| Shannen Doherty | |
|---|---|
at premiere party for CW's 90210, Malibu, California – Aug. 23, 2008 |
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| Born | Shannen Maria Doherty April 12, 1971 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, director, producer, author |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Spouse | Ashley Hamilton (m. 1993–1994) Rick Salomon (m. 2002–2003) Kurt Iswarienko (m. 2011–present) |
| Website | |
| www.shannen-doherty.net | |
Shannen Maria Doherty (English pronunciation: /ˈdoʊ.ərti/; born April 12, 1971) is an American actress, producer, author and television director, known for her work as Heather Duke in Heathers (1989), as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990–1994) and its spinoff series 90210, and as Prue Halliwell in Charmed (1998–2001).
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Doherty was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of Rosa, a beauty parlor owner, and Tom Doherty, a mortgage consultant. She has an older brother (by four years) named Sean. Doherty has Irish ancestry with Catholic roots, though she was raised in her mother's Southern Baptist religion. When she was seven (in 1978), her family moved to Los Angeles, and she immediately announced that she wanted to be an actress. She speaks French and Spanish.
Doherty had guest spots on TV series including Voyagers!, Father Murphy, and Airwolf starting in 1981. When a casting notice was released in Hollywood for a regular role on the popular Little House on the Prairie, she jumped at the opportunity and eventually won the role of Jenny Wilder at the age of 11, thanks in part to actor/producer Michael Landon seeing her guest spot on Father Murphy, which he also produced. Doherty stayed in the series until the show's cancellation in 1983. In 1982, Shannen lent her voice talents to the animated film The Secret of NIMH. In 1985, Doherty starred as Maggie Malene in teen-comedy movie, Girls Just Want To Have Fun, alongside actresses Helen Hunt and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Doherty was cast as the oldest Witherspoon sibling, Kris, on the family drama Our House, which ran from 1986 to 1988, a role which garnered her several Young Artist Award nominations. She then went on to appear in an episode of Magnum, P.I., followed by an episode of Airwolf. Doherty's first major motion picture role was in Heathers, released in 1989. In 2006, the film was ranked #5 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies.
Doherty garnered worldwide attention and fame for her breakout role as Brenda Walsh in the Aaron Spelling-produced TV series Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1990. In 1991 and 1992 her portrayal of Brenda earned her a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series.[1] In 2004, E! placed the character at number ten on their list of the 50 Most Wicked Women of Prime Time.[2] Doherty departed the show at the end of the fourth season in 1994. Her character was written off the show as moving to London to attend school at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Arts.
While the character's absence was originally described as only being for a year, she never returned to the original series despite being mentioned from time to time during the show's remaining seasons (although she would reprise the role of Brenda later in the The CW's updated version of the show in 2008). She was replaced with former Saved by the Bell star Tiffani Thiessen, who played Valerie Malone. Her career afterward consisted primarily of made-for-TV movies, though she also had a lead role in Kevin Smith's 1995 film Mallrats.
In 1998, Spelling cast her in another TV series, Charmed, in which she played lead character Prue Halliwell, the oldest of three sisters who discover they are witches. Doherty also directed a few episodes for the series during season 2 and 3. Doherty left the show in 2001,at the end of the third season, resulting in her character's death, and the introduction of Rose McGowan's character Paige Matthews. Reportedly, the reason for her departure was because of tensions between Doherty and co-star Alyssa Milano. [3] Though she had left the show long before it ended, she continued to own five percent of the rights to the series.
Doherty was also twice nominated for the Saturn Award, Best Genre TV Actress for her performance in Charmed, in 1999 and 2000 respectively.[4] In 2007, AOL named Prue Halliwell the 10th greatest witch in television history.[5]
In 2003, Doherty hosted the Sci Fi Channel candid camera show Scare Tactics during its initial season.[6] After her stint on Scare Tactics Doherty, in a return to her prime-time soap roots, starred as a regular on the short-lived TV series North Shore. She starred as Alexandra Hudson from 2004–2005. Later in 2005, Doherty was cast in the new TV comedy Love Inc. Although she filmed the original pilot, she was dropped from the show just months before its television debut.
Doherty later went on to produce and star in her own reality show, Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty, which premiered on the Oxygen network in 2006. In the show Doherty goes around doing "dirty work" for members of the public, including dumping boyfriends or telling people what their friends really think about them. The show was canceled after one season due to poor ratings. She also starred in the popular British sitcom Bo! in the USA, a brain child of Leigh Francis. In the show, she plays herself, being randomly harassed by Avid Merrion (Francis), who claims they are lovers. The show aired in October 2006 on the British Channel 4, and she appeared in several episodes.
