the series and its stars are guests, it is often said that Doherty was always one of the most professional and talented actresses they had the chance to work with - that she was always ready for her scenes, gave what was asked of her and beyond and, yes, she knew what worked for her the best technically. Sometimes, they say, she made life difficult for the crew because she thought the scene should be done in a different way than planned, but her goal was always to improve and get the most out of the filming. One of the directors of the series said that even if she arrived after a long night in which she jumped from club to club and didn't have time to sleep, when she arrived on set, she used to take one look at her text for that day and immediately get down to business.
Violent brawls, drunk driving and terrible spouses
While her television persona sometimes seemed to be out of control, Doherty's personal life was also a mess and provided fodder for the gossip columns.
She was involved in a violent altercation with another woman outside a Los Angeles nightclub, her landlord claimed she owed him tens of thousands of dollars in back payments, and she was convicted of driving while intoxicated and sentenced to community service and a fine.
She also had problems in the romantic arena: She got engaged to two different partners and canceled both engagements. The breakup with the second fiancé, Dean Factor , was done in a very bad spirit: he said that she pointed a gun at him and threatened to hire thugs to "beat me up and sodomize me."
With fiancé number three, actor Ashley Hamilton , she managed to get to the marriage canopy, perhaps because she didn't waste time: they were together only two weeks and remained married a little longer –five months.
She recently said on her podcast that he used to beat her. "I don't think anyone knew that my father was very sick and that my husband was a heavy drug addict and very violent at times. It was too much for me. I didn't want to look like a victim, to say 'this is what my husband does.' Few people knew, maybe my personal makeup artist because she had to hide some bruises. Those were crazy times," she said.
Although Doherty was considered the undisputed star of the series and had many fans, as is often the case with a passionate audience she also had quite a few haters. Only then there were no social networks to spread the filth, so they founded a fan club called "I hate Brenda," which included a monthly newsletter with lots of filth and also a phone number where those interested could call and hear all the latest gossip about their not-so-beloved star.
In the end, after a few fights and too many delays, her series co-stars demanded her dismissal. And considering that one of the claimants was Tori Spelling - Doherty's best friend and also the daughter of series producer Aaron Spelling, they got what they wanted.
Different series, same story
In the years that followed, it seemed that Doherty's career was fading - from one of the biggest and most talked about stars in the world she became an actress of remote TV movies. For her part, she took the free time to recover from the mess around her. "I found some peace and discovered who I was. I wasn't really what the tabloids said. I had some difficult experiences in my personal life, I dealt with a bad husband or a bad partner, and I did all this in front of the cameras , so I didn't deal with it well," she said.
Toward the end of the 90s, she got a chance to make a comeback - and surprisingly, the one who gave it to her was Aaron Spelling, who cast her in his new series: "Charmed."
Doherty starred alongside Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano, but history repeated itself and this time it was Milano who clashed with Doherty. "We definitely didn't get along. We are very different women. There were mornings when I came and said good morning to her, and she didn't respond. Other mornings she turned to me and I was the one who didn't answer," according to Milano.
The production team made several attempts to reconcile the women, which according to Combs only made the situation worse. In the end, after only three seasons, when it came to a "me or her" situation, Spelling had no choice but to give up Doherty's services once again. She later said: "I think everyone understands that I'm always completely honest, and sometimes it's worked against me. I can't change that, and I like it myself. I like that I'm real, I won't pretend to be someone's friend if I'm not really like that."
Meanwhile, Doherty remarried and this marriage lasted a little longer than her first - nine months. Husband number two, by the way, was Rick Salomon , who shortly after their divorce became famous thanks to his participation in Paris Hilton 's sex tape. Doherty said of the tape: "It embarrassed me a lot. I was humiliated and disgusted."
After being fired from "Charmed," Doherty's career never recovered. Hollywood simply preferred not to mess with her. Of course, the entertainment industry is full of troubled and scandalous stars who have had countless opportunities, and needless to say, most of them are men. But when it comes to a young and strong woman it is much more difficult for her to recover from a problematic image.
After that, Doherty mainly performed in guest roles and on reality shows, and even made a short visit to Israel for a campaign for a well-known eyewear chain.
'Deliberately delaying agreement hoping I won't survive divorce proceedings'
In 2011, Doherty married for the third time, to the photographer Kurt Iswarienko, and although it seemed that this time she got it right, unfortunately in this case too it turned out to be wrong.
In April 2023, while Doherty was already in the midst of a battle with stage four cancer, it leaked that the two were divorcing, and Doherty implied that Iswarienko had cheated on her with his personal agent.
Last month, she sued him for alimony. "While I am unable to work, and paying exorbitant amounts for experimental treatments not covered by insurance in hopes of prolonging my life, Kurt flies, spends thousands of dollars in spas, jewelry stores, Gucci stores and flights for his 'agent,' and at the same time claims he doesn't have enough money to support me. Even though Kurt's income is significantly higher than mine, he has made no attempt to pay alimony and has not funded any of my legal expenses since we filed for divorce."
She accused Iswarienko of refusing to submit reports regarding his income and assets, as part of a cruel strategy on his part. "It is clear to me that Kurt is deliberately delaying the agreement in the hope that I will not survive the divorce proceedings," she said.
As far as is known, in the end their divorce did not become official.
'You're a different person. You've grown up, and all the bad things you've done in your life have brought you to a better place'
One can take solace in the fact that in recent years Doherty has made peace with most of the people with whom she had quarreled in the past. Back in 2008, she played alongside Garth in "90210," the follow-up series of the show from the nineties, and Doherty said then: "We talked about the arguements and the problems that were between us, we looked into each other's eyes and said to each other: 'Now I understand you.'" Garth recently said in a podcast that she hosts alongside Tori Spelling that the conflicts between them have never been so intense, and that they also had quite a few beautiful moments. Along with this she admitted: "We are two Aries women... we are stubborn, independent and strong. So we had quite a few fights."
She also reconciled with Luke Perry, who died in 2019, and what's more, in the last years of his life, they became good friends. Shortly before he died, Doherty said: "I love him and he knows I love him. He's my Dylan."
About six months after Perry's death, she and the rest of the cast collaborated again in the series "Beverly Hills 90210" (BH90210), in which the characters played imaginary versions of themselves, in a reunion held 19 years after the series that made them stars went off the air. About her participation in the series in the shadow of Perry's death, Doherty said in an interview with Good Morning America: "The least I could do is participate in the new show to honor his memory. I still haven't done enough."
In recent years, she received a lot of love from fans who met her at nostalgia conventions, in which she took part together with her costars from "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Charmed." In the last year she also hosted her own podcast where she spoke honestly about her health and all the rumors, scandals and stories that have been out there about her over the years. In the coming days he was supposed to join Holly Marie Combs and Brian Kraus for a podcast re-watching "Charmed." They managed to record one episode before her death.
Doherty once admitted: "I have a bad reputation. Did I get it honestly? Yes. But after a while, you try to shed it, because you're a different person. You've grown up, and all the bad things you've done in your life have brought you to a better place."
Today, her PR woman, Leslie Sloane, told the media : "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."
Goodbye Shannen, we will miss you.