Sad Details About Shannen Doherty
The following article includes mentions of domestic abuse and addiction.
On screen, Brenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) was television's quintessential bad girl, and as she herself put it, "To be a b***h, or to not be a b***h, that is the question." Thrust from a modest background into the abundant world of the uber rich, Brenda, the lead female character on "Beverly Hills, 90210," had a rebellious streak during her four-season run. Dating the popular Dylan McKay (Luke Perry) despite her dad Jim Walsh's (James Eckhouse) disapproval, running away to Vegas when wedding planning became overwhelming, and finally getting a big break by following her passion for the stage, the happenings in Brenda's life were not so far from the fast-paced tabloid gold Doherty brought to the table in her late teens. Doherty often made headlines for the wrong reasons; fights, causing havoc at entertainment joints, beefing with co-stars, and a turbulent love life.
Long after she'd matured up, her branding became difficult to steer away from, despite the fact that Doherty was now on a different path. "Everything happens for a reason and as long as you learn from the experience, you're growing as a person," Doherty addressed her past in a conversation with KSAX-TV. "I probably wouldn't change anything because I learned a lot of lessons."
Over the years, she has cleaned her image and gone on to pursue other projects. Still, she has encountered a series of unfortunate events. Read along to find out the lows that have come Shannen Doherty's way.
Shannen Doherty had disagreements with her Beverly Hills, 90210 castmates
She may have been a near-perfect actress who'd mastered the art of script interpretation on "Beverly Hills, 90210," but Shannen Doherty wasn't pleasant to work with on the show according to its writer-cum-producer Larry Mollin's conversation with Teen Drama W**re. "She's just a kind of unusual, very talented professional but hard to get along with," Mollin told the publication. "She just kind of pissed everyone off eventually and she pissed off the most important person, which was, you know, Tori."
Tori Spelling [Donna Martin], the daughter of the teen drama's creator Aaron Spelling, addressed her feud with Doherty in a chat with Us Weekly, making it clear that disputes did come with the job, but for the better part, the pair was friendly with each other. Spelling also happened to be the peacemaker whenever Doherty and her co-star Jennie Garth had altercations.
When the pair appeared on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen," Garth did not hold back on their most heated fall-out, one which the boys had to stop. "I can only remember one incident, and that was when we took it outside," she recalled. "I'm a Midwestern girl and I spent some time in Glendale, Arizona. So, that makes you tough."
She allegedly sabotaged her Beverly Hills, 90210 role
Shannen Doherty's role as Brenda Walsh garnered so much hate at its peak, that an "I Hate Brenda" club became popular. Doherty added insult to injury by trying to sabotage her character. She reportedly changed her hair color in a mid-episode shoot, forcing production to find a suitable explanation for the drastic change. As for what led to her exit, Larry Mollin said she pulled a much more aggravating stunt during the show's fourth season.
"What happened was, in the middle of a show, she cut her hair and totally screwed us up for continuity so everyone was pissed off at her," Mollin told Teen Drama W**re. At the time, Doherty maintained that she left by choice, adding that there was no remorse in leaving a workplace that was insufferable. Doherty's dislike for the job was echoed when "Beverly Hills, 90210" ended its 10-season run in May 2000.
"There was definitely a time that I did not want to be there. I was unhappy," she revealed in a chat with Entertainment Weekly. "It sounds odd to say that I was on a hit show making a lot of money and I was unhappy, because it makes me sound unappreciative — I wasn't."
Shannen Doherty beefed with her Charmed co-star Alyssa Milano
In May 2001, a couple of years after Shannen Doherty's exit from "Beverly Hills, 90210," she pulled out of another Aaron Spelling production, "Charmed." The grapevine had it that Doherty, a third of the Halliwell sisters, had an off-screen feud with her co-star Alyssa Milano. "There was too much drama on the set, and not enough passion for the work," Doherty said then, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "You know, I'm 30 years old, and I don't have time for drama in my life anymore."
On her part, Milano confirmed that there was no love lost between her and Doherty in a chat with TV Guide. "We definitely didn't get along," she said. "There were times when I'd come in and say, 'Good morning, Shannen,' and she didn't say anything to me. And there were times when she'd come in and say, 'Good morning, Alyssa,' and I wouldn't say anything to her." Things got so uptight between the duo, that the network had to intervene by sending an arbitrator to salvage the situation. Doherty's Season 3 departure eventually saw the introduction of Paige Matthews [Rose McGowan] as a secret love child. Years swung by, and in 2021, Milano affirmed that they'd since resolved their dispute.
An ex-fiancé allegedly filed a restraining order against her
In the early '90s, Shannen Doherty was in a relationship with Max Factor heir, Dean Jay Factor. When the relationship turned sour, Dean obtained a protective order against Doherty that required the "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" actor to stay within a 100-yard distance, per Deseret News. According to People, there were several incidents of domestic conflict between the couple highlighted by Dean. Court records showed that Doherty had reportedly attempted to hit Dean with a car, used a chunk of wood to break into his house, and intimidated him by issuing a threat to "hire a few guys to beat me up and to sodomize me 'on the front lawn.'"
