Film and Acting of Shannen Doherty

Shannen Maria Doherty, also nicknamed “Shando”, is an American actress and author, as well as a choreographer, TV producer and director. She was born to Tom and Rosa Doherty on April 12 of 1971 in Memphis, Tennessee and has an older brother named Sean; her astrological sign is Aries. She has an Irish Catholic background but currently identifies as a Southern Baptist and is a registered Republican. Shannen Doherty is best known for her roles in the TV series “Little House on the Prairie”, “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Charmed”. She stands 5'4” and is allegedly allergic to chocolate.

Early Acting Career
Her pursuit of a career in film began as a child shortly after her family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1978; by the age of 10 she had already landed her first role on TV starring as the character Drusilla Shannon in Father Murphy. She subsequently had a part on the television series The Phoenix. After that she appeared in the time-travel inspired TV series Voyagers!, playing the guest role of Betty Parris. Her biggest break as a child actor came when actor Michael Landon saw her acting talent in Father Murphy. He was impressed enough with what he saw that he selected her for a role as Jenny Wilder in the hit series Little House on the Prairie. She would later reprise this role three more times in Little House spin-offs. In 1982 she starred in her first movie as Bluebird in Night Shift, and she did voice acting for the animation The Secret of NIMH as the character Teresa. In 1985 she starred as Maggie Malene in Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Alison Fielding in The Other Lover. In 1987 she played the part of the Lady in Red in Alf Loves a Mystery.


Rise to Prominence
Shannen Doherty’s big break on the path to stardom came in 1989 when she was cast to play Heather Duke in Heathers. As a result of that performance, she impressed Tori Spelling, the daughter of famous TV and film producer Aaron Spelling. This would lead to Aaron Spelling selecting her for the part of Brenda Walsh in the soon-to-be hit prime time soap opera Beverly Hills 90210 in 1990. Her portrayal of Brenda in 90210 earned her a nomination for a Young Artist Award in the category of Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series; she then won the Young Artist Award during her time in 90210 in 1993. Although she departed the show after four seasons, she would later reprise the role that had bought her so much fame by returning to a new re-launched version of the series in 2008. Her next successful television series came in 1998 and was once again courtesy of Aaron Spelling. In her new role she starred as Prue Halliwell, the oldest of three witch sisters who protect innocent humans from demons and the supernatural in the TV series Charmed. The series was extremely successful and as a result she received a nomination for the Saturn Award and Best Genre TV Actress. Although Shannen was a major character on the show, she departed after three seasons. Despite leaving the show, she still retains rights to a portion of the profits from the series.

Life Following Charmed
After leaving Charmed in 2001, she appeared in several made for television movies such as Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay in 2002, Category 7: The End of the World in 2005 and the ABC Family movie Christmas Caper in 2007. Doherty's next recurring television role in a series came in 2004 on the drama North Shore. The role, however, was short lived as the show was canceled after one year. In 2006, after Star Jones departed from the ABC network talk show The View, Shannen Doherty served as a co-host for 2 episodes. In 2008 she returned to the latest incarnation of Beverly Hills 90210 where she reprised her former role as Brenda Walsh for several episodes. In addition to starring in serial drama on television, Doherty was also involved in several reality series serving as the host for Scare Tactics and again for Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty. In 2010 she also appeared as a contestant on Season 10 of the successful television dance competition, Dancing with the Stars. Also in 2010, Shannen lent her voice to the eight episode animated series Mari-Kari about identical twins - one living and one a ghost. Mari-Kari is a web based series on FEARnet and Doherty voiced both characters Mari and Kari.


Public Appearances
In 2001 Shannen Doherty attended the Westwood premiere of Ocean's Eleven and Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone. She appeared at the Los Angeles premiere of the movie S.W.A.T. In 2003, she made an appearance at the Comic Con in Anaheim, California in April of 2010 and the Fall 2010 Fashion Week. She also led the Pledge of Allegiance at the 1992 Republican National Convention. In 2011 she attended the Weinstein Company and Relativity Media Golden Globe awards.


