Biography
Shannen was born in Memphis, Tennessee on April 12, 1971, which makes her an Arien. Her father worked in a bank while her mother owned a beauty parlour. In 1978 the young Shannen (who was only seven at the time) and her family moved to Los Angeles, where her father started a West Coast branch of the family transportation business. Shannen has always been close to her family, who disciplined her from a young age. Her Mother, Rosa Doherty, once washed Shannen's mouth out with soap because she swore. Her Father's name is Tom and she has a big brother called Sean, who is five years older than her. She knew she wanted to pursue an acting career at the tender age of seven. Things moved quickly, and she made her debut at age 10, with a role on the series 'Father Murphy'.
Shannen was a confident student, involving herself in school performances and trying hard at class work, making sure she always had exceptional grades. Despite her confidence, she kept herself to herself and preferred to be alone rather than be with large groups of people. "I had more fun playing by myself than with anybody else," she says. "I guess I was born that way. But at the same time, I was outgoing. I did all these plays, and when I was in Tennessee, I was active in the church. But I never really had sleepovers. I always wanted my time away from others."
She cracked into the entertainment world aged just 11 years, starring in 'Little House: A New Beginning' as Jenny Wilder. "I used to watch Little House on the Prairie. And I wanted to work with Michael Landon really desperately." This was the dream of many young girls, but Shannen had the incredible determination and good fortune to actually end up on Little House. It was Michael Landon who noticed her performance in an episode of Father Murphy, when he decided to cast her. She then went on to appear in 'Our House' with Deidre Hall and Wilford Brimley. She starred alongside Sarah Jessica Parker in 'Girls Just Want To Have Fun' and then in 'Heathers', a black comedy which Winona Rider also starred in.
Shannens real success came in 1990, at the age of 19 she scored a part on Beverly Hills 90210 as the character Brenda Walsh, who was a teenage twin sister to Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestly). She Attracted a lot of attention from the press and eventually got a celebrity status. It was a very successful popular teen drama and teenage girls everywhere related to Brenda Walsh, Shannen Doherty's character.
1994 - Shannen leaves Beverly Hills 90210, and her claim to fame. She wants more privacy and stays out of the public eye for a while. She worked on 'MallRats' and 'Almost Dead' to keep her acting career alive.
She slowly did her celebrity status justice again, appearing in 'Gone In The Night', 'Robert Kennedy & His Times', 'Sleeping With The Devil', 'The Ticket' and the much loved 'Friends Til The End'
In 1998, she was offered the part of Prue Halliwell on Charmed, a show about three witches who protect the innocent. She starred alongside Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs (her best friend). After just three seasons, she leaves to work on other projects, such as movies. She had directed three of the last episodes she had starred in. She has already been in three movies since leaving Charmed, which are 'The Rendering' (AKA: 'Portrait of Murder') 'Another Day' 'The Battle of Mary Kay' and 'Night Light' (AKA: 'View of Terror'). She also hosted season one of 'Scare Tactics' and eight episodes of season two but had to leave so she could work on her own show. Her new show is called 'Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty'. As well as being in the show, she is also producing it. She is also working on another new project, where she will be just producing. She is very interested in working behind the scenes.
Shannen's beauty has attracted many guys over the years. A few of her ex's include, Dean Factor - (owns photo studio; met in 1990; briefly engaged; separated 1991), Chris Foufas - (real-estate developer; couple exchanged commitment rings 1991; separated 1992). She married Ashley Hamilton - (son of perma-tanned actor George Hamilton) in September 24, 1993, but they got divorced five months later because she felt they weren't right for each other and they married within 2 weeks of meeting. Judd Nelson - (actor; together 1994; met on the set of Blindfold), Rob Weiss (actor, director; met in 1994; announced engagement December 1995; reportedly separated April 1996). Richard solomon - (who is a producer) and Shannen got married in secret in Las Vegas on January 24th 2002, in front of family and friends. They were married for nine months, but their union was annulled in late 2003, but remain good friends. She is currently in a relationship with photographer, Kurt Iswarienko.
Facts
Full name: Shannen Maria Doherty
Date of birth: April 12, 1971
Place of birth: Memphis, Tennessee, USA
Star sign: Aries
Moon sign: Scorpio
Religion: Southern Baptist
Family: Her mother, Rosa, father, Tom and her older brother Sean (by 4-years)
Lives in: Malibu, California, USA
Pets: Seven horses (one of which is a pony): Louisito, Alberto, Domingo, Picasso, Samourzakan, Aries Addiction and Thunder. Three dogs: Elfie (German shepherd), Leroy (Kane corso) and Pinky (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel)
Height: 5"4 or 163 cms
Weight: 45kg
Education: Lycée Français
Fave food: She loves America's southern food, specially fried steaks
Fave music: Pink Floyd, U2, Sade, Whitney Houston and Frank Sinatra
Fave books: John Steinbeck's 'East of Eden' and Ernest Hemingway's 'The sun also rises'
Fave shows: 'The Soprano's', 'Sex and the city', 'Desperate Housewives' 'Hell's Kitchen' and 'America's next top model'
Fave movies: 'Scarface', 'Casino' and 'The Graduate'
Fave scary movie:'The Omen' (the 1976 horror classic) Fave actor: Michael Landon who was like a second father to her but sadly passed away in 1991
Fave actresses: Jodie Foster, Katharine Hepburn, Meryl Streep and Whoopi Goldberg
Particular signs: Tattoo. Right ankle - a cross with the sun behind it. Below it has the name 'Rob' after her then-boyfriend, Rob Weiss.
