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 (1989), as
Brenda Walsh in
Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990–1994) and its spinoff series
90210 and as
Prue Halliwell in
Charmed (1998–2001).
Early life and career beginnings
Doherty was born in
Memphis, Tennessee,
the daughter of Rosa, a
beauty parlor owner, and Tom Doherty, a
mortgage consultant.
Doherty has
Irish Catholic ancestry, though was raised in her mother's
Southern Baptist religion. At the age of seven (in 1978) her family moved to
Los Angeles,
and she immediately announced that she wanted to be an actress.
In an interview in the December 2006 issue of
Glamour, she said:
