Olivia Munn Became ‘Instant Friends’ With Shannen Doherty Amid Respective Cancer Battles
Olivia Munn revealed she is “absolutely heartbroken” over the death of Shannen Doherty.
“When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, I remembered how she bravely let the world into her journey and [I] reached out to her,” Munn, 44, wrote via Instagram Story on Sunday, July 14. “We became instant friends — which I honestly couldn’t comprehend at times because watching her on [Beverly Hills,] 90210 was everything to me when I was 10.”
Doherty died on Saturday, July 13, at the age of 53 following a lengthy battle with cancer. The Charmed alum was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, ultimately going into remission. By 2020, the illness had recurred and later spread to her bones.
Munn, for her part, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023. She publicly disclosed her battle in March.
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“We bonded through a shared battle and a desire to help other women,” Munn wrote on Saturday. “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.”
Munn continued, “True to form, Shannen was offering her support even though she was in the final stage of fighting this horrific disease. Cancer is really f—king scary and Shannen faced it with such dignity, strength and grace.”
Munn further wanted to send “all of [her] love” to Doherty’s mother, who was the late actress’ “best friend, hero and champion every step of the way.”
“Fly so high my friend,” Munn concluded, also dropping the same line in the comments of Doherty’s last Instagram post on June 25.
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Both Munn and Doherty have frequently been candid about their cancer battles. Weeks before her death, Doherty broke down about the struggles of starting another round of chemotherapy treatment.
“I’m having to go back on chemo and it’s really hard,” she tearfully said on the June 24 episode of her “Let’s Be Clear” podcast. “The idea of going through that all over again has wrecked me.”
Doherty added, “It’s wrecked me in the sense of, yes, I knew I had stage 4 and yes, I knew it was really serious, but when you have to go to the hospital and you have to, you know, get put under [and] a port, put in you, it becomes very real in an incredibly different way.”
According to Doherty, she also needed to be ready to switch up her plan in case of an unexpected outcome.
“[This is] not something that I can predict,” she added. “It’s not something my doctors can predict. And it’s scary. It’s like a big wake-up call.”