In 2007, Doherty appeared in two television projects. First up was the pilot Kiss Me Deadly: A Jacob Keane Assignment for the here! network, and then the holiday film Christmas Caper for ABC Family. That same year Doherty also set up a production company called "No Apologies" in which she developed a TV drama for herself. In 2007, Doherty was ranked as number 96 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 100 Greatest Television Icons. In 2008, Doherty was featured on the Swedish television show High Chaparall, appearing in the second episode of the show's fourth season.
After 14 years since her last television appearance as Brenda Walsh, Doherty in 2008 joined the cast of the Beverly Hills, 90210 spin off for The CW Television Network, for a reported $40,000–50,000 an episode.[7] She returned as a guest star, reprising her old role of Brenda Walsh in four of the new series' initial six episodes. Her character, now a successful theater actress and stage director, returned as the guest director of the high school musical. After her initial guest spot was completed, Doherty stated she was open to returning to the series later in the season[8] and eventually agreed to appear in three additional episodes with her most recent appearance airing in May 2009.[9][10]
The writers were eager to have her share scenes with Jennie Garth, who also reprised her 90210 role of Kelly Taylor.[11] It was reported that Doherty and Garth's characters would both have a romantic interest in the character Ryan Matthews (Ryan Eggold),[12] reminiscent of their old rivalry for former bad boy character Dylan McKay (Luke Perry). Doherty and Garth later confirmed that the reports about the love triangle between their characters were false.[13]
Doherty played a lead role in the SciFi Channel adventure film The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon. The film premiered on the cable network on December 20, 2008.
In late 2008, Doherty was announced to co-star alongside Dylan McDermott in the indie film Burning Palms, a satire based on Los Angeles stereotypes told through five intertwining storylines.[14]
On March 1, 2010, it was announced that Doherty will be a celebrity contestant on Dancing with the Stars for the tenth season. The season premiere was on Monday, March 22, 2010.[15] Doherty was paired with two-time champion Mark Ballas in his 6th season on the show,[16] but the pair was the first couple eliminated in the second week on March 30. The judges have said "Doherty wouldn't have left if we would have just done scores". She wanted to do Dancing with the Stars to make her ailing father proud.[17] Doherty returned for the finale.
Doherty starred in FEARnet's animated web series Mari-Kari, which launched on June 3, 2010.[18] Mari and Kari are identical twins, but Kari is a ghost. Doherty voiced both Mari and Kari in this eight-episode show.[19]
WE tv announced on July 21, 2011, that she will star in a one-hour reality series that follows her and her fiance, Kurt Iswarienko, as they plan their wedding. The show is scheduled to premiere in 2012.[20]
Doherty is spokesperson for Education Connection, which is helping her to get an online college degree.[21]
In January, 1993, California's United Bank took her to court for $36,000 they claimed she owed them after bouncing more than 70 checks.[22] Later in 1993, Doherty's ex-fiance, Dean Factor, obtained an order of protection against her after Doherty allegedly pulled a gun on him and "threatened to hire a few guys to beat me and to sodomize me".[23] Shannen Doherty was married to Ashley Hamilton, son of actor George Hamilton, from September 1993 to April 1994, when they divorced.[24] Her seven-month marriage to Rick Salomon was annulled in 2003.[25]
In 2001, Doherty was sentenced to either 10 days in jail or 20 days of work-release duty, three years probation, and was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine for drunk driving charges.[26]
She has appeared several times, nude, in Playboy magazine.[26] Her first appearance was in December 1993, followed by a spread in March 1994.[27] She posed for the magazine again in December 2003, and has been featured in a 10-page pictorial.[28][29]
Doherty is a fan of the TV series 24, and on the show's Season 4 DVD set, she provides audio commentary on "3:00 PM – 4:00 PM" with episode writer Evan Katz.[26]
On October 15, 2011, Doherty married Kurt Iswarienko in Malibu.[30]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Night Shift | Bluebird | |
| 1982 | The Secret of NIMH | Teresa (voice) | |
| 1985 | Girls Just Want to Have Fun | Maggie Malene | |
| 1985 | The Other Lover | Alison Fielding | |
