Shannen Doherty has died at the age of 53

On Sunday, she told People: "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.

"The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace."

The TV star started her career as a child in the early 1980s but her major breakthrough came when she starred alongside Winona Ryder in the 1988 dark comedy 'Heathers'.

She then achieved worldwide fame with her role as Brenda Walsh in 'Beverly Hills, 90210' and then starred in a string of television movies.

In later years, Shannen - who was married to Ashley Hamilton in the early 1990s, then to Rick Salomon in the early 2000s and married photographer Kurt Iswarienko but filed for divorce in 2023 - appeared in reality shows and competed on 'Dancing With the Stars' in 2010.

Shannen was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and was in remission by 2017 but her illness returned three years later and in 2023 she revealed it had spread to her bones and brain.

The star underwent surgery towards the end of last year remove a brain tumour she had named Bob and instead at the time that she head worked tirelessly to regain her motor skills and dec lared herself as "not a quitter".

She charted her health battles on the podcast 'Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty' and insisted as late as November 2023 that she "wasn't done" with living.

She said: "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.

"I'm just not - I'm not done."