Not that assault between the couple was a one-sided affair. According to Dean, he'd given Doherty a smack across the face and thrown her into his swimming pool in a bid to defend himself. One time, Doherty returned from a lovers' getaway with a black eye. While her father, John Thomas Doherty Jr. maintained that it was a result of a strike by Dean, the latter insisted that she'd "tripped, fell and cut her eye on the doorstep."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.
Shannen Doherty struggled with cigarette addiction
On a summer trip to the City of Light, Shannen Doherty's character Brenda Walsh started smoking cigarettes. Although the plot— including an intervention upon the Walsh family's discovery of Brenda's habit — was entirely fictional, it mirrored Doherty's real life to some extent. Per a 1993 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Doherty had taken to smoking and was rethinking the choice, given the effect it had on her teeth. She was also genetically prone to cancer (her family had a number of diagnoses).
TMZ would eventually report that Doherty was involved in a legal war with her health insurer State Farm over smoking, with the former insisting that she kicked her indulgence to the curb after being diagnosed with breast cancer. Court records allegedly showed that the insurance firm was contesting Doherty's claim, insisting that she didn't quit smoking until 2019. According to the publication, Doherty was of the opinion that the company was on a mission to assassinate her character, and equally livid that some of her private information had been made public.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
The actor has had a number of money problems
In Shannen Doherty's 1993 interview with Entertainment Weekly, the actor was reported to have accumulated debt to the tune of at least $36,000 in her early twenties. Doherty had rent arrears of $13,000 at a former residence, which had warranted a legal case. She however stood her ground that any revelation of her being kicked out was simply hearsay. Additionally, the actor insisted that rumors of a number of vehicles in her name being repossessed weren't factual.
"If I had all these problems with my leasing company, why am I able to drive around in a Mercedes that I leased through them right now? If I had all these financial problems, there's absolutely no way in hell a bank would finance an $80,000 car," she told the publication, also emphasizing that she was raking in more than $12,000 weekly and the press was underreporting her actual earnings.
That wouldn't be the last time Doherty's financial woes were making headlines. She was said to have been involved in a legal tussle with City National Bank over a $90,000 loan non-payment. Doherty had allegedly not honored a nine-month repayment plan she had committed to.
Shannen Doherty has been arrested multiple times
Shannen Doherty is no stranger to run-ins with the law. In December 1992, the actor was apprehended for battery and cleared without indictment early the following year. Doherty, who'd been in the company of her "Beverly Hills, 90210" co-star Brian Austin Green, was at the Roxbury Club in West Hollywood when a fight with another couple ensued.
In another incident, Doherty was sentenced to probation for two years and had to attend anger-management classes, following a vandalism charge, per United Press International. Moreover, she was offered the options of paying up to $5,000 in fines and penalties or doing an 80-hour community service. The actor had supposedly bashed a car window with a beer bottle during an attempt to strike a man who was inside.
Still, Doherty's troubles with the law continued. On December 28, 2000, she was arrested for driving while inebriated. It was a choice she had deep regret for. "Thank God, I did not injure anybody," Doherty said during a talk, according to People (via ABC News). "There hasn't been a day gone by that I haven't wanted to relive that decision to get in my car." The result was a 10-hour stint in jail and a work release program whose alternative would have been a two-day jail sentence.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
Her father's illness inspired her Dancing with the Stars debut
In November 2010, Shannen Doherty's father, John Thomas Doherty Jr., died. During his lifetime, John had a number of continuous health complications. "He's had eight heart attacks, seven strokes, quintuple-bypass heart surgery," Shannen disclosed in an Us Weekly interview (via The Chicago Tribune). "He has heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure. His kidneys recently failed him, and now he's on dialysis." Part of her erratic behavior, she added, was her way of coping with her father's deteriorating health.
In December 2009, John suffered a stroke. During recovery, he was elated at the thought of his daughter being on "Dancing with the Stars." This encouraged Shannen to take up an offer, in spite of her phobia for live crowds. "I thought, if my dad can fight through having a stroke and the loss of being able to communicate, I think I can do this for him," Shannen expressed in a conversation with People ahead of her March 2010 "DWTS" debut. "So I figured I'm going to get over my fear for him." Although she put her best foot forward during her appearance on "DWTS," Shannen was cast out early in the season.
The star's house was damaged by the Woolsey Fire smoke
When the raging Woolsey Fire engulfed parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties in 2018, Shannen Doherty was amongst those whose homes were mildly affected. Doherty's own house stayed put, as she shared in an Instagram post, but being a neighbor to properties that went up in flames had a significant impact on her health due to smoke. A resulting lawsuit filed against Doherty's insurer State Farm led to a reported $6.3 million compensation.
Doherty was on her way back from an Italian getaway when the fire started. She had earlier taken precautionary measures to ensure her pets were safe while oblivious of the catastrophe that lay ahead. It was overwhelming when she learned that a friend's property was no more. In an emotional Instagram post, the "No One Would Tell" actor wrote, "This place. I got married there. But before that, it's the place @chriscortazzo let me stay in after my dad passed away. It's the place I felt my dad with me. It's gone. Fire has taken it away. I'm devastated by all that's happening. My heart is ripped apart."
