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Shannen Doherty biography

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Best Known For

Shannen Doherty is best known for her roles as Heather Duke in the film Heathers and on TV as Brenda in Beverly Hills, 90210 and as Prue in Charmed.

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Synopsis

Shannen Doherty is an Amiercan actress who, after a childhood of television roles and picking up a few Young Artist Award nominations, landed her first film role in Heathers. At the age of 19, she landed her breakout television role as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210. From 1998 to 2001 Doherty starred as Prue in the series Charmed. In 2010, she released a 'badass' self-help book.

Early Life

Actress. Born Shannen Maria Doherty on April 12, 1971 in Memphis, Tennessee. Doherty's mother, Rosa, owned a beauty parlor. Father Tom Doherty worked as a mortgage consultant. The younger of two siblings, Doherty grew up idolizing her older brother, Sean, a focused student whom Shannen refers to as "brilliant." Her early years in Memphis were spent riding horses and dreaming of landing a spot on the Olympic equestrian team.

In 1978, the family moved to Los Angeles, and Shannen almost instantly caught the acting bug. At the age of nine, she went with a girlfriend to an audition for a children's theater production of "Snow White." The director invited Shannen to audition and she scored a lead part. After acting in several children's theater productions, Doherty begged her parents to let her become an actress. After two years of pleading, Shannen finally won.

Aspiring Actress

At age 11, Shannen landed a guest role on the Emmy-nominated television show, Father Murphy (1981). Her two-episode performance as Drusilla Shannon earned her a Young Artist Award nomination, and brought her to the attention of the series' creator, Michael Landon. In 1982, Landon gave Doherty her next big break, when he cast her in a guest role as Jenny Wilder on his Emmy-winning TV series, Little House on the Prairie .

Her role as a wholesome young girl growing up on the Western frontier earned her guest appearances on a variety of television series throughout the 80s. In 1986, after several auditions, Shannen landed the role of Kris Witherspoon on the critically acclaimed TV drama Our House. The 16-year-old played a straight-A student intent on getting into the U.S. Air Force Academy. In 1988, the role earned Shannen another Young Artist Award nomination.

While she began making a name for herself on the small screen, Doherty also continued her schooling. She attended Le Lycee Francais, a private French school in L.A., where she stayed focused on her studies. "I did very well in school," Doherty said of her time there. "I graduated with a 4.0 and I could have gone to Princeton or USC or any college of my choice, coming from that school with the honors I graduated with."

 

Critical Praise

Instead of applying to college, the actress continued working. In 1989, she appeared in her first major motion picture as Heather Duke in the black comedy, Heathers. The Sundance-nominated film was a hit with critics, and fans loved the movie's dark humor.

By the age of 18, the actress had developed the beginnings of a long and promising career in Hollywood.

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