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” |




