A Look Back At Shannen Doherty's Stunning Transformation

When Shannen Doherty, "Charmed" and "Beverly Hills, 90210" star, died on July 13, 2024, it marked the tragic loss of yet another Hollywood icon. There was no question that Doherty was a force of nature both on the screen and behind the scenes; drama and ratings seemed to follow her wherever she went. As fellow "Charmed" star Rose McGowan wrote on Instagram in the wake of her death, "Shannen Doherty had the heart of a lion. Passion for craft is often mislabeled as trouble. Shannen was passion."

When she was selected to play Brenda Walsh on "Beverly Hills, 90210," Doherty was hardly an industry newbie at the time. She started out in the industry as a child and, according to those closest to her, always had star quality. She went from strength to strength in the industry despite the volatile work situations she often found herself in. In later life, Doherty gained a new following as she spoke candidly about her health struggles and cancer diagnosis, facing her uncertain future with determination, vigor, and honesty. 

The world won't ever be the same without her, but what she has left behind won't ever fade. Let's take a look at the stunning transformation of one of Hollywood's most versatile, beloved, and, above all, toughest stars.

Much like her "Beverly Hills, 90210" character, Shannen Doherty was the new kid in town when her family relocated to Southern California from Memphis, Tennessee. They settled down in Palos Verdes, a coastal neighborhood just south of Hollywood, when Doherty was 6 years old. After her Southern Baptist family found a new church in their new town, the cards fell into place.

While participating in a church play, Doherty ultimately got her big break. An agent happened to attend one of the church's productions, and he recognized that she had the "it" factor. It wasn't long before she started acting in commercials. 

While one might assume Doherty's family moved to Los Angeles County with stars in their eyes, evidently that was not the case. As she once told the Orange County Register (via the Los Angeles Times), "My parents weren't very enthusiastic about me going into show business, but I was." She might've only been in grade school when she got her start, but it would not be long before Doherty knew that she wanted to go all in on an acting career. 

Shannen Doherty was no stranger to tragedy, hardship, or grief. When Shannen was just 8 years old, her mother, Rosa Doherty, was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and was told her chance of survival was low. Against the odds, Rosa ultimately recovered, and the health crisis stuck with Shannen. "I come from a woman who was determined," Shannen told People in 2023. "She impressed that upon me as a very young child like, 'You don't give up. You just have to work hard at it.'" The "Charmed" alum went on to say that determination was a core value in their household, and she clung to it after she received her cancer diagnosis.

Rosa became a widow when her husband (and Shannen's father), John Doherty, died in 2010 after a stroke. As the veteran actor shared with the Chicago Tribune in 2008, he'd suffered at least eight heart attacks and seven strokes before his death. On a March 2024 episode of the "Let's Be Clear" podcast, Shannen shared that she worried about how her own death would impact her mom. "I don't want her to have a bunch of stuff to deal with," she said. "I don't want her to have four storage units filled with furniture." After Shannen died, Rosa gave a statement to People in which she thanked everyone who showed Shannen love throughout her cancer journey. "She is my beautiful girl and my heart," she said. 

After she was discovered in a church play, things started to happen quite quickly for Shannen Doherty. By the young age of 10, she landed a role in the short-lived TV show "Father Murphy." The NBC Western, which starred former football player Merlin Olsen, followed the adventures of a frontiersman who posed as a priest. Though Doherty only popped up in two episodes as Drusilla Shannon, the gig certainly set her career in the right direction. Series creator Michael Landon was clearly impressed with the young actor's performance, and the two would work together once again on "Little House On the Prairie."

On a May 2024 episode of her "Let's Be Clear" podcast, Doherty shared that she was grateful for the time she spent with Landon early on in her career.  "It was having a mentor like Michael Landon — and I don't care what anybody else's experience was like, I know the truth about that man, and he was just unbelievable," she said. "So, so, so talented, so kind, so considerate, and it really helped shape me. And he was incredibly caring for my entire family."

After a few small parts in TV shows and movies, Shannen Doherty landed her biggest role yet when she scored the role of Jenny Wilder on "Little House On the Prairie." She appeared in 18 episodes of the mega hit series before tapping out in 1983. 

