Shannen Doherty expressed a strong desire to become a mom before she died after a nearly decade-long battle with cancer on July 13.
Doherty’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, confirmed the star’s death on Sunday. She was 53.
In a January episode of her podcast “Let’s Be Clear,” featuring her oncologist Dr. Lawrence Piro, Doherty said that she had been “desperately” trying to conceive with her former husband before her cancer relapsed in 2019.
“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,” Doherty said.
Doherty married Kurt Iswarienko in 2011, which she described as “later in years.” The actress explained that the couple faced challenges due to their age when they tried to pursue parenthood.
“So when it was time to have that decision, we needed IVF, and I did a bunch of rounds of it,” the “Charmed” star continued.
Despite her efforts, she had to halt treatment due to menopause and her ongoing health battles, which included a mastectomy in 2016.
After a period of remission in 2017, Doherty revealed in February 2020 that her cancer had progressed to terminal Stage 4. By November 2023, it had spread to her brain and bones.
Doherty and Iswarienko separated in early 2023. With hopes for the future, she told People in November 2023 that she had a newfound openness to love again.
“I don’t really know what it looks like,” she said at the time.
“I have a best friend, a male best friend who we joke that we’re married, and his two kids and I have had massive breakthroughs and we just love each other and hang out, and I kind of view them as my children.”
“I don’t know if it’s that or if it’s stumbling upon somebody and just feeling an instant connection. But think, as I said, I’m open, and I wasn’t,” the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star added. “It’s a very brand new thing. And when I say brand new, I mean in the last three weeks, brand new.”
Regarding motherhood, Doherty admitted her uncertainty, saying: “God, I vacillate on it all the time.”
“I think I would love nothing more than to be a mom,” she added. “I always wanted it, and I think if I did it with my best friend or a partner, then I don’t know any amount of time … I look at kids who don’t have parents at all, and I think if I adopt a child or whatever it is, any amount of time is better than nothing. Maybe. I don’t know.”
On her future, Doherty said there was a possibility that she was “just waiting for one of those clinical trials” to help 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 added.
In November 2023, Doherty posted a video dancing with her friend Chris Cortazzo’s kids on Instagram.
On July 14, Cortazzo posted an Instagram tribute to his friend with photos of them and his kids, writing, “My beloved friend and heart. What memories and laughter we have shared through this journey. You were my protector, my best friend and my divine wife. My heart is shattered. I love you forever my sweet dear friend.”
Doherty also spent time with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s kids, the actress said on a February episode of “Let’s Be Clear.” Gellar and husband Freddie Prinze Jr. share daughter, Charlotte, 14, and son, Rocky, 11.
“You gave my children such a life in COVID and I was really struggling with how to give them that freedom and that room to be kids and have adventures,” Gellar told Doherty. “And you opened your home to us in COVID in a way that I will for the rest of my life be grateful for.”
On Monday, Gellar paid tribute to her late friend, who she was close to for more than three decades.
“How do you possibly find the right words to sum up 30 years of friendship?” she wrote via Instagram. “I keep reminding myself it only hurts this much because, there was so much love,” she wrote. “Thank you, for all your kind words and support. I love all the messages about how @theshando was important to you. So let’s honor her.”
Gellar continued: “More than anything, Shan loves animals, especially dogs. In her memory let’s support our favorite animal charities. Whether that’s donating money , stopping by your local shelter and just offering cuddles and walks to animals housed there or even just tagging them in the comments so other people can learn about their work. I know that would make our girl happy (and illicit that deep throaty laugh we all loved).”
Despite her health struggles, Doherty expressed her determination to continue to live a full life in a 2023 interview with People.
“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 said at the time. “I’m just not — I’m not done.”
