Shannen Doherty's Funeral Request Before She Died—'Don't Want Them There'

Before her death, Shannen Doherty revealed the one request she had for her funeral as well as what she wanted done with her remains.

Doherty, best known for her iconic role as Brenda Walsh in the 1990s teen drama Beverly Hills 90210 and as Prue Halliwell in Charmed, captivated audiences with her dynamic performances and strong screen presence.

She died Saturday after her much-documented battle with cancer, which prompted an outpouring of tributes from her former cast mates. She was 53.

During a January appearance on her podcast Let's Be Clear, the actor opened up about who she didn't want to attend her funeral.

Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Doherty for comment on Monday.

"There's a lot of people that I think would show up that I don't want there. I don't want them there because their reasons for showing up aren't necessarily the best reasons," she said.

"Like, they don't really like me and, you know, they have their reasons and good for them, but they don't actually really like me enough to show up to my funeral."

The actor explained that there would be some that would attend out of "pressure," saying: "[They'll show up] because it's the politically correct thing to do, and they don't want to look bad, so I kinda want to take the pressure off them and I want my funeral to be like a love fest.

"I don't want people to be crying or people to privately be like, 'Thank God that b**** is dead now.'"

Elsewhere in the podcast, she revealed her requests for her remains, saying: "I want [my remains] to be mixed with my dog, and I want it to be mixed with my dad. I do not want to be buried."

The actor said that she wished for her ashes to be spread in Malibu where she and her father, John Thomas Doherty, spent "precious time" together. After previously having survived a stroke, her dad died in 2010 after a series of health issues. Doherty also said she was interested in her loved ones using her remains as fertilizer, with hopes they would "grow them into a tree."

Doherty's death was announced via a statement from her publicist Leslie Sloane, cited by People magazine.

"It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease," she said.

The Beverly Hills 90210 actor had been first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and underwent a mastectomy. In 2020, she said her diagnosis was then terminal, calling it "a bitter pill to swallow" in a Good Morning America interview.

In June 2023, Doherty shared an Instagram post revealing news that the cancer had spread to her brain alongside a video of her receiving treatment. "My fear is obvious," she wrote.

In an interview with People in November 2023 she said: "I don't want to die. 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."

Her last post to her Instagram account was on June 25 where she shared a video snippet of her podcast. In it, she discussed her cancer battle.

"I have no idea how long I'm going to be on the chemo for. I have no idea if it's going to be three months, you know, or if it's going to be six months, or if we're going to, you know, if after three months it's not working, if we're going to change again," she said.

"Like, I don't know really—that's not something I can predict, it's not something my doctors can predict. And it's scary, it's like a big wake-up call."

Doherty started working at a young age with small-screen roles in Father Murphy and Little House on the Prairie—which was her breakout role that set the stage for her success—and big-screen roles in The Secret of NIMH and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun all before the age of 15. Her career spanned decades, earning her critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase.

Beyond acting, Doherty was also a passionate advocate for cancer awareness, sharing her own battle with the disease to inspire and support others.