Shannen Doherty

Shannen Doherty: biography

Shannen Doherty is a famous American actress, who became known for her roles in the legendary TV series Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed.

However, not only creative career contributed to her popularity, but also the scandalous nature of the celebrity, which she showed on the set and in life. The scandalous nature of Shannen quickly became an all-too-familiar theme, and the actress herself has always been a juicy piece for the paparazzi.

Childhood and youth

The future actress was born on April 12, 1971, in Memphis in the family of Tom Doherty, a mortgage consultant, and owner of the beauty parlor, Rosa Doherty. A quiet girl, Shannen, eventually grew into one of the most provocative Hollywood actresses.

Six years after the birth, an event that determined the fate of the future actress took place: the girl's parents decided to change the quiet town in Tennessee for a bustling and attractive city of Los Angeles.

In the capital of the world film industry, young Shannen felt that acting was her life, her passion. The first small step towards the "American dream" was the request of the girl to sign her up for acting classes in a theater studio. And although Rosa was not thrilled with her daughter's desire, she did not stand in her way.

The actresses path to glory began with a vast number of auditions. And in 1981, Doherty received a small role in the television series Father Murphy. Soon after this event, her career took off. Michael Landon, the so-called "father" of the teen television series Little House On The Prairie, let her play a vivid character, and director Ron Howard brought down a stream of episodic roles in the projects Magnum P.I., Cagney & Lacey and Night Shift on her.

The first career failures began soon after the shutting down of the Little House On The Prairie in 1983, but Shannen did not even think of backing down. She had already gained fame and believed in a bright future while waiting for new exciting projects. Alas, she could only get to play in a couple of episodes in television series. But in 1985, the actress managed to secure her place in Hollywood with the roles in the films Girls Just Want To Have Fun and The Other Lover.

From 1986 to 1988, Shannen played the character of Kris Witherspoon, the eldest daughter in the television show Our House. For this work, the actress received her first prize, the Young Artist Award in the category Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Drama Series. And in 1989, the young Doherty played the first major role in the film Heathers.

Films

The actress's tangible ascent to the Hollywood peaks began in 1990 when Shannen got the part of Brenda Walsh in the legendary television series Beverly Hills, 90210 created by a well-known producer Aaron Spelling. This work brought her real fame.

In 1991 and 1992 she was nominated for the awards Best Young Actress Starring in a New Television Series and Best Female TV Star according to the Young Artist Award. Along with Jennie Garth (as Kelly Taylor) and Luke Perry (as Dylan McKay) Shannen Doherty gained international fame.

It was at this period of her career that those "still waters" started "running deep." In 1994, after the filming of the fourth season of the television series, Shannen left the project due to disagreements with colleagues and the crew. Doherty herself admitted that in real life she was the complete opposite of the Brenda from Beverly Hills, 90210.

In the television series, her character has a modest and calm nature, but in real life, the actress created an image of a total "bad girl," and to strengthen this notoriety, Doherty even undressed for a nude photoshoot for Playboy magazine.

Later, the girl took part in the photoshoot of Antoine Verglas, standing in front of the camera in a swimsuit. Such famous magazines for men as Maxim, For Him Magazine, online magazine Ask Men repeatedly listed her as one of 100 sexiest actresses in the world. Petite (Shannen's height is 5 feet 34 inches, and her weight is 95-97 pounds), an explosive character owner, she sparked interest in the male half of humanity.

The general public reacted to the scandals involving Doherty's name in different ways. Critics often accused the actress of organizing a so-called "PR campaign" to increase her popularity, and numerous incidents with her participation were dismissed as displays of mental disorders of the girl.

In 1998, producer Aaron Spelling and Shannen Doherty reconciled. The result of their friendship was the work of the actress in the new television series Charmed; she got the part of Prue Halliwell, the eldest of the three witch sisters. This time the girl got the character of a wise, well-balanced woman, who worked as an art critic, endowed with magical ability. And again it was hard for the actress to keep her job in the project. During the filming of the television series Charmed, the same problems aroused as once on the set of Beverly Hills, 90210.

Nevertheless, the girl actually became wiser: she did not wait for scandals to start happening, and made a "power move", saying that the television series did not give her the necessary professional growth, she was tired of participating in the project for teens, and decided to leave it for the big screen.

At the same time, the television series became a kind of turning point in the creative biography for other actors: Julian McMahon, Holly Marie Combs, and Alyssa Milano. In the future, because of the popularity of the TV show, these Hollywood actors would become famous in the American film industry.

During the filming, there were also some conflicts with colleagues. The warm relationship between Doherty and Alyssa Milano started falling apart. The American media repeatedly reported that allegedly Shannen tried to provoke the colleague, and Alyssa always returned the favor. The producers even planned the death of Phoebe, Milano's character, just in case, but eventually it was Shannen who had to leave: her character, Prue, was killed in a battle with a demon.

In 2003, the actress continued on her "soap way," appearing in soap operas and television talk shows. Besides, she became a TV presenter of the reality show Scare Tactics, and then received a major role in the television series North Shore, the shooting of which took place from 2004 to 2005. The only thing that the failed attempt to create her own talk show, Breaking Up With Shannen Doherty, brought to the actress was a low rating.

In the autumn of 2008, Doherty made a comeback: she again became Brenda Walsh in the spin-off of Beverly Hills, 90210, called 90210. In the same year, Shannen got into another character in the film The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon. In 2009, she tried herself in a new role: as the art-director of the glossy tabloid Pasadena Star-News, which was a success, because she managed to keep this job for a long time.

In 2010, a comedy film Burning Palms was added to the list of the full-length works of the actress. Despite an active promotion and hiring talented actors to be in the main cast (Dylan McDermott, Shannen Doherty, Zoe Saldana), the film could not become the central event of the season and failed in the box office.

