Information about Shannen Doherty

Shannen Doherty
Birth name	Shannen Maria Doherty
Born	March 12 1971 (1971--) (age 36) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
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

Shannen Doherty was born on April 12, 1971 in Memphis, Tennessee to Tom, a bank worker, and Rosa, a beautician. Shannen has Irish Catholic ancestry,^[1] though was raised in her mother's Southern Baptist religion.^[2][3] In 1978, when Shannen was only 7, the Doherty 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

She 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 sister of a coven of 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. Doherty was going to go for the role as Piper Halliwell but she got cast as Prue and her best friend at the time, Holly Marie Combs got the role as Piper. She hosted Scare Tactics on the Sci Fi channel 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

In the early 1990s, she was targeted by a young woman who attacked celebrities in nightclubs, before suing them, claiming the celebrity started the attack. Shannen defended herself against the woman, punching her in the face. The tabloid press ignored the motives of the young woman, spending more time claiming that Shannen attacked her in a drunken rage.

In the early seasons of Beverly Hills 90210, Doherty dated co-star actor Jason Priestley. Doherty posed for a nine-page pictorial in the December 2003 issue of Playboy magazine.

She married actor Ashley Hamilton, son of George Hamilton in September 1993, only two weeks after they first met. They divorced in April 1994. In 2002, she married internet millionaire Rick Salomon. After Salomon's famous sex tape with heiress Paris Hilton was released, Shannen ended the marriage, divorcing him in early 2003. She has also been engaged twice. Her first fiancée was real estate dealer Chris Foufas, who split with Shannen after he became convinced that she cheated on him. Her second fiancée was millionaire Dean Factor (heir to the Max Factor cosmetics throne) but their engagement was marred with violence and Factor took out a restraining order on her, shortly after they separated.

In 2004, she got into a fight with actress Tara Reid at a Miami nightclub. During the incident, a drunken Reid fell backward off a couch and crashed to the floor near-by Shannen. Reid started yelling at Shannen, who then punched her. In February, 2004 Tara tried to get Nicole Richie’s bodyguard to throw Shannen out of the club. To which Shannen 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.^[4]

In late July 2006, rumors began circulating that Doherty had plastic surgery. In August, tabloid Star Magazine published the first pictures - a cover of the issue can be seen at Doherty Do Over^[5] (this issue saw a general release date of August 3, 2006). Gossip columnists reported that Doherty was so upset over the front page coverage that she cancelled a shoot for her reality TV series. She made an appearance on The View on July 31, 2006 to counter that she had not had plastic surgery.

In an interview in the December 2006 issue of Glamour - magazine, Shannen said: "When I was 27, my mom said 'Honey don't pretend this stuff isn't hurting you. If you go through your whole life being so self-protective, you're going to feel sad a lot.' Something about what she said woke me up. I realised I would rather have people know me as the shy, awkward person I am than the tough bitch. I got rid of a lot of people in my life. And after lots of therapy, and lots of patience and love from my family, I started to allow myself to open up."

Problems with the law

Shannen had her wages garnished by California United Bank when she was on Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) because she wrote nearly $32,000 worth of bad checks.

In September 12 1997 Shannen was sentenced to anger-management counseling by the Beverly Hills Municipal Court for an incident that occurred in August 1996; she got into an argument with 22-year-old Corey Hanker and smashed a beer bottle on his car window as he tried to drive away from her.

In 2001 Doherty pleaded not guilty to a drunk-driving charge. Her lawyer denied that she had as much alcohol in her blood as authorities contend. Doherty had been arrested in December by California Highway Patrol officers after they spotted her pickup truck weaving on the Ventura Freeway. Prosecutors said a blood test showed her blood-alcohol level was 0.13 percent. The legal limit is 0.08 percent. Doherty was sentenced to three years probation, fined $1,500 and ordered to do community service.

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 as Jenny Wilder (1982-1983)
• 1983 as Jenny Wilder
• 1983 Magnum, P.I. as Ima Platt
• 1984 Airwolf as Phoebe Danner
• 1984 as Jenny Wilder
• 1984 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 as Margaret
• 1994 Almost Dead as Doctor Katherine Roshak
• 1994 Beverly Hills, 90210 as Brenda Walsh (1990-1994)
• 1994 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 as Lexi Wilcox
• 2003-2004 ''
• 2003 Nightlight as Celeste
• 2005 as Faith Clavell (2005) (CBS miniseries)
• 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 (Oxygen) reality show)
• 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"

Miscellaneous crew

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

References

External links

• Shannen Doherty at the Internet Movie Database
• Shannen Doherty at the Notable Names Database
• Shannen Doherty at TV.com