Who Is Chris Cortazzo? All About Shannen Doherty's Best Friend With Whom She Was Spotted At Her Final Public Outing
Shannen Doherty, 53, died on July 13 after a long battle with cancer. Below we are reflecting on her deep friendship with Chris Cortazzo and their final moments together.
![Shannen Doherty with best friend Chris Cortazzo (Instagram) Instagram](https://www.pinkvilla.com/images/2024-07/34731674_shannen-doherty-with-best-friend-chris-cortezzo.jpg)
Trigger Warning: This article contains a reference to death
Shannen Doherty, who passed away at 53 on Saturday, July 13, of cancer, was last photographed with her longtime best friend Chris Cortazzo at Kristy’s Malibu on June 16. In the paparazzi picture, taken nearly a month before her untimely demise, Doherty looked content and relaxed as she carried a grocery bag, with her friend’s arm wrapped around her shoulder.
After the news of the actress’s demise became public, Cortazzo took to his Instagram to share a video of montages with his departed friend, writing in the caption: “You were my projector, my best friend, and my divine wife. My heart is shattered.”
If your initial impression is that the duo shared a close bond, you are very much on point. Below is everything we know about Chris Cortazzo, Shannen Doherty’s best friend.
Who is Chris Cortazzo: Shannen Doherty’s friend who was more like family
As far as his profession is concerned, Chris Cortazzo is a real estate agent based in Malibu, California. His personal service website notes he was born in the coastal city itself.
Not much is known about how he got acquainted with the Charmed actress, but she sure saw him as her extended family. Doherty, in a November 2023 interview with People, talked about her closeness with Cortazzo, saying, “I have a best friend, a male best friend, who we joke we’re married, and his two kids and I have had massive breakthroughs and we just love each other and hang out, and I kind of view them as my children.”
The actress also regularly featured pictures of dinner dates and outings with Cortazzo on her social media, and he also appeared on Doherty’s Let’s Be Clear podcast.
Shannen Doherty and Chris Cortazzo engaged in a heart-to-heart conversation on the former’s podcast
Cortazzo appeared in a January 2024 episode of Doherty’s podcast, where the duo shared what aspects of them they feel are similar among other things. After a brief conversation on the topic of dealing with an illness in the public eye, Doherty went on to note that she is not the kind of person to have a breakdown in front of other people, but she is also not ironclad. The Beverly Hills, 90210 actress shared that she cries in a closet, to which Cortazzo replied with a curt, “Like me.”
Doherty went on to say of herself and her friend, “We appear to be very strong warriors and we can get through everything, but we’ll have breakdowns.”
Cortazzo, for his part, praised Doherty for taking her cancer journey public and noted how, by doing so, she is encouraging many people out there. Doherty simply thanked her friend in response for teaching her that being strong also means embracing one’s tears and vulnerability. “None of us want to say goodbye to each other,” Cortazzo noted before cracking dark jokes about Doherty’s funeral plans. He was also reportedly with Doherty as she underwent a brain surgery recently.
Shannen Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, and after a battle of nearly a decade, the actress gave up the fight on Saturday, July 13, as shared in an announcement by her longtime publicist Leslie Sloane.
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