| 1987 | Alf Loves a Mystery | The Lady in Red | |
| 1989 | Heathers | Heather Duke | |
| 1991 | Forever Young | Party Girl | |
| 1992 | Freeze Frame | Lindsay Scott | |
| 1992 | Obsessed | Lorie Brindel | |
| 1994 | A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story | Margaret Mitchell | |
| 1994 | Almost Dead | Doctor Katherine Roshak | |
| 1994 | Blindfold: Acts of Obsession | Madeleine Dalton | |
| 1994 | Jailbreakers | Angel Norton | |
| 1995 | Mallrats | Rene Mosier | |
| 1996 | Gone in the Night | Cynthia "Cindi" Dowaliby | |
| 1997 | Friends 'Til The End | Heather Romely | |
| 1997 | Sleeping with the Devil | Rebecca Dubrovich | |
| 1997 | The Ticket | CeeCee Reicker | |
| 1997 | Nowhere | Valley Chick #2 | |
| 1999 | Striking Poses | Gage Sullivan | |
| 2000 | Satan's School for Girls | Beth Hammersmith/Karen Oxford | |
| 2001 | Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back | Herself | |
| 2001 | Another Day | Kate | |
| 2002 | Hell on Heels: The Battle Of Mary Kay | Lexi Wilcox | |
| 2002 | The Rendering | Sarah Reynolds | |
| 2003 | View of Terror | Celeste Timmerman | |
| 2007 | Christmas Caper | Kate Dove | |
| 2008 | Kiss Me Deadly | Marta | Also known as The Delphi Effect |
| 2008 | The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon | Susan Jordan | |
| 2009 | Encounter with Danger | Lori | Nominated Three Emmy's And A Grammy |
| 2010 | Burning Palms | Dr. Shelly | |
| 2010 | Growing the Big One | Emma Silver | Hallmark Channel TV movie |
| 2011 | Gretl | Zhore / Gretl | Also known as "Witchslayer" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Father Murphy | Drusilla Shannon | Nominated—Young Artist Award |
| 1982 | The Phoenix | Little Girl | |
| 1982 | Voyagers! | Betty Parris | |
| 1982–1983 | Little House on the Prairie | Jenny Wilder | Nominated–Young Artist Award (1983 and 1984) |
| 1983 | Little House: Look Back To Yesterday | Jenny Wilder | |
| 1983 | Magnum, P.I. | Ima Platt | |
| 1984 | Airwolf | Phoebe Danner | Nominated—Young Artist Award |
| 1984 | Little House: Bless All The Dear Children | Jenny Wilder | |
| 1984 | Little House: The Last Farewell | Jenny Wilder | |
| 1984 | The New Leave It to Beaver | Laurie | 1 episode |
| 1985 | Highway to Heaven | Shelley Fowler | |
| 1985 | Robert Kennedy & His Times | Kathleen Kennedy | |
| 1986–1988 | Our House | Kris Witherspoon | Nominated—Young Artist Award (1987 and 1988) |
| 1986 | Out Laws | Young Girl | |
| 1989 | 21 Jump Street | Janine | |
| 1990 | Life Goes On | Ginny Green | |
| 1990–1994 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Brenda Walsh | Young Artist Award (1993) Nominated—Young Artist Award (1991 and 1992) Nominated—TV Land Awards (2007) |
| 1992 | The Secret Of Lost Creek | Jennie Fogel | |
| 1998–2001 | Charmed | Prue Halliwell | Nominated—Saturn Award (1999, 2000) |
| 2004–2005 | North Shore | Alexandra Hudson | |
| 2005 | Love, Inc. | Denise Johnson | |
| 2005 | Category 7: The End of the World | Faith Clavell | CBS Miniseries |
| 2008–2009 | 90210 | Brenda Walsh | Season 1 |
| 2010 | Mari-Kari | Mari/Kari (voice) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Scare Tactics | Host | |
| 2006 | Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty | Host | |
| 2010 | Dancing with the Stars | Competitor | Eliminated March 30 |
| 2011 | Les Anges de la Télé Réalité 3 : I Love New York | Special Guest Star | NRJ 12 French reality series |
| 2012 | Shannen Says | WE tv upcoming reality series |
| Year | Title | Role | Episode title/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Suite 7 | Adrianne | Company |
| 2011 | Suite 7 | Series Director | Captive Audience |
| 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 |
| 2001 | Charmed | All Hell Breaks Loose | Season 3, episode 22 |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Another Day | co-executive producer | |
| 2006 | Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty | executive producer | |
| 2006 | Better Off: Insecurity Check | executive producer |
| Year | Title | Episode title/Note | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty | "Dancing by Myself" | creator |
| 2006 | Breaking Up with Shannen Doherty | "You Need My Helpline: Chemistry Test" | creator |
| 2010 | Badass: A Hard-Earned Guide to Living Life with Style and (Right) Attitude | author |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | A Room Of My Own | nun | with Ralph Macchio and Mario Cantone |
| Year | Title | Episode title | Season/Episode number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Charmed | Coyote Piper | Season 3, episode 9 |
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