Heartbreaking photos show Shannen Doherty walking arm-in-arm with friends just weeks before her tragic death.
Doherty was photographed with her boyfriend Chris Cortazzo on June 16, shortly before the actress passed away at age 53 after a years-long battle with cancer.
The 90210 and Charmed star was spotted with her close friend walking with their arms around each other as they left Kristy’s Malibu after dinner.
She was wearing a baker’s hat, a gray sweater, blue jeans and flip-flops and was carrying a brown paper bag. This was probably her last appearance in public.
Her death, confirmed Sunday morning, came about a month after Doherty admitted the past year had been “very difficult” for her.
Heartbreaking final images show Shannen Doherty arm in arm with friends before her tragic death
Doherty is seen with her boyfriend Chris Cortazzo on June 16, shortly before the actress passed away at age 53 after a years-long battle with cancer.
Shannen Doherty (right) and Chris Cortazzo (center) are seen expressing their affection as they leave Kristy’s Malibu after dinner
“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 battling the disease,” Sloane, her publicist, told People.
“The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones and her dog, Bowie. The family requests their privacy at this time so they may grieve in peace,” Sloane added.
Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh on the hit 1990s series, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.
Just two years later, the Charmed star announced that the cancer had returned, after she went into remission.
She told Good Morning America at the time: ‘In a few days or a week, I’m going to be diagnosed with stage 4. So my cancer has come back and that’s why I’m here.’
“I don’t think I’ve processed it. It’s a bitter pill to swallow in many ways,” she said.
Last year, she announced in an Instagram post that the cancer had spread to her brain, and it showed her undergoing radiation therapy.
She announced a new episode of her podcast Let’s Be Clear by sharing a snippet on her official Instagram account.
In October 1990, Doherty starred in the original Beverly Hills 90210, but left the series after its fourth season in 1994. She returned as a guest star on the show in 2008 after it was rebooted.
Beloved actress Shannen Doherty has died at the age of 53 after a long battle with breast cancer
Doherty, who played Brenda Walsh on the hit 1990s series, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. (Pictured: Doherty undergoing radiation therapy in March)
After the popular series, she starred in the witch drama Charmed. Doherty played Prue Halliwell, the eldest of the three witch sisters.
After directing several episodes of Charmed, Doherty left the series in 2001. She then moved on to work in reality television, appearing as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars and on the show Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty.
She starred in the 2019 reboot of 90210, playing the adult version of Brenda Walsh.
Doherty initially kept her diagnosis a secret, but after her co-star Luke Perry died suddenly in 2019 at the age of 52, she spoke openly about her health struggles.
Perry died on March 4 of that year after suffering a massive ischemic stroke at his home in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles.
“It’s so weird that I get diagnosed and someone who, you know, seemed healthy is the first to go,” Doherty said on Good Morning America in 2020. “It was really shocking.”
Doherty’s publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed the actor’s passing on Sunday. (Photo: Doherty and her 90210 co-star Luke Perry in 1991)
After the popular series, she starred in the witch drama Charmed. Doherty (center) played Prue Halliwell, the eldest of the three witch sisters
‘One of the reasons, along with Luke, that I did it and didn’t really tell anyone [was] because I thought, people can look at that [as] “People with stage 4 can also work,” she explained.
On June 24, Doherty gave her fans insight into where she is in her divorce and cancer journey on the latest episode of her podcast.
She admitted the past year had been “really tough” and discussed her split from photographer Kurt Iswarienko, 49.
“Obviously, divorce is not easy, especially when you really loved someone. And I loved my husband,” Doherty said.
“And when you’re so hurt by their actions that you feel betrayed and like a loser, that’s really hard.”
Doherty recently admitted that her divorce and cancer treatment over the past year had been “really tough” on her. (Pictured: her ex-husband of 11 years, Kurt Iswarienko, in 2010)
Doherty also revealed that she will begin another round of chemotherapy “probably a few days after this episode is over.”
“Just facing the unknown – it feels like my life has been unknown for over a year now, between the divorce and cancer,” she added.
The couple was together for 11 years before divorcing.
The Hollywood veteran called the divorce proceedings “not the most pleasant thing” and said she “may never be ready to discuss all the details” of her marriage’s dissolution.
In a recent court filing, Doherty criticized her ex Kurt’s spending in a request for spousal support.
According to Us Weekly Magazine, she filed the documents in Los Angeles on Friday, June 14.
In the documents, the actress requested $15,343 in monthly alimony, “retroactive to June 1, 2024.”
She also asked Kurt to contribute $9,100 to her legal fees. The actress believed her ex was deliberately delaying the legal process to avoid paying her.
“It is simply not fair that Kurt is allowed to extend our divorce in the hopes that I will die before he has to pay me, while he continues to live his life and shirk his responsibilities to his dying wife of over 11 years,” the woman said in the filing.
Iswarienko’s attorney Katherine Heersema responded by stating that Shannen had been offered a settlement offer in October 2023, but that she had denied it.
Kurt is not ‘just waiting'[ing] that Shannen dies. ‘He wants the best for Shannen and he wants them both to be able to put this behind them and move on,’ she said.
Doherty responded by stating that she rejected the proposed settlements because they “sidestepped the issues of his original work created during his marriage” and “his earning capacity.”