Shannen Maria Doherty was born April 12, 1971, in Memphis, Tennessee. The daughter of Tom, a bank employee, and Rosa, the owner of a beauty parlor, went from Memphis Belle, to Hollywood bitch.

It turns out that Shannen Doherty has a lot to thank the late Michael Landon for. After her family moved to Los Angeles when Shannen was 7, she knew she wanted to pursue an acting career. Things moved quickly, and she made her debut at age 10, with a role on the series Father Murphy.

Shannen Doherty on little house on the prarie

Michael Landon saw her on Father Murphy, and cast her as Jenny Wilder on the final season of Little House on the Prairie (she appeared on several made-for-TV Little House movies in the years that followed). Shannen Doherty was still doing the TV rounds with appearances on ’80s shows such as Cagney & Lacey and Magnum P.I., and rejoined Michael Landon on an episode of Highway to Heaven.

By the time she was cast in the 1986 series Our House, Shannen Doherty had appeared on the big-screen in Night Shift and Girls Just Want To Have Fun (with pre-pubescent Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt). Then in 1989, a grown up Shannen Doherty costarred with Winona Ryder in Heathers.

Shannen Doherty on beverly hills, 90210

However, it was in 1990 that Shannen Doherty’s life would take a major turn when a little show called Beverly Hills, 90210 hit TV screens. The popular teen drama invaded the houses of pimple-faced and angst-ridden teens every week, and teenage girls everywhere related to Brenda Walsh, Shannen Doherty’s character.

After 4 years as the Minnesota-turned-Bev Hills twin, Shannen Doherty left the show, allegedly because of constant tardiness as well as fights with cast mates and producer Aaron Spelling.

Shannen Doherty in playboy

A tabloid favorite, Shannen Doherty became the girl everyone loved to hate, as her love life played like a Beverly Hills, 90210 episode and her personal life a Jerry Springer episode. She was engaged and separated to Dean Factor by 1991, engaged and separated to Chris Foufas by 1992 and married Ashley Hamilton (son of the always tanned George Hamilton) two weeks after meeting him, and they divorced after less than a year.

Shannen Doherty had a brief courtship with actor Judd Nelson after they met on the set of the 1994 film Blindfold, and in true Hollywood fashion, started dating director Rob Weiss, broke up with him, got engaged and broke up with him again.

Shannen Doherty appeared partially nude in Playboy in 1993 and 1994; got into an actual physical fight with a woman in a bar; and was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving on December 28, 2000, to which she pleaded innocent in March 2001.

While her personal life has been making tabloid headlines, her professional career went more the way of a slew of Made-for-TV movies, including: Forever Young, Obsessed, Freeze Frame, Jailbreakers, A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story, and Sleeping With the Devil. She also starred in the cult-favorite Mallrats, and costarred with Christina Applegate in Nowhere.

Shannen Doherty in charmed

Shannen Doherty’s TV star-potential proved that it was going anywhere but nowhere, when she was cast in 1998 as Prue Halliwell in the WB’s successful Charmed (working with Aaron Spelling once again). As part of a sexy sisterly trio of witches, along with Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs, Shannen Doherty proved that life after Beverly Hills, 90210 wasn’t all that bad. On May 14, 2001, Spelling Televison confirmed Shannen Doherty’s departure from the show, allegedly due to on-set cattiness between her and Alyssa Milano.

After a lead in the ’02 flick The Rendering and the ’03 TV movie Nightlight, Shannen Doherty was busy working out her latest relationship-gone-bad — in 2002, she married Rick Salomon, only to divorce him in ’03. Then, she had a regular stint on the show North Shore, appearing in 11 episodes, through till 2005.

Shannen Doherty in 90210

Laying low on the Hollywood scene for awhile, interest in Shannen Doherty was sparked once again when it was announced that a reprisal of Beverly Hills, 90210 would soon be hitting airwaves. Just called 90210, costarring like Shenae Grimes, AnnaLynne McCord and Jessica Stroup.
To buy a cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it leaves one unsatisfied. What more can one want?

