Tori Spelling

Tori Spelling
Spelling at the The Heart Truth Fashion Show in 2009.
Born	Victoria Davey Spelling (1973-05-16) May 16, 1973[1] Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, author
Years active	1981–present
Spouse(s)	Charlie Shanian (2004–2006; divorced) Dean McDermott (2006–present)
Children	4
Parents	Aaron Spelling (deceased) Candy Spelling
Relatives	Randy Spelling (brother)
Website
www.torispelling.com

Victoria Davey "Tori" Spelling (born May 16, 1973)^[2] is an American actress and author. Her first major role was Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1990. She appeared in a string of made-for-television films, such as A Friend to Die For (1994) and Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? (1996). Spelling also rose to prominence through independent films such as The House of Yes (1997), Trick (1999) and Cthulhu (2007). She reprised her prominent role in the spinoff, 90210, in 2009.

Her autobiography, sTORI Telling, debuted on top of the New York Times Best Seller list and was named the best celebrity autobiography of 2009.^[3]

Divorced from playwright Charlie Shanian, Spelling is married to Dean McDermott. They have four children.

Early life

Victoria Davey Spelling^[4] was born on May 16, 1973 in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of Candy (née Marer; born 1945) and television and film producer Aaron Spelling (1923–2006).^[5] She has a younger brother, Randy, a former actor who as of 2009 works as a life coach. Her parents, both Jewish, were descended from immigrants from Russia and Poland;^[5][6] Spelling's family celebrated both Christmas and Hanukkah while she was growing up.^[7][8] Her middle name comes from her paternal grandfather, David. She attended Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California, but graduated from Harvard-Westlake School^[9] in 1990.^[10]

Career

Early work

At age six, Spelling was given acting lessons from an acting coach hired by her father Aaron and subsequently landed guest spots on shows such as The Love Boat, T. J. Hooker, Hotel, Fantasy Island, Vega$, and Saved by the Bell. At the age of 17, she landed the role of Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210, a series co-produced by her father Aaron's company Spelling Television. Spelling portrayed Donna for the show's entire run and was nominated for two Young Artist Awards.^[11][12] Donna remained a virgin for about seven years, that is until the finale of the seventh season, supposedly due to Aaron Spelling's edict.^[13]

While starring on 90210, Spelling was cast in a number of made-for-television films, including Co-Ed Call Girl (1992), A Friend to Die For (1994), and Mother, May I Sleep with Danger? (1996). Subsequently, Spelling appeared in several independent films including The House of Yes (1997) and Trick (1999).^[14][15]

2006–2009

In 2006, Spelling starred as herself in the VH1 sitcom So NoTORIous, which parodied her public image. In January 2007, she and her second husband Dean McDermott decided to purchase and operate a bed and breakfast hotel in Fallbrook, California. They became the basis of a new reality show, Tori & Dean: Inn Love, which premiered on the Oxygen network on March 20, 2007.^[16] In July 2007, Spelling became a minister to marry a gay couple at Chateau La Rue. A tape of the ceremony was shown on Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood.^[17] In June 2008, the show returned for a third season under the new name Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood. In the new season, Spelling and McDermott discontinued running the inn, and they returned to Los Angeles where they struggled to balance buying a new home, their second child Stella, and Spelling's book tour. In May 2009 Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood was aired for a fourth season.

On January 7, 2009, it was reported that Spelling would reprise her role as Donna Martin on the new CW show 90210.^[18] She appeared in two episodes (19 and 20) as a special guest star.

Spelling's fashion and jewelry line premiered on HSN. She released an autobiography, sTori Telling, on March 11, 2008. Her second book titled Mommywood was released on April 14, 2009.^[19]

2010–present

In 2010, Spelling released her third book, uncharted terriTORI. Spelling told People: "I love sharing my stories and experiences with people and connecting to them on both a humorous and emotional level. The response to my first two books has been so amazing that I wanted to write a third one for my fans."^[20]

Spelling's spin-off series Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings premiered on April 6, 2011.^[21] Later that year, Spelling voiced the Pirate Princess in Jake and the Never Land Pirates. She played a role in the comedy short movie "Hoarders: Untold sTori" which premiered at the Outfest Film Festival in July 2011.^[22]

On September 4, 2011, Spelling made an appearance on Big Brother 13.^[23]