Pictorial and Magazine Cover Appearances
Doherty has frequently posed for Playboy Magazine; appearing three times since 1993. Her first feature was a partially nude spread in Playboy’s December 1993 issue. She then made the cover of Playboy’s March 1994 issue, appearing in its "Safe Sex Great Sex" pictorial. She was in the November 2003 issue and graced the cover of the December 2003 edition of Playboy. She has appeared in several issues of Celebrity Sleuth magazine: 1993 (Issue #6), 1994 (#7), 1995 (#8),1997 (#10), and 2004 (#35). In addition, she has also appeared in Celebrity Skin: April 1995 (Issue #17), December 1999 (#21), and December 2003 (#27). Other pictorial appearances include Mayfair (1994; #29), Maxim (June 1999; #3), Entrevue (May 1999; #82), and FHM (December 2000; #1). She has also been featured on the cover of numerous magazines, including People, TV Guide (United States and United Kingdom versions), US magazine, Sky Magazine, Teen, Rolling Stone, Seventeen, and Hitkrant in the Netherlands.


Awards and Nominations
Shannen Doherty received her first nomination in 1981 for role in Father Murphy, as a candidate for the Young Artist Award. She received two more nominations for this award in 1983 and 1984 for her role in Little House on the Prairie and another nomination in 1984 for her appearance in Airwolf. Doherty was nominated again for the Young Artist award in 1987 and 1988 for her role as Kris Witherspoon in the TV series Our House, and in 1991 and 1992 for her role in Beverly Hills 90210. Eventually she won the Young Artist award for her performance in 90210 in 1993, and was nominated for the TV Land Awards in 2007 for her part in the night time soap opera series. In 1999 and again in 2000 she received two nominations for the Saturn Award for her performance on the TV series Charmed. She received a nomination for three Emmy's and a nomination for a Grammy for her role as Lori in the movie Encounter with Danger in 2009.


Beyond Her Acting Career
In 1992, Shannen Doherty starred in the music video “Real Love” by the heavy metal band Slaughter. She served as a director for three Charmed TV episodes: “Be careful What You Witch For” in 2000, as well as “The Good, the Bad and the Cursed”, and “All Hell Breaks Loose”, both in 2001. She was the co-producer of “Another Day” in 2001, where she also had a starring role as the character Kate. She also produced 2 episodes of the TV series Suite 7 in 2011 (“Company” and “Captive Audience”), one of which she also directed (“Captive Audience”). She was a choreographer for Charmed in the episode “Coyote Piper”. In 2007 she started her own production company called “No Apologies” which produced 14 episodes of Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty on the Oxygen Network; for this TV series she was the host, writer and director. In 2009 she deviated from acting and took a job as art director for Pasadena Magazine. She was the subject of a biographical movie, "E! True Hollywood Story: Shannen Doherty" which aired in 2003.


In Print
In 2010 Doherty published the book Badass: A Hard-Earned Guide to Living Life with Style and (the Right) Attitude. In her book she wrote about the difference between a self-destructive “bad girl” and what she refers to as a “badass”, which she defines as someone with integrity, compassion and the ability to learn from their mistakes. Her book contains advice and commentary about dating and how to successfully deal with treacherous people who call themselves friends (also known as “frenemies”). Badass is a semi-autobiography about her personal trials and triumphs in life. In addition, another book, Shannen Doherty: The American Dream was written in 2007 by Samantha Robson and Dianna Newman. It is a biographical account of her life and career which also features exclusive comments from Shannen Doherty to her fans.


Personal Life
Doherty was engaged to Dean Factor in 1991, then to Chris Foufas in 1992. In 1993 she met Ashley Hamilton (son of the famous actor George Hamilton) and married him after a two week courtship. Their marriage, however, was short lived and came to an end in 1994. She then married Rick Salomon in 2003 but the marriage was annulled after 9 months, following his involvement in the infamous Paris Hilton sex tape scandal. Her other relationships included Luke Perry, Jason Priestly, Judd Nelson, and Rob Weiss. She is a fan of the TV series 24 and has provided commentary on the Series 4 DVD release alongside writer Evan Katz. Her hobbies include horseback riding and playing the guitar. She has a tattoo of an Irish Catholic cross on her right foot; it used to have an additional tattoo with the letters “Rob”, after her boyfriend Rob Weiss; however she had it removed following their break up. She signed up for Dancing With the Stars to honor her ailing father, John Thomas Doherty, who died in 2010 at the age of 66. She currently owns two homes – a mansion in Malibu and a horse ranch in Ventura County. She is friends with Charmed co-star Holly Marie Combs.


Quotes by Shannen Doherty

Film Appearances (By Year)


TV Movies (By Year)


TV Series & Shows (By Year)

Reality TV Series

Guest Appearances (as herself; sorted by year of first appearance)