Sarah Michelle Gellar reflected on her 30-year-long friendship with the late Shannen Doherty in an Instagram post that she paired with images of her and Doherty’s companionship over the years.
“How do you possibly find the right words to sum up 30 years of friendship? I keep reminding myself it only hurts this much because, there was so much love,” Gellar wrote on Monday. “Thank you, for all your kind words and support. I love all the messages about how @theshando was important to you.”
The slide of 10 photos showed the two bonding through eventful outings, horseback riding trips and regular bestie meetups. Their friendship was also strengthened with both actresses taking roles on the fledgling WB network in the late 1990s. The actress also included more images of the two in her Instagram stories. As she concluded her post, Gellar suggested that Doherty’s fans honor her by supporting the lives of animals — one of Doherty’s passions.
“So let’s honor her. More than anything, Shan loves animals, especially dogs. In her memory let’s support our favorite animal charities,” Gellar said. “Whether that’s donating money, stopping by your local shelter and just offering cuddles and walks to animals housed there or even just tagging them in the comments so other people can learn about their work. I know that would make our girl happy (and illicit that deep throaty laugh we all loved).”
As TheWrap previously reported, the “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Charmed” star died on Saturday at the age of 53 after a battle with breast cancer. She was first diagnosed with the disease in 2015 — in November 2023 she revealed the cancer had metastasized and spread to her bones.
“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,” Doherty’s publicist told People. “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.”
While Doherty will always be known for her performances in “Little House on the Prairie,” “No One Would tell,” “Fortress” and more, the actress recorded four episodes for the “Charmed” rewatch podcast “The House of Halliwell” before she died. The actress made the announcement on the last episode of her “Let’s Be Clear” podcast on July 8. The rewatch series is hosted by “Charmed” costars Holly Marie Combs, Brian Krause and Drew Fuller.
According to the podcast’s website, the cast will “have an authentic and genuine conversation about each successive episode — the demon du jour, over-arching themes, outfit choices, hair choices, man choices (lol), memories from set and their individual acting process for any given scene.”
