Shannen Doherty Dead at 53

the worst day was the confirmation that I had cancer that was probably the worst day and again the worst day because you just look at the people that you love and go oh God I can't believe I have to tell them this you know Shannon was emotional when we sat down with her in 2016 it was after her breast cancer diagnosis and she was open about everything all of it the chemo the head scarv she wore because of the hair loss and and the Newfound appreciation for every single moment I'm present and and more in the moment than I ever have been in my life and I'm just thankful and feel blessed that like I have today Shannon felt especially blessed for her friendship with actress Sarah Michelle Geller they sat down for an intimate conversation Sarah serving as ET special correspondent what's the most important thing that you want people to know about you oh um I'm going a curveball right out of I mean yeah you definitely just just threw one right at me um I don't know I think that like that I'm good I love it when people say you know we're praying for you and everything else but I'm doing better than okay I'm doing well like I feel strong and healthy and confident and happy and is that why you chose to share your diagnosis I mean the original reason why I chose to share the diagnosis was was going to come up anyway and it is my story so I wanted to come out with it but since then the more that I share I also want people to not hear stage 4 cancer and think of the person that going in hospice and they can't work and you get written off so quickly I'm able to work a 16 18 hour day Shannon was beloved by her fans no I'm not okay you've turned me into a witch Charmed Heather's 90210 Brandon it's not that bad Shannon lit up the screen and in a way she kind of grew up right in front of us if it's not fun for me anymore then I'm getting out of it this was Shannon's first interview with ET back in 1982 she was just 11 years old a child actress who had appeared on Little House on the Prairie you going to go swiming she was a teenager when we talked to her in 1988 a young role model advising other kids to say no to drugs and alcohol if I can help one kid then it'll be all worthwhile I mean who wants to be that much out of control I know in my personal life I like to be in control of myself at all times I was raised to be very very strong and with a lot of morals and a lot of values I did say no um I didn't get S because of the way my parents raised me I think they did a wonderful job and I think that they they instilled those values into me Shannon got her big break that same year as part of a mean girl click in the'80s cult classic Heathers jealous much 2 years later another iconic role Brenda Walsh on 90210 I think what'll make the show interesting is that they seem to be concentrating on a family that's moving out here and then they have these other characters that are coming into it that have all the all the different pressures of everything else I think that the show can really Skyrocket and give the audience something else to look at besides the same old thing that they're watching every Thursday night it's all about a teamwork you know it's all about this this group of people that get together and go we want this show to be a hit and we're going to work hard and stay together to make it a hit and I think that's very important that hard work paid off and in 90210's second season the teenage drama became a big hit we're not wi those typical shows that it's like everything ends on a happy note at the end of the show and and everybody's got the perfect life the show often tackled tough issues ironically on one episode Shannon's character has a breast cancer scare so I did the test and I thought that I felt something where here I'm very big on being a little bit controversial and and really getting into issues and as much as we can get away with I think that we should we were picked up for two more seasons and we're all very excited Shannon was on the show for Four Seasons she moved on to Charmed where for three years she played the eldest of three sisters with magical powers it's actually been exactly what I expected um which is fun mixed with a lot lot of hard work at least my idea is to do the best show possible and put out the best show possible you could see that work ethic when Shannon first opened up about her cancer battle she shared her fight as an inspiration to others I think my message to any of you going through anything similar is to stay strong have faith and really lean on the people that love you and support you and uh I don't know not be afraid to be vulnerable then a bright spot Shannon's cancer was in remission I stand here to support doctors like him who need more funding for research I stand here to support every single person who has cancer and I stand here to also support you know the husbands and the family that has to go through it because it's not just me and it's not just people have cancer it's the families too that that go through it that it's very hard on before her split from photog phographer Kurt is warano Shannon posted this tribute he had been a rock for the star and she told us how he was at home waiting for her after Her diagnosis he was standing in the driveway and just you know hugged me and was like we're going to get through this like you're going to be okay we're going to get through this you're strong and you're you know powerful and you're you know you're not going anywhere you have so much more to do in your life he's like we're going to get through this we're going to get through it as a family Shannon felt better started working again and appeared in Fox's 90210 reboot I don't think there was any big defining moment where we read it and said oh look at what we're doing it was constantly like on the Fly going forward and and kind of sometimes going I hope that worked Shannon said that before filming began her cancer returned and now it was at stage four and had spread to her lymph nodes and Bones Shannon said she sense the shift in how people reacted to her they look at you like your dead man walking basically and that uh they need to say their goodbyes to you or something and also work dries up I enjoy working and working gives me just another reason to wake up every morning it's another reason to um you know fight to stay [Applause] [Music] alive I know you originally hesitant to do the reboot and I know that there might have been someone sitting right here that really also forced you to do it because they wanted to see you in it what are your thoughts on just the reboot in general and you're right I didn't want to do it and I have my own reasons for not wanting to do it one of them is I've played the character so many times don't you want people to know that we mattered I say we do it less is more sometimes so I was just a little trepidacious and someone very important to me uh passed away you want to come along and I got my diagnosis and it was all sort of within a couple of months together and it just made me give pause and and rethink it and yes it was a way to honor Luke which was important to me but it was also a way to honor my cancer family by saying hey yeah yeah yeah like nobody's going to know but at least when it comes out that I have stage four I will have been able to say yes but I worked throughout it I mean I do kind of miss this I was just about to say that so I had so many friends that were crew members and everyone kept saying oh my goodness Shannon is the most professional she just like these hours were so long and I was like yep that's my girl that's my girl it's actually kind of nice to be back Shannon says she was glad she made the decision to reunite with her 90210 family 90% of everything that came out of my mouth was improv none of it was scripted um I can attest to that Brian and I were an i in too we were all sort of just improving and to have that freedom that everybody allowed us to have I can actually say like that was that was an excellent experience to actually be in a show where you can just sort of improv and and and be that creative and free after the bright spot of the reboot a harsh disappointment Shannon told fans the cancer had spread to her brain she shared the diagnosis in an emotional video that's the hard part shanon the actress had tears in her eyes as she received radiation therapy everybody's terminal it's imperative that you keep on top of things open your mouth wide Shannon was also fitted with this radiation mask which kept her head still during treatment I wish I could do it for her Shannon also filed for divorce from her husband after 11 years of marriage and another challenge Shannon said she lost her sag after health insurance she told ET the stigma of Her diagnosis prevented her from finding work you get written off so quickly even though you're still vital and healthy and happy and wanting to you know go out there and work as somebody with cancer you want to constantly put it out there that you know you're so hirable you're so employable and and that often times for people like like myself it's the work that helps drive us through it all Shannon tried to stay upbeat on Instagram she shared this touching cartoon Charlie Brown tells Snoopy we only live once Snoopy replies wrong we only die once we live every day I'm just thankful and feel blessed that I have today I think the thing I want to do the most right now is I want to I want to make an impact and I want to be remembered for something bigger than just me I'm like one day at a time at this point and today is a great day as long as I can look in the mirror and be satisfied with who I am as a person and know that um my karma is good and that you know I'm I'm a nice person that's that's all that's ever been really important to me [Music]

Channel: Entertainment Tonight

Views: 1,203,694

Keywords: Shannen Doherty, Beverly Hills 90210, Charmed, Obituaries

Id: 6_FBEki4a2E

Length: 10min 51sec (651 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 14 2024