"We bonded through a shared battle" — Olivia Munn reflects on friendship with Shannen Doherty upon Charmed alum's passing at 53

Shannen Doherty died on Saturday, July 13, after battling breast cancer for several years. Several celebrities from the entertainment industry paid tribute to the late actress, including Olivia Munn. She took to Instagram after the news surfaced online and mentioned she was "absolutely heartbroken" by Doherty's death.

Munn, who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, posted an emotional tribute for the actress and stated how they had “bonded through a shared battle.” She mentioned that she reached out to the Charmed star when she was first diagnosed and the duo became "instant friends."

“I am absolutely heartbroken over the passing of Shannen Doherty. When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer I remember how she bravely let the world into her journey and reached out to her. We became instant friends, which I honestly couldn't comprehend at times because watching her on 90210 was everything to me when I was 10," she wrote.

She continued:

“We bonded through a shared battle and a desire to help other women. Looking back on the last text she sent me just a couple months ago, she asked how I was doing and if she could do anything for me.... True to form, Shannen was offering her support even though she was in the final stage of fighting this horrific disease.”

Olivia Munn then concluded her message by stating that while cancer can be “scary,” Shannen Doherty faced it with “dignity, strength and grace.”

Shannen Doherty was 53 years old at the time of her death. The No One Would Tell actress was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, while Munn revealed her diagnosis in April 2023.

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Shannen Doherty battled stage 4 breast cancer which spread to her bones

Having been diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2015, Doherty underwent several surgeries and treatments, and announced in 2017, that she had gone into remission. However, in 2019, she announced that her cancer had returned and the following year informed that she had been diagnosed with metastatic stage 4 cancer.

In November 2023, Shannen Doherty spoke to People and shed light on her stage 4 breast cancer, which had spread to her bones. This came after she shared an Instagram post in June and informed that her cancer had spread to her brain and she underwent surgery for the same in early 2023.

She told People in 2023 that she did not "want to die" and 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.”

In one of the last episodes of her podcast Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty on June 24, she said she was set to "start chemo probably a couple days after" the episode. She mentioned that she felt like she was "walking into the unknown" and spoke about the "scary" experience as she said:

"It becomes very real in an incredibly different way because I have no idea how long I'm gonna be on the chemo for."

She added:

"That's not something that I can predict. It's not something my doctors can predict. And it's scary."

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Doherty, born in 1971 was best known for her roles in Little House on the Prairie, Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Heathers, Beverly Hills, 90210, Fortress, and more.