Jason Priestly, Gabrielle Carteris and others honored the actress, who died at age 53 on July 13
Shannen Doherty is being remembered by her Beverly Hills, 90210 costars.
The actress was honored with poignant tributes by her former costars of the ‘90s series following her death on Saturday, July 13 at age 53.
Jason Priestley, 54, remembered his on-screen twin in an Instagram post on Sunday, July 14.
“Shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of my friend Shannen,” Priestly wrote under a photo of their characters Brandon and Brenda Walsh hugging at their high school graduation. “She was a force of nature and I will miss her. Sending love and light to her family in this dark time.”
Fellow original cast member Brian Austin Green, 50, thanked Doherty for her love on his Instagram Stories. “Shan. My sister… You loved me through everything. You were a big part of my understanding of love. I’ll miss you more than I know how to process right now. Thank you for the gift of you.”
Jennie Garth also paid tribute to her late friend and former costar with a long message on Instagram, remembering their “connection” outside of the spotlight.
“I am still processing my tremendous grief over the loss of my longtime friend Shannen, the woman I have often described as one of the strongest people I have ever known. Our connection was real and honest.
We were so often pitted against each other but none of that reflected the truth of our real relationship which was one built on mutual respect and admiration,” she wrote. “She was courageous, passionate, determined and very loving and generous. I will miss her and will always honor her deeply in my heart and in my memories. My heart breaks for her family and Bowie”
On Instagram Stories, Tori Spelling broke her silence with a selfie with Doherty and several breaking heart emojis.
“I don’t have outward words yet… but WE knew and that’s what matters,” she wrote at the bottom of the screen.
Gabrielle Carteris, 63, who played Andrea Zuckerman, wrote in her post, “So young – so sad. May you RIP Shannon. I know Luke is there with open arms to love you.”
Carteris referenced their former Beverly Hills, 90210 costar Luke Perry, who died after suffering stroke in 2019 at age 52. Doherty and Perry remained close after playing a couple on the show.
When the cast reunited (sans Doherty) in 2016 for a RewindCon panel in Chicago, Perry said, “None of us are up here today without Shannen.”
“The reality is that she was a very big part of the success of the program,” he told convention attendees. “She taught me a lot and I’m just really glad she was there for me as a scene partner. Any of the issues or anything that anyone ever talked about Shannen, the one thing I could always tell them was when she was on the mark and we were doing our work, there were no problems. She was great at what she did.”
Following Perry’s death in 2019, Doherty made a cameo on his show Riverdale. “I am deeply honored to pay tribute to Luke on Riverdale. The care in which this show takes in honoring his memory is beautiful,” Doherty wrote in an Instagram post at the time.
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Mark Espinoza, 64, who portrayed Andrea’s husband Jesse Vasquez, wrote “Another day, another great loss. Far too young to leave this plane. Shannen played a witch in Charmed but she was actually a warrior and fought like one to live. She’ll always be #brendawalsh to me and I’ll be forever grateful our paths crossed on this journey. Rest in peace dear Shannen… the skies at night are brighter for your presence among the stars. #90210.”
Carol Potter, 76, who played Doherty’s onscreen mom Cindy, added, “Shocked and saddened by news of Shannon Doherty’s death. What a journey she has been on! Gone too soon. Throughout, she stayed true to herself and gave us an example of courage and perseverance in facing her own death. May she rest in peace.”
Shenae Grimes-Beech, who was on the 2008 to 2013 reboot of 90210, posted a lengthy video recalling her excitement to be working with Doherty as a longtime fan. Tearing up, she said the first time she met Doherty, “she just gave me the warmest smile and the biggest hug.”
Grimes-Beech, who deemed Doherty “the woman actress I wanted to be like,” went on to explain that Doherty made her feel “seen and comforted and cared for” as she entered a world of fame so quickly. She said she was inspired by the late actress’ ability to “gracefully command a room,” which “made me so proud to be sharing space with her.”
“To the icon, the legend, the take-no-sh!t WARRIOR of a woman, Shannen Doherty… thank you for inspiring me in more ways than I can bring myself to put into words right now,” she captioned it. “You paved the way and it was an absolute privilege and honor to follow in your footsteps. I’ve done it to the best of my ability with my chin held high and fire in my belly because of YOU. Thank you for impacting who I am so deeply. My condolences and love to all of her family, friends and lifelong fans that are grieving her loss. RIP the Brenda to my Annie forever”
Doherty died at age 53 after years of living with cancer, her longtime publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed to PEOPLE on Sunday, July 14.
“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,” Sloane said in a statement.
“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,” she added.
Doherty appeared in her breakout role as Brenda Walsh on 90210 from 1990-1994.
The late actress previously spoke to PEOPLE about rebuilding her friendships with her costars on the show in August 2019, as she addressed the longstanding rumors of her alleged feuds with her costars before leaving the series in 1994.
“I have felt misunderstood my whole life. The only difference is that now I’m okay with it. But there have been moments where we’ve been able to talk about things,” Doherty explained at the time.
“Somebody had a problem with me being late, but perhaps they didn’t know I was late because my dad was in the hospital, or maybe because I was in a horrible marriage. I didn’t share, or I wasn’t asked. I’m not saying it was all a misunderstanding, but a large portion of it was a misunderstanding,” she added.
Doherty recalled having a conversation with her castmates to clear their issues up as they reunited on the Fox series BH90210 in 2019.
“It was very interesting having those conversations … And really understanding each other this time around as adults,” she said. “There was never any sit-down, like hey let’s talk about this. It was just, we’re adults, we’re in a different place. You kind of start over, but you start over closer.”
