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, as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 and as Prue Halliwell in Charmed.
Shannen Doherty was born on April 12, 1971 in Memphis, Tennessee to Tom, a bank worker, and Rosa, a beautician. Shannen has Irish Catholic ancestry, though was raised in her mother's Southern Baptist religion. In 1978, when Shannen was only 7, the Doherty family moved to Los Angeles and Shannen immediately announced her dreams to become an actress. In an interview in the December 2006 issue of Glamour Magazine Shannen said:
"When I was nine, my mother developed an excruciating headache and had to be hospitalised - she was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm. She came through it but the experience was terrifying. The following year my father had a massive stroke. In a single year I nearly lost both my parents. I felt my classmates...
