Shannen Doherty’s mother is grateful to those who supported her late daughter throughout her life before she died of cancer on Saturday, July 13, at the age of 53. The Charmed actress’ mother, Rosa Doherty, remembered her daughter two days after she passed away following her long-running battle with the disease.
On Monday, July 15, Rosa exclusively told PEOPLE that her “family would like to thank everyone who has shown love and support” for Shannon, whom she described as “my beautiful girl and my heart.”
Shannen Doherty’s battle with cancer and how the actress drew inspiration from her mother
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. In 2017, she announced that her condition had improved, but later in 2020 she revealed that it had returned as an aggressive stage four cancer. Doherty’s passing was announced on July 14 in a statement by her longtime publicist Lesley Sloane, who confirmed that the actress had died the day before. “The devoted daughter, sister, aunt, and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie,” the statement said.
Over the years, Shannon has credited her mom for developing her perseverance and fighting spirit and setting an example for her to never give up in life’s most important battles. In a November 2023 conversation with the aforementioned publication, the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum explained that watching her mom battle a brain aneurysm when Shannon was 8 inspired her in her own health battles.
“I’m the child of a very determined woman,” Shannon said of her mother, crediting her mother for always inspiring her to give her best. “I think I’ve always been a fighter,” Shannon said, adding that she was raised with the idea that she could achieve anything she set her mind to.
Shannon uses her learnings to undergo brain tumor surgery in 2023.
Also read: What type of cancer did Shannen Doherty have? Know about her health battle, Charmed actress dies at the age of 53
Doherty always had her mother on her mind
In her interview with People in November, the actress revealed that she doesn’t make any decisions without her mother’s input. She also included her brother, her children, her dog, and her pets in the list of creatures she thinks about before making any important life decisions.
For her mother, Shannon wanted to make the process of losing a child as easy as possible for her. The actress revealed in one of her Let’s Be Clear podcast episodes that she had started organizing her things. Doherty explained that she didn’t want her mother to be left with too much on her hands after she passed away, although she didn’t say so directly.
In November, Doherty told People magazine that her life isn’t over yet, and that she’s not done loving, creating and changing things to make them better.
Also read: Who is Chris Cortezo? Everything about Shannen Doherty’s best friend with whom she was seen on her last public outing
