Shannen Marie Doherty
Charmed (1998-2006)
Birth date: April 12, 1971
Memphis, Tennessee
American Female Actress
2009 Burning Palms (Dr. Shelly)
Early years for Shannen Doherty
The beautiful vivacious Shannen Maria Doherty was born in Memphis, Tennessee on April 12th 1971. She is an American female actress and producer. Her parents were mortgage consultant Tom Doherty and Rosa who was owner of a beauty parlor. They both died when Shannen was around age nine, which was quite devastating for her.
Shannen who is from Irish Catholic roots was raised in the Southern Baptist church that was her mother’s religion of choice. The Doherty family moved to Los Angeles in 1978 when Shannen was seven years old. At this point the young girl made the announcement that she wanted to become an actress.
Beginning of a successful career
Career success for Shannen began at a young age when she appeared on several popular shows in guest spots. These shows included Father Murphy, Airwolf, and Voyagers. In 1982 there was a casting call out for the role of Jenny Wilder in the new series “Little House on the Prairie”. Michael Landon, star and producer of the show, saw Shannen’s guest appearance on Father Murphy (also produced by Landon) and chose her for the part in Little House. Miss Doherty remained on the series until it ended in 1983.
Acting the part of Kris Witherspoon, Doherty appeared on the drama “Our House” (1986-1988). After that she had an appearance on “Magnum, P.I.” for one episode. Next came an appearance on the popular “Airwolf” that starred Jan Michael Vincent and a helicopter.
Moving up to Bigger Roles
Early appearances for Miss Doherty include “Heathers”, a movie in which she portrayed Heather Duke (1989), and “Beverly Hills 90210” she starred as Brenda Walsh from 1990 to 1994. That series was followed with a spin off simply titled “90210” that began airing in 2008 and gave Shannen Doherty the chance to reprise her role as Brenda Walsh after the fourteen years the series had been off the air.
Charmed life for Miss Doherty
Beginning in 1998 Shannen starred in the television series “Charmed” where she portrayed Prue Halliwell until 2001. Doherty’s character was eldest of three sisters who find out they are all witches. When Miss Doherty decided to end her role in “Charmed” after three seasons, her character was killed off and a replacement character filled the vacancy left by Shannen Doherty. At this point a new character was added to the series by the name of Paige Matthews played by Rose McGowan until the series ended in 2006.
Shannen Doherty Awarded
Shannen Doherty was nominated for the Young Artist Award several times:
• As Drusilla Shannon on Father Murphy in 1981.
• 1983, 1984 for Jenny Wilder on Little House on the Prairie.
• Airwolf in 1984, portraying Phoebe Danner.
• As Kris Witherspoon in Our House in 1987, 1988.
• Beverly Hills 90210 again received a nomination for her role as Brenda Walsh in 1991, 1992.
She also was nominated for a TV Land Award for her portrayal of Brenda Walsh (Beverly Hills 90210) in 2007. Again she received a nomination, this time a Saturn Award for her role as Prue Halliwell in 1999, 2000.
Personal life of Shannen Doherty
Shannen was once married to actor George Hamilton’s son, Ashley. Married again to Rick Salomon, and engages briefly to Judd Nelson, actor. She has received a DWI in 2001 and paid a fine plus probation at the time. Additionally, Doherty has appeared in Playboy magazine several times (between 1993 & 2003), nude.
Doherty lives in Malibu, California and also owns a horse ranch within Ventura County, California. Shannen has two dogs and seven horses. She is a successful director as well as executive producer.
Prue Halliwell (Charmed)
Born October 28, 1970, Prudence Halliwell is the oldest of three sisters who are witches. Prue has a special ability known as telekinesis that enables her to move objects just by using her mind. Prue was very popular in school and was an A student. The sisters discover they have magical powers by accident and Prue puts her power of telekinesis to use in every episode. Her powers seem to enable her to move upwards of four hundred pounds just by thinking she wants to move it and she must be able to see the object in order to move it. Prudence Halliwell worked at the Museum of Natural History (in San Francisco) then fulfilled her dream of becoming a photographer. The character of Prue died in 2001.