Best quality: She is sincere
Worst quality: She is choleric
Hobbies: Horseback riding, playing video games, and playing the guitar
Car: She drives a pick-up truck (Range Rover Vogue). As of July 2005, She also owns a silver Volks Wagen (Bentley Continental GT) which cost her $150,000
She hates: All the rumors about her and her character, Brenda in Beverly Hills, 90210
Shannen turned down a part in 'Scream'.
She loves Frank Sinatra.
Shannen smoked her first cigarette shooting the pilot episode of 90210.
She is allergic to chocolate, but cannot resist a Twix.
Sang all her own vocals for the movie Friend's Til The End.
Shannen changes her bed sheets every other day, and she also admits that she is a compulsive house mover.
She used to have over 350 pairs of shoes, but gave them to charity.
When she was eleven she started her own shelter, 'ShanDo Kennels' where she used to find home for homeless animals.
She knew Holly Marie Combs 7 years before 'Charmed' ('Piper', former co star from Charmed). She met Holly at a mutual friends party. They are best friends.
Holly describes Shannen as "Strong, determined and loving"
Shannen's first crying scene was on Little House.
She is very good friends with Sarah Michelle Gellar ('Buffy').
She tends to slam doors when she's mad.
Her eyes sometimes changes colors. They go from green too a grayish color.
She beat Alyssa Milano ('Phoebe', former co star from Charmed) out for the role of 'Rene' in Mallrats.
Shannen's favourite colours are blue and green.
She's also allergic to wool.
Her Dad had a stroke.
She dated River Phoenix when they both were very young.
In the Charmed episode 'Coyote Piper', Shannen taught Holly how to dance. She was the choreographer.
She loves cheeseburgers.
She had a 220 pound English mastiff named Max, but he died. Her other mastiff, almost as big as Max, named Isabella also died.
Shannen's older brother, Sean was on 'I'm Telling!' alongside Shannen in episode # 1.17 on January 30th, 1988. (TV series with siblings as the contestants).
She directed 3 episodes of Charmed, which also includes the last ever episode that she was in, 'All hell breaks loose'.
Shannen was the first one to be hired for Charmed. She was given the script and read it with Holly beside her and then went into the office to talk to Mr Spelling about casting Holly too!
She did all of her own stunts on Charmed.
At first Shannen and Holly decided to read Wicca books so they wouldn't offend anybody in Charmed.
When Holly was house hunting, she lived with Shannen in her house. Holly also lived in Shannen's trailer during Charmed.
She lives in Ventura County on a ranch and owns another home in Malibu.
She has a scar on her nose.
She is right handed.
She enjoys tennis and snow skiing.
Her favourite designers are Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Moschino.
She buys all of her horses in Germany.
She stands up for what's wrong or right, and doesn't care who has a problem with it.
She loves playing games on her Playstation and X-box.
Her favourite game is Diablo.
She has been on the Jay Leno show 7 times.
She went to the same School as Jodie Foster went too.
She speaks French and Spanish.
Her GPA in High School was 4.0.
She once did a Sassaby cosmetic cases print advert, Gitano Jeans and she was also in an eyeglass/sunglasses print advert too. She has also done two Pepsi commercials ("The drink you look good holding") and she's appeared in a anti-smoking government advert. She's done a red cross psa at the end of a 90210 episode to encourage people to donate blood with Luke Perry. She even did three Korean commercials for Debon's EZ-UP cosmetics.
She was on the cover of a bridal magazine when she was engaged to Chris Foufas.
She presented a special award to Van Halen at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards.
Appeared in several public service announcments for 'The Adventures Of Teddy Ruxpin' in 1987.
She likes to watch DVDs while eating Deviled-ham sandwiches.
She has Crohn's Disease.
She's been a trapeze artist.
She used to have a crush on Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.
She hates yogurt.
She loved the show 'Party of Five'.
There is a Disney movie made about her great, great, great, grandfather! (called 'The Fighting Prince of Donegal')
She was 12 years old when she first saw Alyssa Milano, dancing at a Hollywood Party.
She's a very good dancer.
She's had her teeth capped.
She takes after her dad and loves to cook.
She loves the Hostess snack, 'Zinger' but she can only have the plain ones since she's allergic to chocolate and coconut.
