We lost a true ’90s icon. Shannen Doherty—the actress who made us all wish we could cast spells on Charmed—passed away on June 13, 2024, following a long battle with breast cancer, leaving fans wondering about the financial toll of her illness and the fortune she left behind.
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Doherty’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, broke the news with a heartfelt statement to NBC News on June 14, 2024. “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 shared with the outlet. “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.”
It’s a gut punch for fans who grew up with Doherty on their screens. As we honor her memory, let’s explore the full measure of her legacy—from her iconic roles, to the financial realities she faced in her final years.
Shannen Doherty’s net worth
For everything we know about Shannen Doherty’s net worth, keep on reading ahead.
What was Shannen Doherty’s net worth when she died?
At the time of her death in 2024, Celebrity Net Worth estimated Shannen Doherty’s net worth to be around $5 million. However, let’s keep in mind that this number may not tell the whole story, given the extensive medical expenses she faced during her long battle with cancer.
Shannen had been fighting cancer since she was first diagnosed in 2015, and anyone who’s dealt with the American healthcare system knows that couldn’t have been cheap. In fact, in her last few years, she was pretty open about her money worries.
Before her death, Shannen was actually in the middle of a legal battle with her soon-to-be ex-husband, Kurt Iswarienko. She was asking for over $15,000 a month in support, partly because she’d lost her health insurance after her coverage from SAG-AFTRA had been dropped due to her inability to work.
In one of her last podcast episodes, Shannen got real about her financial situation. “I guess I’m in a mindset now of I need to make as much money as humanly possible in the next two years, bank it, put it with my investment place, build that so that … I don’t have to work and I only work when I really want to. I can also go on a lot more vacations,” she said on an episode of “Let’s Be Clear With Shannen Doherty.” She added, “Then also, when I pass away, my mom’s got a nice little nest egg and I don’t have to worry about her.”
How much did Shannen Doherty make on Charmed?
Shannen Doherty cast a spell on audiences as Prue Halliwell on Charmed, the hit series about three sister witches fighting evil forces, from 1998 to 2001. During her three-season run on the supernatural drama, Shannen reportedly earned around $75,000 per episode, though these figures haven’t been officially confirmed.
Her departure from the show after three seasons was surrounded by quite a bit of controversy, with Shannen telling Entertainment Tonight in 2001, “There was too much drama on the set and not enough passion for the work. I don’t have time for drama in my life anymore.”
Fast forward to 2024, and Shannen began to open up about the circ*mstances surrounding her exit from Charmed. She accused her co-star Alyssa Milano of getting her fired from the show. Shannen didn’t mince words: “I recall the facts as if I were still living in them, and what I will say is that what somebody else may call drama is an actual trauma for me that I have lived with for an extremely long time,” she shared during a Charmed panel at Megacon Orlando in February 2024.
She continued, “And it is only through my battle with cancer that I decided to address this trauma and be open and honest about it, so that I can actually heal from a livelihood that was taken away from me, a livelihood that was taken away from my family, because someone else wanted to be No. 1 on the call sheet. That is the truth.”
Alyssa denied these allegations at the time. And after Shannen’s passing, she even released a statement to USA TODAY. “It’s no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at its core was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of,” she shared. “She was a talented actress, beloved by many and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her.”
What is Shannen Doherty famous for?
Let’s take it all the way back to the beginning. Shannen Doherty was born on April 12, 1971, and she didn’t waste any time getting into show business. She started as a kid actor, appearing in Little House on the Prairie and a show called Our House in the 1980s.
Her first big break came with the movie Heathers in 1988. (If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and check it out—it’s dark, it’s funny, and it’s got young Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.)Then came the role that would define a generation: Brenda Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210. Suddenly, Shannen was everywhere. But fame came with a price—rumors started flying about her being difficult on set, and in 1994, she was written off the show. Years later, Tori Spelling claimed she’d asked her dad, producer Aaron Spelling, to fire Shannen. After 90210, Shannen bounced back with “Charmed” in 1998. But as we know, that didn’t end well either.
Despite the ups and downs, Shannen kept working. After hanging up her witch’s hat on Charmed, Doherty kept herself busy with a diverse array of roles. She made an appearance in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and hosted the reality series Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty. From 2003 to 2008, she was also the face of SyFy’s prank show Scare Tactics, showing off her comedic chops.
Shannen wasn’t done with teen drama just yet, though. She made a comeback to her old stomping grounds, starring in 90210 from 2008 to 2009.
The 2010s saw Doherty exploring different avenues. In 2010, she showcased her dance moves as a contestant on Dancing With the Stars. She hosted the talk show Shannen Says in 2012, albeit briefly, and starred in Off the Map in 2015. But in that same year, Shannen got the news that would change everything: she had breast cancer. The actress decided to face it head-on.
She was open about her struggles, sharing updates with fans and raising awareness about the disease. In one of her last interviews with PEOPLE in November 2023, Shannen’s fighting spirit was clear as day: “I don’t want to die. I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better,” she told the outlet.
She continued to keep herself busy throughout her battle with cancer. In 2019, she went on to guest-star on Riverdale in a touching tribute to her old 90210 co-star Luke Perry. That same year, she slipped back into Brenda Walsh’s shoes one more time for the reboot BH90210, where she reportedly earned $70,000 per episode.
Between these higher-profile gigs, Shannen continued to appear in TV movies and video-on-demand films. And when she wasn’t in front of the camera, she was behind the mic. Her podcast, “Let’s Be Clear With Shannen Doherty,” gave fans an intimate look into her life, including her brave battle with cancer.
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