Diana Jenkins revealed that she spoke to Shannen Doherty not long before her death, and that she knew it would be her last time talking to her.
On July 14, the former “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star paid tribute to Doherty, who passed away at age 53 one day prior following a long battle with breast cancer.
Doherty’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, told People magazine that Doherty lost her battle with cancer on July 13, 2024, “after many years of fighting the disease.” The “Beverly Hills, 90210” star was described as a “devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend.”
Diana Jenkins Paid Tribute to Her Late Friend Shannen Doherty on Social Media
Hours after Doherty’s death was made public, Jenkins posted an Instagram photo from happier times. In the photo, the late actress posed with Jenkins and pals Iain Douglas-Hamilton and Benson Lyndie. Doherty’s close friend and executor Chris Cortazzo was also in the photo.
In a caption to the post, Jenkins recalled Doherty as a “warrior” in her cancer battle. She then provided details on the last moments that she was able to talk to her.
“Rest in peace our fierce friend,” Jenkins wrote. “You’ll be remembered as warrior to the very end. Shannen you were force to be reckoned with and there was never a dull moment around you. I’ll never forget our last phone call just yupping about irrelevant things yet when we hang up I knew in my heart its the last time in this lifetime we are talking.”
Jenkins did not reveal the date of the last time she talked to Doherty. The actress was in the public eye up to her final days. On the July 8 episode of her “Let’s Be Clear” podcast, Doherty expressed excitement over joining a “Charmed” rewatch podcast with her former co-stars Holly Marie Combs, Brian Krause, and Drew Fuller. The podcast is titled “The House of Halliwell.”
It is also unclear how long Doherty was friends with Jenkins, who starred on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” for season 12 in 2022. In a now-deleted Instagram post in 2022, Doherty joked with Jenkins about needing a “glam squad” and blamed the former reality star for getting her “hooked on #rhobh.”
Jenkin’s former RHOBH co-star Crystal Kung Minkoff responded to her post about Doherty with, “I’m so sorry.”
Co-star Lisa Rinna posted praying hands and heart emoji: “🙏🙏❤️.”
Other former RHOBH stars also reacted to Doherty’s death after Cortazzo posted a tribute to her. “So sorry Chris. My deepest condolences 🙏 ,” wrote Camille Grammer.
“Your angel in heaven now💔Sending much love and light to get through this most difficult time,” added Yolanda Hadid.
Shannen Doherty Requested That Only Her True Friends Attend Her Funeral
As of this writing, plans for Doherty’s funeral have not been released to the public. But one thing the late TV star was always clear about was who she wanted at her funeral. On her “Let’s Be Clear” podcast in January 2024, Doherty revealed that she wanted to be cremated. She also suggested having her ashes scattered somewhere in Malibu, California. Doherty, who was known for her feuds with some of her past co-stars, also made it clear that she wanted a small celebration in remembrance of her life instead of a traditional funeral.
“There’s a lot of people that I think would show up that I don’t want there,” she said in January. “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 [show up] because it’s the politically correct thing to do, and they don’t want to look bad,” Doherty added, “So I kind of want to take the pressure off them and I want my funeral to be like a love fest. I don’t want people to be crying or people to privately be like, ‘Thank God that b**** is dead now.’”