Photo: Wilson Cleveland / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Shannen Doherty was branded difficult for most of her career, and I have come to read that label as the price she paid for honesty. Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 worked precisely because Doherty could not fake anything; the prickliness was real, and so was the vulnerability. But her finest role was her last one: facing illness publicly, on her own terms, with a candor that stripped celebrity down to something human. She died in 2024 at fifty-three, and the outpouring proved the audience had always seen through the tabloid caricature. Heathers alone would secure her legacy; her courage secured something better.
Overview
Shannen Maria Doherty (; April 12, 1971 – July 13, 2024) was an American actress. During her career in film and television, Doherty played Jenny Wilder in Little House on the Prairie (1982–1983); Maggie Malene in Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985); Kris Witherspoon in Our House (1986–1988); Heather Duke in Heathers (1989); Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990–1994), 90210 (2008–2009), and BH90210 (2019); Rene M…
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Shannen Doherty
- Name (Japanese)
- シャナン・ドハーティー
- Reading
- しゃなん・どはーてぃー
- Born
- April 12, 1971 – July 13, 2024
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Boar
- Origin
- Memphis, Tennessee, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television actor / film actor / autobiographer / stage actor / director
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Los Ángeles Baptist High School
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 1992 Bravo Otto
- 1994 Bravo Otto
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Our House | — | |
| Notable work | Heathers | — | |
| Notable work | Beverly Hills, 90210 | — | |
| Notable work | Charmed | — | |
| Notable work | BH90210 | — |
6. Links
Television actor — see all → · Film actor — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.