On April 21, 2012, Spelling hosted My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic 'Royal Wedding' special, celebrating the show's second season finale. She also hosted the series premiere of Craft Wars, where three new contestants each episode battle against each other crafting for a chance to earn $10,000.^[24][25]

On December 18, 2012, Spelling appeared on Nick Jr's Yo Gabba Gabba and performed a skit where she baked cookies for the characters on the show. This was part of a Christmas special for the show. The special, included other famous guests such as Tony Hawk and My Chemical Romance.^[26][27]

It was announced on August 26, 2013, that production has started on a new reality television series titled Tori & Dean: Cabin Fever.^[28] The series chronicles Spelling, her husband, and their four children as they move to a lakeside cabin in Ontario, Canada while renovating it into their vacation home.^[28] Eight, half-hour episodes will be produced and air on CMT Canada and HGTV in 2014.^[28]

Personal life

On July 3, 2004, Spelling married actor and playwright Charlie Shanian^[29] in a lavish $1 million ceremony. They separated in October 2005^[30][31] Shanian cited dissolution of marriage when he filed for the divorce. Their divorce was finalized on April 20, 2006.^[32]

Spelling married Dean McDermott less than a month later, on May 7, 2006, in a private ceremony in Wakaya, Fiji. McDermott was formerly married to Mary Jo Eustace, but they separated and divorced after his affair with Spelling.^[33] Spelling and McDermott renewed their vows on May 8, 2010 in Beverly Hills.^[34] McDermott brings to the marriage son Jack (October 1998); he did not finalize Lola's adoption, so she was adopted singularly by Eustace.

The couple has four children: sons Liam Aaron (born March 13, 2007) and Finn Davey (born August 30, 2012),^[35] and daughters Stella Doreen (born June 9, 2008)^[36] and Hattie Margaret (born October 10, 2011).^[37]

Spelling's father Aaron died on June 23, 2006. She was anticipated to inherit a sizable portion of her father's $500 million estate. The estate was to be divided primarily between Spelling, her brother Randy, and her mother Candy. Candy was the estate executor, but she and Tori were estranged. Tori and her brother each inherited $800,000,^[38] although Randy was not estranged.^[38] It was reported that Candy established a $10 million trust fund for Tori Spelling's eldest child, Liam.^[39]

In her sixth book, "Spelling It Like It Is," Tori admitted to having financial troubles, due to their reality show getting cancelled, poor real estate decisions, and a very difficult fourth pregnancy. ^[40] In explanation, Spelling said, "...as my real estate obsession persists, it's starting to look more compulsive. Moving is expensive, and I've put us in a precarious financial situation." ^[41] After her fourth pregnancy, Spelling shared that husband Dean McDermott wanted to get a vasectomy but they couldn't afford it. Spelling claims that she hasn't bought a new purse in three years, but seems to have a caviar taste with her current tuna fish budget. "Even when I try to embrace a simpler lifestyle, I can't seem to let go of my expensive tastes," she said in an interview.^[42]

Spelling now claims to be repurposing, using hand-me-down clothes for her children, and toning down her children's once lavish birthday parties. “I can’t afford to live like this anymore. Our circumstances have changed,” she explained. Brighter sights may be on the horizon though, as she is set to start a new television show, "Mystery Girls" with former 90210 co-star Jennie Garth.^[43]

Filmography

Tim Gunn and Spelling co-presenting at an event in November 2007.

Multimedia

Soundtrack

• Trick (January 27, 1999)

Books

Spelling has written six books. Three were published by Gallery Books, while one was published by Aladdin Books and one book published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment. Her sixth book will once again be published by Gallery Books.^[44]

• Her first book, sTORI Telling (2008) was a New York Times bestseller.^[45][46]
• In 2009, Mommywood was published about her experiences with her children.^[47]
• A third book, UNCHARTED TERRITORI, was released in 2010.^[48][49]
• Presenting Tallulah (2010) is her first picture book.^[50][51]
• In 2012, Spelling published her first party-planning book, CelebraTORI.
• Her sixth book, Spelling It Like It Is, was released on October 22, 2013.^[44]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tori Spelling.

• Official website
• Tori Spelling at the Internet Movie Database
• Tori Spelling at People.com