The year before she parted ways with the show, an 11-year-old Doherty sat down with Entertainment Tonight for her very first interview with the outlet. The bright-eyed youngster wore a purple sweater with matching ribbons in her hair and looked delighted to be answering the reporter's questions. When asked what she liked about working as an actor, she replied, "It's a lot of fun, and you get to meet all these nice stars." She also did not seem too upset about missing out on having free time to pursue other extracurricular activities or the traditional school experience. "This is my life," she explained. "This is what I wanna do, so it doesn't matter. Nothing else matters." 

On an aforementioned episode of "Let's Be Clear," Doherty credited her time on the series with helping her become who she is. "That show, 'Little House,' shaped me in so many ways," she said, "and it still is the best experience of my entire career."

Making the leap from child star to teen icon to bona fide serious actor can be a difficult accomplishment, but Shannen Doherty made it look easy. She continued to steadily work on occasional projects and TV movies after leaving "Little House on the Prairie," but she didn't get another big part until "Our House" in 1986. She starred in 46 episodes of the show as Kris Witherspoon, but the show was given the chop after just two seasons. In 1988, she landed the role of Heather Duke in the cult classic "Heathers," which started to elevate her teen idol status. By 1990, she was a full-fledged household name thanks to a little primetime soap called "Beverly Hills, 90210." 

On "90210," Doherty played Brenda, the conflicted good girl who moves to Beverly Hills from Minnesota with her twin brother, Brandon, and their parents. Her stint on the show had a massive impact on pop culture, as did her on-screen romance with heartthrob Luke Perry, who played Dylan McKay. It was a heady, tumultuous time for the show's young cast, who were thrust to new heights of fame. 

Sadly, Doherty was fired from "Beverly Hills, 90120" after Season 4. There have been many rumblings about why she got the boot, including issues regarding continued lateness and drama with her co-stars behind the scenes. 

When she was 22 years old, Shannen Doherty did what many young Hollywood actors have done: she got married very quickly to someone she hadn't known for very long. On September 24, 1993, she tied the knot with 18-year-old fellow actor Ashley Hamilton. The wedding was a low-key affair that took place in Doherty's garden, but as many suspected, the marriage wasn't destined for the long haul.

In January 1994, however, Doherty was still gushing about her relationship to the press. "I care about being with my husband," she said, according to Entertainment Weekly. "I take my marriage seriously." The following month, they separated. In April 1994, Doherty filed for divorce. 

On  a January 2024 episode of "Let's Be Clear," Doherty opened up to co-star Jason Priestley about her time on "Beverly Hills, 90210" and how her volatile relationship with Hamilton impacted her behavior behind the scenes. "Towards my last season, I was in a really horrible marriage, and there were things transpiring in that marriage that made it very hard for me to consistently be on time for work." Doherty went on to say that, looking back, she wished she had been more open with her castmates about what was going on in her life. "I take responsibility ... I don't blame anyone," she said.

After getting the boot from "Beverly Hills, 90210," Shannen Doherty's reputation wasn't as shining as it once was. However, even after being labeled "difficult," her career didn't totally fizzle out. Rather, the talented and magnetic actor was one of the three original stars of The WB's "Charmed." The primetime supernatural series, which premiered in 1998, focused on the Halliwell sisters, three witches tasked with keeping wicked nasties at bay. Doherty landed the role of Prue, while Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano played Piper and Phoebe, respectively. The show came at a time when fantasy was a popular genre; "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" had proved popular with viewers, and networks were keen to keep the ball rolling. 

However, it wasn't all love spells and rose petals for Doherty, who encountered just as much on-set tension on "Charmed" as she had on "Beverly Hills, 90210." Tragic details about the cast of "Charmed" have since emerged, but perhaps one of the saddest outcomes of the series was the feud between Doherty and Milano. The two apparently butted heads so terribly that Doherty ended up leaving the show at the end of Season 3. 

On a 2023 episode of "Let's Be Clear," Combs said that Milano not only gave producers an ultimatum that led to Doherty's firing, but was ready to bring a hostile workplace lawsuit against the show. Both Doherty and Combs insisted there was never any behind-the-scenes conflict that warranted this behavior.