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role
1982 Night Shift Bluebird
The Secret of NIMH Teresa (voice)
1985 Girls Just Want to Have Fun Maggie Malene
The Other Lover Alson Fielding
1987 Alf Loves a Mystery[25] The Lady in Red
1989 Heathers Heather Duke
1991 Forever Young Party Girl
1992 Freeze Frame Lindsay Scott
Obsessed Lorie Brindel
1994 A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story Margaret Mitchell
Almost Dead[26] Doctor Katherine Roshak
Blindfold: Acts of Obsession Madeleine Dalton
Jailbreakers Angel Norton
1995 Mallrats Rene Mosier
1996 Gone in the Night Cindi Dowaliby
1997 Friends ‘Til The End Heather Romely
Sleeping with the Devil Rebecca Dubrovich
The Ticket[27] CeeCee Reicker
Nowhere Valley Chick #2
1999 Striking Poses[28] Gage Sullivan
2000 Satan’s School for Girls Beth Hammersmith/Karen Oxford
2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back Herself
Another Day Kate
2002 Hell on Heels: The Battle Of Mary Kay Lexi Wilcox
2003 View of Terror Celeste Timmerman
2007 Christmas Caper Kate Dove
2008 Kiss Me Deadly Marta
The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon Sarah Jordan
2009 Encounter with Danger[29] Lori
2010 Burning Palms Dr. Shelly
Growing the Big One[30][31] Emma Silver
2011 Witchslayer Zhore

TV series

Year Title Role Notes and Awards
1981 Father Murphy Drusilla Shannon Nominated: Young Artist Award
1982 The Phoenix Little Girl
Voyagers! Betty Parris
1983 Little House on the Prairie Jenny Wilder (1982–1983) Nominated: Young Artist Award (1983, 1984)
Little House: Look Back To Yesterday Jenny Wilder
Magnum, P.I. Ima Platt
1984 Airwolf Phoebe Danner Nominated: Young Artist Award
Little House: Bless All The Dear Children Jenny Wilder
Little House: The Last Farewell Jenny Wilder
The New Leave It to Beaver Laurie 1 episode
1985 Highway to Heaven Shelley Fowler
Robert Kennedy & His Times Kathleen Kennedy
1986 Our House Kris Witherspoon (1986–1988) Nominated: Young Artist Award (1987, 1988)
Out Laws Young Girl
1989 21 Jump Street Janine
1990 Life Goes On Ginny Green
1990 Beverly Hills, 90210 Brenda Walsh (1990–1994)

Young Artist Award (1993)

Nominated: Young Artist Award (1991, 1992)Nominated: TV Land Awards (2007)

1992 The Secret Of Lost Creek Jennie Fogel
1998 Charmed Prue Halliwell (1998–2001)

Nominated: Saturn Award (1999, 2000)

2002 The Rendering[32] Sarah Reynolds
2004 North Shore Alexandra Hudson (2004–2005)
2005 Love, Inc. Denise Johnson episode (1.01)
Category 7: The End of the World Faith Clavell
2008 90210 Brenda Walsh (Season 1)
2010 Mari-Kari[33][34] Mari-Kari (voice)

TV shows

Year Title Role Notes and Awards
2003 Scare Tactics Hosts
2006 Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty Hosts
2010 Dancing with the Stars Competitor Eliminated March 30

Director

Year Title Episode Title Season/Episode Number
2000 Charmed Be Careful What You Witch For season 2 episode 22
2001 Charmed The Good, the Bad and the Cursed season 3 episode 14
Charmed All Hell Breaks Loose season 3 episode 22

Producer

Year Title Role TV/Movie
2001 Another Day co-executive producer TV
2006 Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty executive producer TV
Better Off: Insecurity Check executive producer TV

Writer

Year Title Episode Title Role
2006 Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty Dancing by Myself creator
Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty You Need My Helpline: Chemistry Test creator

Choreographer

Year Title Episode Title Season/Episode Number
2001 Charmed Coyote Piper season 3 episode 14

Miscellaneous crew

Year Title Role Song/Soundtracks
1997 Friends ‘Til The End Singer: Heather Romely “Stop”, “Does Anybody Hear Me?”, “Friends ‘Til the End”

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