Shannen Doherty Revealed Her Desire to Be a Mom Shortly Before Her Death

Shannen Doherty got candid with fans in the months before her death, including her desire to be a mother. Doherty passed away on Saturday, July 13, but she had been sharing her thoughts and feelings on her terminal cancer diagnosis for months in advance – mostly on her podcast Let’s Be Clear. In one episode back in January, she revealed that she had been “desperately” trying to get pregnant before she got sick.

Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, and she went into remission from 2017 to 2020 before the disease returned. During an episode of her podcast with guest Dr. Lawrence Piro, Doherty revealed that she and her ex-husband had been trying to get pregnant up until her relapse. She said: “Not only did I want a child for myself, but I wanted it for my husband. I wanted it for our marriage. I wanted him to have that part of himself fulfilled as well.”

Doherty married Kurt Iswarienko in 2011, when she was 40 years old. She said that they both wanted children at the time, but since they were in their “later years” they couldn’t rely on natural conception. She said: “So when it was time to have that decision, we needed IVF, and I did a bunch of rounds of it.” However, Doherty’s first battle with cancer put an end to that, and included a mastectomy in 2016. Soon after, she began to experience menopause.

Doherty and Iswarienko separated in early 2023, and in June of that year Doherty revealed that she had been given a terminal diagnosis. However, the actress’ maternal feelings didn’t end there, and she admitted several times that she was still hopeful she would recover and have children. In the meantime, she got fulfillment from various forms of found-family, including the children of her friends and relatives.

“I think I would love nothing more than to be a mom,” she told PEOPLE in November of 2023. “I always wanted it, and I think if I did it with my best friend or a partner, then I don’t know any amount of time… I look at kids who don’t have parents at all, and I think if I adopt a child or whatever it is, any amount of time is better than nothing. Maybe. I don’t know.”

Doherty said she was “just waiting for one of thos clinical trials” to give her hope about her condition, but she had children to care for while she waited. She said: “I’m biding my time, and in the meantime, I’ve got my best friend’s kids, and my brother [Sean]’s seven kids. They’re all grown up, but that’s okay.”