After leaving "Charmed" in 2001, Shannen Doherty starred in a few made-for-TV movies and the odd scripted show, but she never reached the same heights of fame that she knew in the '90s. Eventually, she made another career pivot.

In 2015, her reality series "Shannon Says" hit WE TV. The show followed the star as she prepared to tie the knot for the third time with beau Kurt Iswarienko. Doherty, still sporting her trademark brunette locks and youthful glow, put her wedding journey — and her personal life, for that matter — on full display for all to see. 

The series may not have been a smash hit, but it kept Doherty in the public eye and gave fans an insight into her relationship with Iswarienko. Though this marriage would be her longest (she also had a short-lived union with poker player Rick Salomon in 2002), it would end in heartbreak. Doherty filed for divorce from Iswarienko in April 2023, with the actor asking the court to grant her spousal support. The divorce was finalized just one day before she died in July 2024. 

One of the biggest challenges in Shannen Doherty's life came in 2015 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She confirmed the news in an exclusive statement to People. "I am continuing to eat right, exercise, and stay very positive about my life," she said. "I am thankful to my family, friends and doctors for their support and, of course, my fans who have stood by me."

Even though she may have preferred to keep the news private for a time, Doherty's hand was forced when TMZ obtained documents that related to a lawsuit the actor had brought against her former business manager. The legal paperwork claimed that her manager had failed to pay her health insurance, and as a result, Doherty had not received medical care. Had she had insurance, the lawsuit claimed, treatment could have prevented the disease from spreading. 

In 2016, Doherty told Entertainment Tonight that she had a single mastectomy in May of that year and was undergoing chemotherapy and radiation in a bid to recover. Doherty temporarily lost her hair during treatment. She went into remission in 2017. Sadly, the cancer returned to stage 4 in 2020.

Shannen Doherty never had children, but it wasn't because she didn't have the desire to be a mom. On a January 2024 episode of "Let's Be Clear," Doherty talked to her oncologist, Dr. Lawrence Piro, about how much she had longed to have kids. She told Dr. Piro that she and Kurt Iswarienko had been trying to fall pregnant before her cancer returned in 2020. "Not only did I want a child for myself, but I wanted it for my husband. I wanted it for our marriage. I wanted him to have that part of himself fulfilled as well," she said. Doherty underwent several rounds of IVF, but ultimately stopped trying when her cancer came back. 

In November 2023, Doherty told People that she thought about parenthood a lot. She shared that she had strong bonds with one of her friend's kids and her own brother's kids, and these bonds made her often wonder about what her life would look like if she had children of her own. She also mused on the possibility of adopting and had hope that a clinical trial might improve her health. "I'm biding my time, and in the meantime, I've got my best friend's kids, and my brother [Sean]'s seven kids. They're all grown up, but that's OK," she said.

In December 2023, Shannen Doherty's iHeart Radio podcast "Let's Be Clear" made its grand debut. Before the very first episode dropped, the veteran actor teased its release on Instagram. "Tomorrow my podcast comes out! So excited to share with you all," she wrote. 

Doherty's podcast gave her an opportunity to talk about her personal life, her history in the industry, and everything in between. As the iHeart description promised, "The actress will open up like never before in a live memoir." Ultimately, it was Doherty's last gift to the world. She had several guests on the show, including her former co-stars Jason Priestley and Holly Marie Combs. Doherty talked candidly about a range of topics, from her career to her cancer diagnosis. 

Listeners appreciated her honesty. "What an awesome frank and transparent conversation to have," one fan said regarding her discussion with Priestley. On an episode that was released on June 23, 2024, she spoke of her fears as she underwent chemotherapy, lamenting the uncertainty of future treatment. In classic Shannen Doherty style, she was as straightforward about her experience as can be, never once sugarcoating things. "There is hope mixed with my own bit of sadness because again, I just don't know what all these chemos and it's more than one chemo that I'm going on. We're kind of throwing like the kitchen sink at it," she said. The final episode, which featured Combs as a guest, was released on July 7, 2024.