American actress Shannen Doherty once had such a bad girl reputation a magazine set up a ‘snitch’ phone-line about her.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 star made a name for herself in film and television, becoming a household name in the nineties, but sometimes the lines between fantasy and reality became blurred.
Viewers not only hated her character in the iconic 90s series, which followed the lives of a group of privileged teen pals living in the exclusive Los Angeles neighbourhood, but were even encouraged to dish the dirt on Doherty.
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Doherty, who turns 52 years old today (April 12), landed her breakout role as Brenda on 90210 in 1990, but despite a four-season run in the show, stories from both in front of and behind the lens saw the writing on the wall for her from the end of the first season.
(Image: Sygma via Getty Images)
Brenda’s relationship arc with Dylan (played by Luke Perry) resulted in one of the most mature and optimistic depictions of teen sex ever shown on television at the time.
Losing her virginity to Dylan at the Spring Dance, in the second-to-last episode of the first season, Brenda showed no remorse, which angered viewers’ parents.
What followed was a backlash to the network which saw producers forced into creating a remorseful episode for her.
(Image: Getty Images)
It saw her having a pregnancy scare, then decide she wasn’t ready for sex after all, and ultimately she broke up with Dylan.
As a character, Brenda would never regain the same place in the show, and within the world at large.
The hate for Brenda broke the fourth wall and saw the launch of the I Hate Brenda newsletter, which was published by the editors of the zine Ben Is Dead, as well as a “Shannen Snitch Line” for readers to call in with gossip on actress Shannen Doherty.
(Image: Getty Images for Hallmark Channel)
The downfall of Brenda was also partly attributed to Doherty who reportedly clashed with the rest of the cast.
However, Doherty wouldn’t leave the cast for another three years, and her portrayal earned her a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series.
She followed up 90210 by bagging one of the lead roles on witchy fan-favourite Charmed in the late 90s, but once again reported drama behind the scenes with co-star Alyssa Milano led to her character Prue being killed off prematurely in season three.
(Image: Living Press)
The actress also appeared in Playboy magazine not once but twice, first getting her kit off for the publisher in March 1994 before being featured in a 10-page pictorial in December 2003.
“I wish I had conducted myself better on occasion and been more private, but I would rather live my life to the fullest than constantly conduct myself in a certain way to gain approval from others,” Doherty told Playboy.
She added: “I’ve always been outspoken about my opinions, and there’s something to be said for having the courage to just live your life. I have regrets but no apologies.”
(Image: Playboy)
The tragic sudden death of co-star Luke Perry saw Doherty make the decision to join the Beverly Hills 90210 reunion in 2019.
“It was a shock. I thought the least I could do was honour him by doing this show,” she said.
She also battled breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy in 2016. Her cancer went into remission but returned in 2019 and is now in stage four of the illness.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