Four years later, the actress tried to make up for it, performing the central female role in the biographical drama Bukowski directed by James Franco. The motion picture also did not bring the push to the film career of the performer that she had expected. Doherty mostly had cameo appearances in television series or only supporting roles. The projects featuring her were Growing The Big One, Suite 7, and Witchslayer Gretl.

Despite the lack of "serious roles," Shannen cannot complain about the lack of awards, with which the popularity of an actor is usually measured. From 1983 to 1992, the actress was nominated for the Young Artist Award in various categories.

In 1999 and 2000, she was presented as the best actress of the genre by the Saturn Awards for her role of Prue in the television series Charmed, and in 2007, received the TV Land Awards in the category Break-Up That Was So Bad It Was Good for breaking up with the character of Luke Perry in Beverly Hills, 90210.

The Television Series Beverly Hills, 90210, Charmed, the movie Heathers and the television film Jailbreakers would be listed as the best works of the actress.

Illness

On August 19, 2015, the international news Agency Associated Press published a report that Shannen Doherty had been diagnosed with breast cancer. According to the source, the terminal illness was found in March 2015. This was discovered shortly after the actress sued the company Tanner Mainstain Glynn & Johnson, which was her managing company.

The essence of the claim was that the company delayed the registration of Shannen's medical insurance. As a result, the actress did not undergo screening in time, and the cancer was not detected at the initial stage. The insurance company denied all points of the claim, stating that the insurance was issued within the deadline.

American media reported that the disease progressed and that the Hollywood celebrity was dying. Soon Shannen began to fight for her life, and her health gradually improved. On one of the TV shows on Netflix, Doherty spoke out about the fight against the terrible illness. The detailed story of the celebrity made the TV presenter of the program Chelsea Handler shed a tear.

According to the actress, "Even in cancer, there is something complex, beautiful and unusual – something that destroys you and builds back up again, and then again destroys you and creates you." The celebrity admitted that the disease changed her, but she accepted all the changes that happened to her, realizing the value of time.

The American media had repeatedly reported that in May 2016, the actress went through a unilateral mastectomy, but cancer cells weren't gone, the situation only worsened. Doherty was prescribed numerous courses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. According to the celebrity, the worst thing was the lack of certainty, because there was never a guarantee that the treatment would work.

Then in November 2016, Shannen Doherty was honored with a Courage Award. The American Cancer Society awarded the prize to the actress in Los Angeles.

The star of the television series Beverly Hills, 90210 did not lose hope for participation in new projects. After undergoing a long round of chemotherapy, the actress first appeared in public during the Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation's event, which was organized by the American Foundation for the protection of animal rights.

She always had a smile on her face, and many noticed that she was no longer wearing a scarf because, by that time her hair had grown back, she had a stylish haircut. The actress talked to the media, saying that she felt great and ready to live again fully. According to her, cancer is dangerous because it can destroy the human spirit, isolating the person from the outside world.

At the celebration event, Shannen arrived with her husband, photographer Kurt Iswarienko, who was with her throughout the difficult times. During interviews, she often recalls her husband, claiming that he became real support for her in dreadful moments of life.

Gradually, the actress stopped to document and post photos on her Instagram account, telling fans all the ins and outs of the fight with the illness. Previously, she repeatedly wrote to fans about how she felt when she was undergoing chemotherapy and other procedures.

In November 2016, Shannen Doherty published a photo portraying Heather Duke from the original version of the film Heathers. This film also starred such Hollywood celebrities as Lisanne Falk, Winona Ryder, and Kim Walker. Users immediately started talking about the release of a new TV version of the popular crime drama series.

Personal life

The personal life of the actress has turned unpredictably and rapidly, in accordance with her character. In her youth, she went out with the owner of a photo studio Dean Jay Factor, realtor Chris Foufas, actors Dean Cain, Rob Weiss, and Luke Perry. But all relationships were short-lived.

Even though Shannen Doherty was officially married three times, the celebrity has no children yet. The first marriage was spontaneous, back in 1993 she married singer-songwriter and actor Ashley Hamilton. The wedding took place two weeks after the newlyweds met. Equally spontaneous was the divorce, filed after precisely six months.

The second husband of the actress was Rick Salomon, an American producer, but the marriage fell apart: after seven months of marriage, in 2003, it was annulled.

On October 15, 2011, in Malibu, Shannen married Kurt Iswarienko, a well-known photographer. Now the couple lives together.

The actress from her youth adores animals, at the age of eleven she even organized a shelter for dogs and cats called ShanDo Kennels. Over the years Doherty's love for them has not faded away. The woman continues to participate in charity events aimed at helping homeless or wild animals. She writes posts about them on social media.

Shannen Doherty is now

In the spring of 2018, Shannen again found herself under medical supervision. The standard tests showed an unacceptable increase in one tumor marker. The actress kept being optimistic and hoped for the best. Soon, some therapeutic measures helped her return to her family.

Despite all the hardships, Shannen continues to appear on the screen. In 2018, the television series Heathers the information about which was previously published on the account of the actress, and No One Would Tell came out. Both TV shows are devoted to the problems of teenagers' adjustment in society and first love.

In 2019, the celebrity continues to star in the comedy How to Make a Deal with the Devil, in which she plays the leading part. A remake of the film Mallrats is in post-production stage; in it, Doherty would again appear in the main cast.

Filmography

• 1981 – Father Murphy
• 1982 – Little House On The Prairie
• 1989 – Heathers
• 1990 – Beverly Hills, 90210
• 1994 – Jailbreakers
• 1998 – Charmed
• 1999 – Striking Poses
• 2004 – North Shore
• 2010 – Growing The Big One
• 2010 – Burning Palms
• 2014 – Bukowski
• 2017 – Bethany