Shannen Doherty

Shannen Doherty
Shannen Doherty
Born	Shannen Maria Doherty
Years active	1981 ─ present
Spouse(s)	Ashley Hamilton (1993 ─ 1994) Rick Salomon (2002 ─ 2003)

Shannen Maria Doherty (born April 12, 1971) is an American actress and television director, perhaps best known for her work as Heather Duke in Heathers, as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 and as Prue Halliwell in Charmed.

Biography

Early life

Doherty was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of Rosa, a beauty parlor owner, and Tom Doherty, a mortgage consultant. Doherty has Irish Catholic ancestry, though was raised in her mother's Southern Baptist religion. In 1978, when Doherty was seven, her family moved to Los Angeles and Shannen immediately announced her dreams to become an actress. In an interview in the December 2006 issue of Glamour Magazine Shannen said:

"When I was nine, my mother developed an excruciating headache and had to be hospitalised - she was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. She came through it but the experience was terrifying. The following year my father had a massive stroke. In a single year I nearly lost both my parents. I felt my classmates couldn't relate to what I was going through, so I closed myself off."

Success began early, with guest spots on TV series including Voyagers! and Father Murphy. When a casting notice was released in Hollywood for a regular role on the popular Little House on the Prairie Shannen leapt at the opportunity and eventually won the role of Jenny Wilder at just 11 years old, thanks in part to actor Michael Landon seeing Shannen's guest spot on Father Murphy.

Career

Doherty was cast as the oldest Witherspoon sibling, Kris, on the family drama Our House, which ran from 1986 to 1988. She then went on to appear in an episode of Magnum, P.I. Doherty's first major motion picture role was in Heathers, released in 1989. She went on to star in the Aaron Spelling-produced TV series Beverly Hills 90210 for four years, from 1990 to 1994. Her departure from the series was reportedly acrimonious, however, and her career afterward was somewhat spotty, marked for the most part by made-for-TV movies. There were a few bright spots, however, particularly a lead role in Kevin Smith's 1995 film Mallrats.

In 1998, Spelling cast her in another TV series, Charmed, in which she played Prue Halliwell, the oldest of three sisters who discover they're witches, along with occasionally directing some of the episodes. She left that series in 2001, after three years. Rumors persist that her departure was against her will, due to a feud with co-star Alyssa Milano. Though she had left the show long before it ended, she owns 5% of the rights to the series. until the 2004 season. She was a former regular on the failed TV series North Shore, a return to her prime-time soap roots.

In 2005, Doherty was cast in the new TV comedy Love Inc. but was dropped from the show just months before the debut in fall because of a personality clash with fellow cast members. Doherty now starring in her own show, Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty on the Oxygen network. In the show she goes around doing "dirty work" for members of the public, including dumping boyfriends or telling people what their friends really think about them.

She recently starred in the popular British sitcom Bo! in the USA a program of brain child Leigh Francis. In the show she plays the role of herself being randomly harassed by Avid Merrion (Francis) who claims they had several intimate relations, she however is unaware of any of these. The show aired in October 2006 on the British channel 4 where she appeared in several episodes. It has been announced that she will appear in two TV projects in 2007. First up is the gay spy pilot Kiss Me Deadly: A Jacob Keane Assigment for the here! network, and then the holiday picture Christmas Caper for ABC Family.

Personal life

Doherty was sentenced to either 10 days in jail or 20 days of work-release duty, three years probation, and ordered to pay a $1500 fine for drunk-driving charges in 2001.

In February 2004, Doherty entered into an altercation with actress Tara Reid at a Miami nightclub. In the incident, a drunken Reid fell backward off a couch, crashing to the floor near Doherty. Reid started yelling at Doherty, who then punched her. Reid tried to get Nicole Richie's bodyguard to remove Doherty from the club, to which Doherty replied, "I don't care. She needs to go to rehab." Later that night, Reid was reportedly so drunk, she had to be carried out by bouncers.

Filmography

• 1981 Father Murphy as Drusilla
• 1982 Night Shift as Bluebird
• 1982 The Phoenix as Little Girl
• 1982 The Secret of NIMH as Teresa (voice)
• 1982 Voyagers! as Betty Parris
• 1983 Little House on the Prairie (TV series) as Jenny Wilder (1982-1983)
• 1983 Little House: Look Back To Yesterday as Jenny Wilder
• 1983 Magnum, P.I. as Ima Platt
• 1984 Airwolf as Phoebe Danner
• 1984 Little House: Bless All The Dear Children as Jenny Wilder
• 1984 Little House: The Last Farewell as Jenny Wilder
• 1985 Girls Just Want To Have Fun as Maggie Malene
• 1985 Highway to Heaven as Shelley Fowler
• 1985 Robert Kennedy & His Times as Kathleen Kennedy
• 1985 The Other Lover as Alson Fielding
• 1986 Our House as Kris Witherspoon (1986-1988)
• 1986 Out Laws as Young Girl
• 1989 21 Jump Street as Janine
• 1989 Heathers as Heather Duke
• 1990 Life Goes On as Ginny Green
• 1991 Forever Young as Party Girl
• 1992 Freeze Frame as Lindsay Scott
• 1992 Obsessed as Lorie Brindel
• 1992 The Secret Of Lost Creek as Jennie Fogel
• 1993 Saturday Night Live (Host)
• 1994 A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story as Margaret
• 1994 Almost Dead as Doctor Katherine Roshak
• 1994 Beverly Hills, 90210 as Brenda Walsh (1990-1994)
• 1994 Blindfold: Acts Of Obsession as Madeleine Dalton
• 1994 Jailbreakers as Angel Norton
• 1995 Mallrats as Rene Mosier
• 1996 Gone In The Night as Cindi Dowaliby
• 1997 Friends 'Til The End as Heather Romley
• 1997 Sleeping with the Devil as Rebecca Dubrovich
• 1997 The Ticket as CeeCee Reicker
• 1997 Nowhere as Valley Chick #2
• 1998 Charmed as Prue Halliwell (1998-2001)
• 1999 Striking Poses as Gage Sullivan
• 2000 Satan's School For Girls as Beth Hammersmith/Karen Oxford
• 2001 Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back as Herself
• 2001 Another Day as Kate
• 2001 Gary & Mike as Breeze(voice)
• 2002 Hell on Heels: The Battle Of Mary Kay as Lexi Wilcox
• 2003-2004 Scare Tactics as host
• 2003 Nightlight as Celeste
• 2004 Glitterati as Jamie Fields
• 2005 Category 7: The End Of The World as Faith Clavell
• 2005 Love, inc. as Denise Johnson (pilot) (uncredited)
• 2005 North Shore as Alexandra Hudson
• 2006 Bo In The USA as herself (Channel 4 comedy show)
• 2006 Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty as Hostess
• 2006 The View as co-Hostess July 31 & August 1 (ABC talk-show)
• 2007 Kiss Me Deadily
• 2007 Auntie Claus aka Christmas Caper as Kate Dove (ABC Family)

Director

• 2000 Charmed "Be Careful What You Witch For"
• 2001 Charmed "The Good, the Bad, and the Cursed"
• 2001 Charmed "All Hell Breaks Loose"

Producer

• Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty (executive producer) (1 episode, 2006)
• Better Off: Insecurity Check (2006) TV episode (executive producer)
• Another Day (2001) (TV) (co-executive producer)

Miscellaneous crew

• 1997 "Friends 'Til The End" (singer: "Stop", "Does Anyone Hear Me?", "Friends 'Til the End")
• 2001 Charmed "Coyote Piper" (choreographer)

External links

• Template:Tvtome person
• Spanish/English web site
• official site