One year on from her tragic passing aged 53, Shannen Doherty‘s former Beverly Hills, 90210 co-stars Ian Ziering and Tori Spelling have paid tribute to their former co-star and friend. The actress had waged a lengthy battle with cancer, which saw colleages friends and fans from all around the world unite in grief.
Taking to Instagram to share their memories and photographs, Tori spoke first.
“Grief is weird,” she penned in her lengthy tribute. “It presents itself in different ways and at different times but never fades. Just like your memory. In fact, it burns epically in my soul more and more as the days pass.”
“You and I already told the beginning of our story. The evolution of our story. Now I’m living the after. The part where I carry everything you taught me—
“You always told me to stop apologizing for myself. To stop playing small. To stop trying to be palatable when I was born to be powerful. You taught me to turn my power on and let it shine. Some people will sit in the uncomfortableness of the brightness while others will be empowered by my flame.
“This year, I’ve tried hard to be the power you believed I could be. I’m not afraid to say while I made progress in many ways I failed in others. But failure is a lesson not a sentence on our journey.
“I’ve honored you by telling the truth louder. By choosing softness when I could’ve chosen armor. And by saying “no” more than I ever used to—because you would’ve.
“For me, your legacy lives on in my aura. In the space I now try to take up unapologetically.
“This isn’t closure. This is continuation.”
Having found it too tough to post after her death, Ian Ziering has now added his own tribute to those of his other castmates. He also talked of the loss of Luke Perry, who shockingly died of a stroke on March 4, 2019 at just 52 years old.
“I miss Shannen,” he said. “We clashed now and then in the early years of 90210—two strong personalities will do that—but we always had respect. I was the wisecracking comic relief; she was the beautiful chaos, the after-hours headline, the girl who could trash a hotel room and make the tabloids love her for it. (Stop laughing, Shan. You know it’s true.)
“Whatever antics happened off-set, when the camera rolled? She delivered. Always.
“As we got older, we mellowed. Grew up. Understood what we’d been part of and what we each brought to the table. I’ll never forget when she and Jennie surprised me at the Chippendales show in Vegas. God, we laughed so hard. It was one of those nights that stays with you.
“So, my dear Shannen— I think of you often. Your grit. Your fire. Your kind heart that so few really got to see. I still carry all of it with me.
“Rest easy, Shan.”
These are just the latest tributes to have been posted publicly in the wake of her passing.
Shannen’s best friend, Sarah Michelle Gellar penned a lengthy, heartfelt tribute on Instagram which asked fans to support animal charities in Shannen’s memory.
“How do you possibly find the right words to sum up 30 years of friendship? I keep reminding myself it only hurts this much because, there was so much love. Thank you, for all your kind words and support. I love all the messages about how [Shannen] was important to you. So let’s honour her,” Sarah Michelle began.
“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),” she continued.
Shannen’s mum, Rosa Doherty, shared a short but lovely statement to People, “She is my beautiful girl and my heart.
“Our family wants to thank everyone who has shown love and support for our Shannen throughout her life. We are truly appreciative.”
Shannen’s Charmed co-star Alyssa Milano shared a statement to Entertainment Weekly, “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 was a talented actress, beloved by many, and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her.”
Shannen’s Beverly Hills, 90210 on-screen brother Jason Priestley shared via Instagram, “Shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of my friend Shannen.”
“She was a force of nature and I will miss her. Sending love and light to her family in this dark time.”
Actress Olivia Munn shared a beautiful post to her Instagram Stories detailing their friendship forged over their shared health experience.
“We bonded through a shared battle and a desire to help other women,” Olivia shared.
“Looking back on the last text she sent me just a couple of months ago, she asked how I was doing and if she could do anything for me…”
And journalist Katie Couric also shared a tribute, posting images of the actress along with the sad news of her passing.
Fans worldwide have taken to social media to share their favourite memories and performances of Doherty, celebrating her work in Little House on the Prarie, Heathers and the 90210 reboot.
