TV mogul Aaron Spelling hired Shannen for both series. In the 2000 TV special "The Women of Charmed," Spelling offered that Shannen "wears her heart on her sleeve."
As the oldest sister Prue in “Charmed,” Shannen's character had the power to move objects with her mind. Known as Super Witch, she later gained the power of astral projection, which allowed her to be two places at one time.
When the pilot aired in October 1998, “Charmed” received the largest audience for a series premiere in The WB’s then three-year history, and was rated as one of the network's top 3 shows all eight seasons it aired.
"Charmed" was sometimes referred to by critics as "'Charlie's Angels' with broomsticks."
"I can see the comparisons," said Holly Marie Combs, who played Piper, the third sister. "Three girls and it's a Spelling show and we always have great hair and make-up and great clothes."
Classic TV Beauties 1990s Countdown
SHANNEN DOHERTY as Brenda Walsh in "Beverly Hills 90210" and Prue Halliwell in "Charmed"
She isn't an actress afraid to speak her mind or to back away from controversy, and when Shannen starred in two of the hippest series among young adult audiences in the 1990s, the brunette with smoldering looks created sparks, both on-screen and on the set.
Playing the hated Brenda on "90210," Shannen felt that the show's fans confused her character's bitchiness with the off-screen Shannen. It didn't help her popularity that she gained a reputation of appearing late on the set and she feuded with other cast members. She was fired after four seasons and later claimed that she thought the character had a “bad influence” on her.
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“When "Charmed" began, Shannen and Alyssa -- who replaced Lori Rom after the first pilot was shot-- appeared to be as close as the sisters they played on TV. By the third season, however, the relationship soured. Industry insiders believed that as Alyssa’s popularity grew, Shannen became jealous.
“We definitely didn’t get along,” Alyssa told TV Guide in 2007. “Shannen and I are very different people, and I think it’s almost like a roommate. If you spend that much time with someone and there are differences anyway, you’re not always going to get along.
“There were times when I’d come in and say, ‘Good morning, Shannen,’ and she didn’t say anything to me. And there were times when she’d come in and say, ‘Good morning, Alyssa,' and I wouldn’t say anything to her.”
A Southern belle from Memphis, Shannen moved to California with her family when she was 7. At age 10 she made appearances in Pepsi commercials, and she made her TV debut in "Father Murphy," earning a nomination for a Young Artist Award.
A year later she was hired as Jenny Wilder for “Little House on the Prairie”
“That show changed my life,” Shannen told People in 1992. “Michael Landon was the one who said to me, ‘Always stick up for yourself. Never let anybody walk over you. Be a strong woman.’”
Suddenly, the pre-teen Shannen became an in-demand actress.
“I was exhausted – and I didn’t think it was a situation that I wanted to be in anymore,” Shannen said of leaving “Charmed.” “The fact is, none of us were paid to be buddy-buddy. We’re paid to show each other respect as actors, be courteous, do our jobs. All I can say it that I never had an outright confrontation with Alyssa.”
Holly defended her longtime friend Shannen.
“I don’t know why it’s acceptable to pick on her,” Holly said in the same TV Guide article. “If you haven’t spent a day with her, and I know you haven’t spent eight years with her, I don’t want to hear your opinion.”
The lack of variety with the storylines contributed to the tension on the set, according to Holly.
“We were in a rut where we felt like we were doing the same episodes over and over again. [Shannen] wanted to make the show bigger and better and stretch her boundaries… She was really dedicated and she didn’t have a lot of patience for anyone [she felt] wasn’t.”
It became obvious that one of the two witches had to go. Shannen asked to be released from her contract but Paramount refused to let her go, Months later, Shannen was stunned when her lawyer informed her that the studio had called him with the news that it was firing her.
Ironically, because Shannen owned a small piece of “Charmed,” she remained connected with the series.
In "90210," Shannen's Brenda was a highly combustible young lady who became the object of scorn among the show's fans. Although Brenda, the younger twin sister of Brandon (Jason Priestly), was the nice girl when she first moved to Beverly Hills, she developed into a devious teenager.
The hated Brenda, who inspired fans to produce a “I Hate Brenda” newsletter (although only one issue was printed), was listed as No. 10 on E!'s 2004 list of the 50 Most Wicked Women of Prime Time.
“There were parts of Brenda I loved,” Shannen said in an EW article. “They just took her in a really odd direction that I didn't necessarily agree with all the time,
“People sort of stopped realizing that she was a character, and I was an actress playing that character. As much as everyone hated Brenda, it was still me who was playing her. I was as opposite of Brenda as you can get."
Tension between Shannen and other "90210" stars, most notably Jennie Garth --who later said, "Shannen and I used to fight like cats and dogs" --led to Shannen's dismissal after four seasons.
“The best thing that ever could have happened to me was I got off ‘90210’ when I did,” Shannen said. “It let me find a little bit of peace and discover who I was as a person. Not the person who the press made me out to be because I’d had a few bad experiences in my life.”
“When you’re little and you first get recognized and someone asks for your autograph, you’re like, ‘What was that?’ But my parents are such down-to-earth people they kept me down-to-earth.”
During her teen years, Shannen appeared in TV series "Magnum, P.I.," "Airwolf," and "Highway to Heaven."
“I was working during most of my high school years, so I was usually on a set,” Shannen said in the OK magazine interview. “Also, I was sent to a private French school, and it was very much about academics. There were no mean girls. I think everybody was very open-minded, objective and accepting. It wasn’t a judgmental environment at all.”
A starring role in the cult film classic “Heathers” got her noticed by young actress Tori Spelling, who recommended the 18-year-old to her father for “90210.”
Despite Shannen's departure, "90210" rolled on for another six seasons without her. Brenda returned, however, in the 2008 version of "Beverly Hills 90210" as a successful theater actress and stage director. Shannen starred in eight episodes.
Working in movies, Shannen played herself in the Kevin Smith “Clerks” franchise, “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” (2001), and she starred in the indie film “Burning Palms” (2008)
Shannen has also participated in “Dancing with the Stars” (2010), and in 2012 she starred in the reality program with husband Kurt Iswarienko in “Shannen Says.”
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“Suddenly, you're on a show, you're 19 and you've got the red carpet rolled out for you,” she told the celebrity website www.radaronline.com. “You're playing a character that's going through teenage angst, there's a part of you that's like: 'What have I missed out on? This crazy bitch [Brenda] is going through all this stuff and I haven't experienced anything.'”
On "Charmed," she played a witch on screen, but saved her evil spells on the set for co-star Alyssa Milano. And after three seasons....yep, she was fired from that show, too.
"I think that in America a woman with a brain is called a woman with edge," Shannen said, explaining herself in an article in OK magazine. "And I think in Europe a woman with a brain is called a woman with a brain. I think it's a very different stigma. I don't think it's an edge at all. I'm smart and I'm quick, and I like playing smart characters."
