It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty.
The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace.
I have felt misunderstood my whole life, shetoldPeoplein 2019.
The only difference is that now Im okay with it.
Her luck changed when actor-director Michael Landon cast her onLittle House of the Prairiein 1982.
That show changed my life.
Michael Landon was the one who said to me, Always slick up for yourself.
Never let anybody walk all over you.
Be a strong woman, Dohertyremembered in 1992.
There was definitely a time that I did not want to be there.
Im 30 years old and I dont have time for drama in my life anymore.
With her return, Doherty turned the page on the bad press of the past.
I have a rep. Did I earn it?
Yeah, I did.
She underwent a unilateral mastectomy in May 2016 and announced she was in remission in 2017.
Yet she was realistic about the chance of recurrence.
As every single one of my fellow cancer family knows, the next five years is crucial.
Reoccurrences happen all the time, she wrote on Instagram.
So with a heart that is certainly lighter, I wait.
It helped that her vulnerability started changing her public image.
I get a little less trolls and haters on social media now, so thats good, she said.
Her remission message turned out to be prophetic, as she was diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2019.
There are definitely days where I say, Why me?
And then I go, Why not me?
Dohertysaid at the time.
Who else besides me deserves this?
None of us do.
I will miss him every day.
Her time back on the screen also offered her the opportunity to prove that her professional lifewould continue post-diagnosis.
A lot of people who get diagnosed with stage four, they sort of getting written off.
Its assumed that they cannot work or they cant work at their full capacity.
And that is not true, she said.
Doherty went back to work and also publicized the intimate moments that come with fighting the disease.
In vulnerable Instagram posts, Doherty refused to shy away from the reality of the illness.
Is it all pretty?
Shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of my friend Shannen, he wrote.
She was a force of nature and I will miss her.
Sending love and light to her family in this dark time.
And its beautiful things that you find.
You find the vulnerability, you find your trust in people again, you find forgiveness.
