Who is Kurt Iswarienko? Everything to know about Shannen Doherty's ex-husband

Shannen Doherty recently passed away from breast cancer, which she'd been struggling with since 2015. She was a well-known actress throughout the 1990s, best known for her role as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills 90210 and Prue Halliwell in Charmed.

From 2011, she was married to professional photographer Kurt Iswarienko until she filed for divorce in 2023.

While she'd initially praised him for his support while she'd battled breast cancer, the divorce was a drawn-out affair that didn't finalize before her death.

Kurt Iswarienko has a storied career in Hollywood, having worked on films starring Ryan Gosling, Scarlett Johanssen, and Kumail Nanjiani. His portfolio includes still photographs, short films, and trailers. Furthermore, Kurt has also worked with beauty brands like Estée Lauder and Chanel for short-segment videos.

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Shannen Doherty married Kurt Iswarienko in a ceremony that made it to TV

Shannen Doherty in the 1989 film, Heathers. (Image via New World Pictures)

Shannen Doherty had a reality TV series called Shannen Says that aired on WE TV from April to May 2012. It followed the wedding preparations she'd made with her fiancee in the lead-up to their wedding ceremony, which had originally happened in October 2011.

Shannen Doherty and Kurt Iswarienko were inspired by shows such as Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and Deadliest Catch. In a May 2012 interview with the Huffington Post, Shannen explained her reasoning:

"Can you bring all of those qualities to reality TV? Can you be that brutally honest, that completely raw, but with the quality of those two shows where you do use different cameras and you do want it to look spectacular?"

While the reality TV series tried to avoid the sensationalism of its peers in the market, there were nonetheless signs of relationship trouble in the episode "When It Comes to Kurt's Career, He's Single", wherein Kurt goes off on an overseas engagement without informing Shannen. However, the series did culminate in the successful wedding of Shannen Doherty and Kurt.

In October 2011, the couple tied the knot in Malibu, Calif. The actress chose to wear a ballgown for her wedding.

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Shannon praised Kurt for his support after her cancer diagnosis

When speaking to Entertainment Tonight in August 2016, Shannen opened up about her struggles with breast cancer and praised Kurt for always being there for her. In her own words:

"My marriage was always strong, but it's made my marriage a thousand times stronger. He's never missed a chemo. He's never missed a sick day."

Shannen was originally with her mother when she first got her diagnosis. In the interview, she shared that she planned on telling Kurt about it in person, only to end up calling him and telling him about it. She then shared how Kurt waited to meet her in her driveway and reassured her that everything would be okay.

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Shannen and Kurt's marriage fell apart in 2023

One of Shannen's later roles was co-starring with Bruce Willis in 2021's Fortress. (Image via Lionsgate)

Shannen originally struggled with her breast cancer from 2015 to 2017, when it went into remission. However, the cancer returned in 2020 and began metastasizing throughout her body.

In 2023, Shannen Doherty filed for divorce from her husband, citing "irreconcilable differences." The divorce proceedings dragged on till 2024, with Shannen accusing Kurt in June of deliberately dragging out the proceedings by refusing to turn over the financial documentation she'd requested.

Kurt's attorneys denied this accusation and instead claimed the delay was due to Shannen refusing a settlement that had been worked out in October 2023.

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Kurt Iswarienko is active on his Instagram account and has recently worked on Fly Me to the Moon, starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum. As of writing, he has yet to comment on Shannen Doherty's death.