Shannen Doherty had instructions for her funeral before her death at the age of 53

Shannen Doherty announced her wishes for her funeral and burial arrangements on Saturday, months before her death at the age of 53.

Doherty died over the weekend after a years-long battle with cancer. Her death was confirmed on Sunday by her longtime spokeswoman Leslie Sloane.

“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty,” Sloane said in a statement to People.

“On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after battling the disease for years,” Sloane continued. “The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones and her dog, Bowie. The family requests privacy so she can grieve in peace.”

In January, Doherty, who was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, revealed on her podcast “Let’s Be Clear” that she would like her loved ones to spread her ashes “in a healthy mix.”

“I want (my remains) to be mixed with my dog’s, and I want them to be mixed with my father’s. I don’t want to be buried or cremated,” she said at the time. She also suggested scattering her and her father’s ashes in Malibu, California, where they had spent “precious time” together, or using their remains to “grow a tree from them.”

Doherty remained good friends with several of her co-stars from Charmed and Beverly Hills, 90210, but she hoped her funeral would be a smaller event.

“I think there are a lot of people who 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. Like, they don’t really like me and, you know, they have their reasons and that’s fine, but they don’t really like me enough to come to my funeral,” she explained.

“(They come) because it’s politically correct and they don’t want to look bad. So I want to take the pressure off them and I want my funeral to be like a love fest,” she continued. “I don’t want people to cry or to privately say, ‘Thank God that bitch is dead now.'”

The late actress announced in 2017 that she was in remission, but revealed in February 2020 that she was battling stage 4 breast cancer. A year later, she said she was “fighting for her life” during a virtual appearance on “Good Morning America” ​​in October 2021.

“I never want to have surgery (as if I were going to die),” she explained at the time.

In 2023, her cancer spread to her bones. Her marriage to ex-husband Kurt Iswarienko also ended when she filed for divorce in April, claiming he cheated on her for two years. She said she discovered the alleged infidelity shortly before her brain surgery.

On June 14, she filed papers in Los Angeles demanding a monthly payment of $15,343 in spousal support and that Iswarienko, 49, contribute $9,100 toward her attorney’s fees and costs.

“Due to my recurring health issues, I am largely unable to work and have no prospects for future employment. Today, virtually all of my income is residual income from work I performed prior to my marriage,” Doherty said in court documents obtained by People. “The majority of my residual income comes from a television series called Charmed. I recently learned that ‘Charmed’ will no longer be available on any of the major streaming platforms after June 30, 2024. As a result, my future residual income will drastically decrease.”

“It is simply not right that Kurt is allowed to delay our divorce in the hope that I will die before he has to pay me the money, while he continues to live his life and shirk his responsibilities to his dying wife of more than 11 years,” she added in her lawsuit.

A lawyer for Iswarienko strongly denied the allegations and claimed that he wanted to finalize the divorce in September 2023. He allegedly offered her a settlement, which she denied at the time.

“Kurt is not just waiting for Shannen to die,” Katherine Heersema wrote, according to the documents. “He wants the best for Shannen and he wants them both to be able to put this case behind them and move on.”

Two months before filing the lawsuit, Doherty announced in April that she would sell her personal belongings “just in case.”

“Cancer has really made me rethink my life and shift my priorities, and right now my priority is my mom,” she said on her podcast. “I don’t want her to have to deal with a bunch of stuff. I don’t want her to have four storage rooms full of furniture, because I’m obsessed with furniture.”

“I don’t get any joy out of it and others don’t get any joy out of it, and do I really need it? Do I need three dining room tables? The answer is no, none of us really need all the stuff we have and we could all use a little bit of slimming down to not be hoarders, which I’ve become with all my furniture,” she continued. “It feels like you’re giving up something that was very important and special to you. But you know it’s the right thing to do and that it will give you a sense of peace and calm because you’re helping the people you’re leaving behind have a cleaner, easier transition.”

Several of Doherty’s former co-stars and friends paid tribute to her on Sunday, including “Charmed” star Rose McGowan, who called her a “warrior,” and “Beverly Hills, 90210” stars such as Jason Priestley, who played her TV brother and TV mother Carol Potter, as well as Brian Austin Green and Gabrielle Carteris.

Carteris, 63, shared an Instagram photo of the sky and honored Doherty by also remembering late co-star Luke Perry, who died of a stroke in 2019 at the age of 52. Perry and Doherty played famous couple Dylan McKay and Brenda Walsh, respectively, on the series, which ran for 10 seasons from 1990 to 2000.

“So young – so sad. Rest in peace Shannon,” she wrote. “I know Luke is there with open arms to love you.”