Shannen Doherty left funeral plans and instructions after her death

Shannen Doherty, the actress known for her work in the series "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Charmed," has died at 53. Doherty had a long battle with cancer, one that started in 2015 and continued with a relapse in 2019. Doherty often spoke about her desire to live and left plans in case she died, preparing her funeral ahead of time to make it easier for her loved ones. 

© Neilson Barnard

Doherty discussed her funeral plans on her podcast, "Let's Be Clear." In one of the episodes, she revealed that she wanted a short list of guests for the event. "There's a lot of people that I think would show up that I don't want there. 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," she said. "[They'll show up] because it's the politically correct thing to do, and they don't want to look bad, so I kinda 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-tch is dead now.'"

She also left instructions for her remains, making it clear that she didn't want to be buried. "I want my remains to be mixed with my dog, and I want it to be mixed with my dad. I do not want to be buried and not cremated."

Doherty suggested that she and her father's remains could be scattered in Malibu, California, where they lived plenty of joyful moments. 

© Aaron Rapoport

Her decision to let go of physical possessions

Doherty shared plenty of confessions and thoughts in her podcast, including her decision to start to let go of physical possessions. "It feels like you're giving up on something that was very special and important to you, but you know that it's the right thing to do and that it's going to give you a sense of peace and a sense of calm. Because you're helping the people that you leave behind just have a cleaner, easier transition," she said.

She revealed that over the course of her life, she loved to collect furniture and decided to begin to let go of those items that she'd once prized. "None of us really need all the stuff that we have, and we could all do with a little bit of downsizing and not become a hoarder, which I was doing with all my furniture," she said.