Shannen Doherty’s 3 Most Iconic Roles
Shannen Doherty has died. She was 53. The famed actor was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. She publicly battled the disease for nine years before her death, sharing updates about her treatment and prognosis along the way. While Doherty’s cancer battle took centerstage in recent years, her acting career was pretty illustrious before her diagnosis. We’ve collected three of her most iconic roles.
Shannen Doherty is best known for playing Brenda in ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’
While Shannen Doherty was a well-known child actor, her first big break as an adult came in 1990. She landed the role of Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210. Brenda and her brother, Brandon, traversed the new landscape of Beverly Hills after moving to the affluent city in the show’s first season. The Walsh family was originally from Minnesota.
Brenda was a key figure during the show’s early seasons. Eventually, her character was written off at the end of season 4. Tori Spelling once claimed she asked her father to fire Doherty. Doherty once argued that she had been “typecast” as a diva needlessly. The show’s 10th and final season aired in 2000.
The famed actor returned to TV with ‘Charmed’
Following Beverly Hills, 90210, Doherty appeared in a series of movies, including the cult classic Mallrats, before she returned to TV on Charmed. The supernatural series focused on sisters Piper, Prue, and Phoebe Halliwell, who learn they are descendants of a line of good witches. The series showed them battling evil forces. Doherty portrayed Prue Halliwell. Piper and Phoebe were played by Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano, respectively.
Fans of the series loved Doherty in the role of Prue, but she didn’t see the series through to its end. Doherty’s character was killed off after just three seasons. Doherty long insisted that she opted to walk away from the series. Still, for years, rumors swirled that a feud with Alyssa Milano led to producers being forced to fire Doherty and replace her character. Charmed aired for eight seasons in total.
‘Little House on the Praire’ was one of Shannen Doherty’s earliest roles
While Charmed and Beverly Hills, 90210 are the shows that jump to mind when discussing Doherty’s work, her acting as a child star put her on the map. Doherty appeared in The Little House on the Prairie in the 1980s. She joined the cast in 1982 as the series headed into its ninth and final season. She portrayed Jenny Wilder, a recurring character, in 18 episodes of the show’s final season.
Doherty later returned to reprise the role in TV movies. While Doherty was just 11 years old when she landed the role, it was an important one for her career. Just months before her death, Shannen Doherty told the Hollywood Reporter that Little House on the Prairie was the best experience of her career and that the series had shaped her entire life. She went on to praise Michael Landon as a mentor. Landon died of pancreatic cancer in 1991.
