Dear Shannen Doherty,
People found you difficult, I refuse to believe that
If we knew someone was nearing the end, it was you. And yet it came as a shock. You are no longer here. Immediately I scrolled to your Instagram account to see if you had sent us a farewell letter. But your last post was a message of hope. Just as you fought and struggled for years, you were still fighting. And that made me extra sad. You did not resign to the fate that had been knocking at the gate for so long.
You left too soon. Way too soon. I think back to Brenda, that cheerful teenage girl from Beverly Hills 90210 who colored part of my youth. You and Brandon and of course your cool boyfriend Dylan McKay. You were a strange duck in the pond there in Los Angeles. Less coolthan the rest, paler than all the tanned California girls (Brenda was from Minnesota), but so down to earth sympathetic.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 cast poses for a portrait on set, September 1991 in Los Angeles, California.
1999 Alyssa Milano, Shannen Doherty, And Holly Marie Combs Star In “Charmed.”
In the press, stories circulated that you might have some quirks and be less sympathetic in real life than your character. I have always refused to believe that and I still do.
I hope you find peace up there and I thank you for your openness about your illness. With that, you were once again a role model for many. And may I send your mother strength and courage? What a gap this will leave in her life.
Thank you for the memories,
May