Her favourite soda is Coke.
She was in the music video for 'Real Love' by Slaughter.
Featured as November on the 2001 FHM calendar.
Shannen was on season 4 of MTV's Celebrity Deathmatch. (clay-animated comedy series, all voices are made up)
Shannen made $75,000 Per Episode on Charmed.
Shannen owns 5% of Charmed.
Shannen's favourite Charmed episodes are 'Which Prue Is It Anyway?' and 'Ms. Hellfire'.
It took her 2 years too persuade her parents to allow her to act.
The blue and white scarf that she wears was made for her by her mother and she's worn it ever since. She has had it for decades and it is her favorite piece of clothing.
She ranked #86 (2001) in FHM-USA's 100 Sexiest Women.
She ranked #15 in Celebrity Sleuth 25 Sexiest Women of 1995.
She ranked #31 (1999) in Maxim's 50 Sexiest Women.
Shannen has been nominated for nine awards. The category for the Saturn award in 1999 & 2000 for Charmed was 'Best Genre TV Actress' and for the young artist awards (for her other work) the categorys were 'Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series', ' Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Drama Series', ' Exceptional Performance By a Young Actress in a New Television, Comedy or Drama Series',' Best Young Actress - Guest in a Television Series',' Best Young Actress in a Drama Series',' Best Young Actress and Guest on a Series'. The shows that she was nominated the young artist awards were Beverly Hills, 90210" (in 1991 & 1992), Our House (in 1987 & 1988), Airwolf (in 1985), Little House on the Prairie (in 1983 & 1984) and Father Murphy (in 1983).
Shannen is germophobic.
Shannen's brother, Sean has seven children!
She buys most of her furniture from Harrod’s, which is a very posh shop in London, England.
She got a seven figure sum for posing in the December 2003 edition of Playboy.
Shannen has regrets but no apologies..."I wish I had conducted myself better on occasion and been more private, but I would rather live my life to the fullest than constantly conduct myself in a certain way to gain approval from others," "I've always been outspoken about my opinions, and there's something to be said for having the courage to just live your life. I have regrets but no apologies."
Shannen has told pals about how she can't find a man! "I'm through with West Coast men!," Shannen declared. "They just don't know what's up. Seriously, they are all bad. All the guys in Hollywood are always hiding something." Shannen says she can't wait to head to Hawaii (where she recently vacationed) to perhaps buy a home. "I'm not turned off to marriage," she says. "Just Hollywood men!" (Star Magazine - November 25, 2003)
On December 1st 2005, Shannen celebrated her 25th year of Showbiz!
Shannen and her dad are huge fans of top-rated American football team the University of Southern California Trojans, and when he heard his daughter was dating quarterback Matt Leinart, he was thrilled...Shannen says, “That would be the perfect son-in-law. My dad was like, ‘Oh my God, is it true, is it true? Matt’s going to be my new son-in-law.’ He was so excited. “Matt is handsome and he is talented and he is a great quarterback, but the truth of the matter is he was in the same club (as me) - and that was it.” Her dad was devastated! It just goes to show you can't believe everything you read in newspapers and magazines!
Brenda Walsh from Beverly Hills 90210 played by Shannen Doherty, was voted #10 out of the 13 most memorably unpopular characters from hit TV-shows!
Shannen says she is ready to settle down in a serious relationship, saying “I feel really well-equipped now, but I think it has more to do with the fact that I’ve been single for so long and not dating and that I’ve learned a lot about myself.”
Shannen reflects fondly of Aaron Spelling: “I don’t think people quite understood our relationship, but there was a lot of love there.”
Shannen on 90210: My audition was horrible. I actually remember walking out and saying: “I lost that job. I blew it.” And the casting director came out and sort of winked at me and said, “I wouldn’t count yourself out yet, kiddo.” And I was like, “O.K., whatever.”
About on-screen reunion with Jennie Garth: "I never felt any tension. I never felt hesitant. Maybe it's because I've grown up. Everybody is a different person when they're 18 or 19 than when they're in their 30s," she says. "It was like I'm going into a new situation and I'm working with somebody I used to work with and, in a way, there's comfort there. For me, I knew it was always going to be fine, and in fact it has been."
Shannen did not get on with her 90210 co-star Jennie Garth when they were both teenagers, but since they both worked on the re-make of the hit show, they are now close friends!
She has been offered a place on the reality show 'Dancing with the stars' every season and has always turned it down.
On the Charmed episode "She's A Man, Baby, A Man!" where she dressed up as a man, she was actually making fun of an ex-boyfriend!
Shannen has a passion for flying! In her free time she is taking flying lessons because her current boyfriend, Kurt is a Pilot. Once time the plane actually had a lot of turbulence and Kurt started to panic which scared Shannen so much that she wanted to know how to control a plane if anything happened to Kurt while up in the air! She now loves flying planes!!
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