Shannen Doherty's marriages ended in divorce
Shannen Doherty has walked down the aisle three times. In September 1993, Doherty and Ashley Hamilton made headlines for tying the knot after a record three weeks of dating. The hastily planned event, carried out in Doherty's backyard, cemented the couple's union that barely made it to the six-month mark. In April 1994, the marriage came to an end. Court records showed that it was due to irreconcilable differences. Doherty's second marriage to Rick Salomon was also reportedly short-lived.
When she first crossed paths with photographer Kurt Iswarienko, it was love at first sight. "I connected, instantly looked at him, he turned, looked at me, and we both had this pause," Doherty shared in an interview with Young Hollywood. She and Iswarienko got hitched in an October 2011 Malibu black tie ceremony, whose planning was highlighted in the We TV reality series "Shannen Says." In April 2023, A representative of Doherty revealed that she and Iswarienko were headed for a split. "Divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted," they said in a statement to People. "Unfortunately, she felt she was left with no other option."
She sadly lost her best friend to cancer
Besides the death of her father, Shannen Doherty has had deeply saddening personal losses. In 2020, Doherty shared the news of the demise of Deborah Waknin Harwin, a close friend with whom she was acquainted for nearly three decades. The bond between Harwin and Doherty extended far beyond board games, exotic island vacations, and table dances. "We worked on shows together. We grew up....together. She was a constant. Thru my cancer and I for her when she got diagnosed 4 years ago," Doherty partially wrote in a heartfelt Instagram post. "We were more than best friends. We were sisters. Tied to each other by the universe, by our very essences that recognized each other instantly."
A year prior, Doherty's "Beverly Hills, 90210" co-star Luke Perry had died after a fatal stroke. The emergency occurred at his home, after which he was hospitalized. He had been put on sedatives with the hope that his brain would be revived, but he didn't make it. Perry reportedly died in the presence of his closest circle. Doherty paid homage to Perry via Instagram, expressing that she was finding it hard to process his death.
Shannen Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015
Shannen Doherty has been open about her journey as a breast cancer patient since 2015. Following the diagnosis, Doherty had her first radiation session in 2016. Her soon-to-be ex-husband Kurt Iswarienko stood by her side through the treatment process that has, at the time of writing, also included a mastectomy and chemotherapy. In April 2017, Doherty announced that she was in remission. Although she was initially not enthusiastic about a "Beverly Hills, 90210" reboot, she warmed up to the idea while in remission. It was a way for her to honor the memory of Luke Perry. Doherty's co-stars Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth publicly offered their support to the actor, proving that they'd long buried the hatchet.
Unfortunately, the cancer recurred at Stage 4, but that didn't stop Doherty from working. She was determined to defy stereotypes against cancer patients. "The best example that I can continue to set for other people with cancer, and to the outside world who doesn't have cancer, is to show them what a cancer patient looks like. We are employable," she said in a chat with Variety. Through Instagram, the actor has spread breast cancer awareness, encouraging her audience to have regular checkups for early detection.
The cancer metastasized and spread to her brain
In June 2023, Shannen Doherty shared the unfortunate news that her cancer diagnosis had gotten progressively worse. "January 12, 2023. On January 5th, my ct scan showed Mets in my brain," she wrote on Instagram, adding that she'd undergone radiation therapy. Continuing to chronicle the journey, the actor expressed the grueling psychological impact a surgical treatment had on her, including thoughts about not making it out alive. "I am clearly trying to be brave but I am petrified. The fear was overwhelming to me," she wrote in another post.
Doherty's bravery since her initial diagnosis has changed her view of the world, as she disclosed in a 2021 conversation with "Good Morning America." The actor said she had taken a more introspective approach toward life, which allowed her to have more compassion for others and herself. "You really have to dig deep," she gave away. "In that, you find all this stuff that you had hidden away. And it's beautiful things that you find. You know, you find the vulnerability you find your trust in people again, you find forgiveness." Doherty also revealed that she had a list of goals she'd like to accomplish, and would do all she could to keep living.
The disease further spread into Shannen Doherty's bones
In a November 2023 sit-down with People ahead of the release of her podcast "Let's Be Clear," Shannen Doherty revealed that the cancer had spread yet again. "It's Stage 4 breast cancer that spread into my bones," Doherty told the publication. "So, I think of it as like the 'Pac-Man' video game, where they kind of start to go into your bones, but we're on a really good regimen now, and it's working well for me."
Despite the devastating reveal, Doherty added, there is light at the end of the tunnel. She and her physician agreed on working through two-to-five-year phases until the next available clinical trial succeeds. In the meantime, Doherty has continued to use her platform to spread awareness on the disease and gather funds to help cancer patients. On the touching topic of mortality, she told People: "I'm not afraid of death, 'cause I know where I'm going. ... I think I would be afraid of death if I wasn't a good person, but I am."
Doherty has another passion close to her heart — animal rescue — which she's often shared with her followers on her Instagram Stories. That, and the fact that she posted a picture of a girls' night out on the platform in October 2023, have added a silver lining to a dark cloud.