Shannen Doherty had particular instructions for her funeral and burial preparations before she died.
The actress, who died on Saturday, July 13, at the age of 53, discussed death on an episode of her podcast, Let’s Be Clear, in January.
“I want my remains combined with my dog and my parents. “I do not want to be buried or cremated,” she stated at the time, adding that her loved ones should scatter her ashes in “a healthy mixture” of methods.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 star then discussed how her loved ones may be spreading her and her father’s ashes in Malibu, California, where the two spent “precious time,” or another destination they both adored.
She expressed interest in the concept of utilizing her remains to “grow them into a tree.” Doherty envisioned a “shorter” guest list for her funeral.
“There’s a lot of people that I think would show up that I don’t want there,” she told me. “I don’t want them there because their reasons for showing up aren’t necessarily the best reasons, 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.”
“They’ll turn up because it’s the politically acceptable thing to do, and they don’t want to seem terrible, so I sort of want to take the heat off them and make my funeral a love fest. I don’t want people to be sobbing or secretly saying, ‘Thank God that bitch is dead now,'” Doherty said.
On another edition of Let’s Be Clear in April, the Charmed actress discussed how she was letting go of tangible items that were no longer bringing her pleasure, in part to make the transition after her death simpler for loved ones.
“It feels like you’re giving up on something that was very special and important to you,” she said of emptying out a storage container. “But you know that’s the proper thing to do, and it will bring you peace and tranquility. Because you’re making the transition simpler for the individuals you’re leaving behind.”
In the episode, Doherty, an antique furniture collector, discussed her decision-making process for which objects to get go of.
“I’m not enjoying it, and neither are others. Do I really need any of it? Do I need three dining room tables? She questioned herself. “The answer is no, none of us really need all the stuff that we have, and we could all do with a little bit of downsizing and not become a hoarder, which I was doing with all my furniture.”
She then said that in her latter years, she would prioritize making memories with friends and family above material possessions.
“I don’t need this, and it doesn’t really offer me much pleasure, but what does bring me enormous joy is bringing my mother to places she’s always wanted to see,” she said, adding, “I get to construct other memories – I get to build memories with the people I care about. I’m not going to go into the money in my estate to ensure that everyone in my life is taken care of.”
Doherty went on to recall a vacation she had with her mother to Italy a few years ago to create those memories.
“My mom had tears pouring down her face because she never really thought that she would see that, and she certainly didn’t think that she was going to be able to see that with me,” Doherty told me. “These are the most important things. “Not your possessions or what you have.”
The Heathers actress confessed that letting go of goods provided her with “freedom.”
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. In a cover story for November 2023, she reported that the illness had spread to her bones.
In the last episode of Let’s Be Clear, which aired on Monday, July 8, before her death, Doherty informed her friend and former co-star Holly Marie Combs that the major reason she continued to work was to ensure her mother’s financial security after she died.
Doherty had planned to join Combs on her friend’s Charmed Revisit podcast before she died.
How did Shannen Doherty get famous?
At the age of 19, she was cast in Aaron Spelling’s long-running popular series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) as Brenda Walsh, the twin sister of Brandon Walsh, portrayed by Jason Priestley. She garnered media attention and became a household name.
How rich is Shannen Doherty?
Financially, Doherty was very successful. Her net worth at the time of death was reported to be $5 million. She earned $17,500 each episode during the early days of “90210” and $75,000 per episode on “Charmed.”
