Shannen Doherty’s 10 Best Movies and TV Shows

Shannon DohertyThe best movies and TV shows showed the great range of the actress, as she became a massive TV star in three different decades, and also turned in some quality film roles. Doherty started her career as a child actor, getting early roles on shows like Father Murphy And Voyagers Before she got her first major TV role in Little House on the Prairie. After making her name in the show as a pre-teen, she also voiced a role in The secret of NIMH Before her career skyrocketed.

Most fans know Doherty from her television career. As a teenager, she appeared in Our housewhere she received award recognition before landing a starring role in one of the most popular television shows of the 1990s, Beverly Hills, 90210Like Brenda Walsh. Although this is the role for which she was best known throughout the rest of her career, she also had major roles in the television show Charming And some cult classic movies like Heathers And Mallrats. In 2024, Doherty died at age 53 After a battle with cancer.

10

Darkness of Man (2024)

Sean Doherty played Vivian

While she was best known for her television work, the best Shannen Doherty movies include a mix of cult classics and beloved favorites. However, for anyone who wants to see Doherty in a late-career role before her death, Darkness of man was released two months before Doherty diedmaking it the last project she starred in and saw before she died. The movie is a VOD release with Jean-Claude Van Damme leading the cast, with supporting roles by Doherty, Kristanna Loken and Spencer Breslin.

The movie sees Van Damme as Russell Hatch, an Interpol operative who takes on a father figure role to a young man named Jayden, the son of an informant killed in a raid gone wrong. While a VOD release with Van Damme as the lead actor, the movie received positive reviews from critics, sitting at 70% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Doherty only has a small role as a woman who chastises Hutch for smoking on school grounds while he is there to pick up Jayden.

9

Our House (1986-1988)

Shannen Doherty played Kris Witherspoon

After making her name as a child on Little House on the PrairieShannen Doherty took a starring role in the 1986 drama series Our house. The drama stars Wilford Brimley as Gus Witherspoon, a retired widower who invites his daughter-in-law and her three kids to live with him after his son dies. Her children are not happy to leave their home in Indiana, but their mom (Deidre Hall, Marlena van Days of our lives) packs them anyway and accepts Gus’s offer to live with him in California.

Shannon Doherty Plays the oldest child, 15-year-old Chris. The main plot sees the grandkids realize how hard it is to live with Gus, who implements the same strict rules on them as he does with his own kids. But, soon, they all seem to change and grow together. The series ran for two seasons on NBC with 46 episodes. The show was not a success thanks to its Sunday night time slot, but Shannen Doberty earned Best Actress nominations at the 1987 and 1988 Young Adult Awards.

8

90210 (2008-2009)

Sean Doherty played Brenda Walsh

In 2008, Shannen Doherty returned to her most famous role, that of Brenda Walsh, in the reboot series. 90210. The new series focuses on several wealthy students at Beverly Hills High School, most of whom were a brand new cast of characters. however, During the first two seasons of the show, original cast members made appearances. Tins included Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Joe E. Tata, Ann Gillespie and Shannen Doherty, all reprising their roles from the original series.

Doherty appeared as a guest star in seven episodes of the first season of 90210. The character of Annie Wilson (Shanae Grimes) was based partly on the character type of Brenda from the original series. Just like in the original series, Kelly (Garth) and Brenda have a falling out thanks to Brenda sleeping with someone Kelly was dating. The series saw Brenda show up in Beverly Hills to star in a play and take time out to bond with Kelly.

7

Little House on the Prairie (1982-1983)

Shannon Doherty played Jenny Wilder

Shannen Doherty received her first awards recognition in the very first TV show she ever appeared in, earning a nomination for Best Young Actress, guest starring in a series in Father Murphy. This led to Doherty earning the role of Jenny Wilder in the long-running drama series Little House on the Prairie. The series is based on the novel series by Laura Ingalls Wilder about her life with her family living in the American Midwest in the late 1870s.

Doherty played the niece of Almanzo (Dean Butler), Laura Ingalls’ husbandWho moves with Laura and Almanzo after her own father dies. She only starred in the drama series for its ninth and final season for a total of 18 episodes. The series was big for the 12-year-old actress, who earned two nominations for Best Young Actress in a Drama Series in 1983 and 1984. Doherty also returned for three sequel TV movies that aired in 1983 and 1984.

6

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (1985)

Shannen Doherty played Maggie Malene

Shane Doherty’s first live-action movie role as a teenager came in the romantic comedy in 1985. Girls just want to have fun. The 14-year-old actress starred in the film as Maggie Malene, the sister of Lee Montgomery Jeff Malene. Sarah Jessica Parker takes the lead in the movie as Janey Glenn, an army brat who moves to Chicago after her father retires from the military. She decides she wants to try out for a popular dance show with her new best friend Lynne (Helen Hunt).

Janie and her partner Jeff impress the judges, but while they are great at dancing together, the two struggle to get along, which sets up the tropes needed for a romantic comedy to progress until they finally find their way together. Doherty’s role is very small, mostly playing the role of a little sister to the lead actor, but it is still her first major film role and would lead the way to many more casting opportunities in the future.

5

Charmed (1998-2001)

Shannen Doherty played Prue Halliwell

While Shannen Doherty is best known for her role on Beverly Hills, 90210She was also one of the leads in a very popular fantasy television series in the late 1990s. She starred as Prue Halliwell, one of the three magical sisters on Charming. Doherty appeared in the first three seasons of the serieswhich saw how the sisters set out to protect innocents from demons and soldiers, using their combined “power of three” powers, while being known as the Charmed Ones.

However, Doherty’s time on the show ended in controversy. Citing bullying from fellow cast member Alyssa Milano, Doherty ended up exiting the series after the third season, with Prue dying in the final episode of the season. Despite her exit, Charming remained a popular series, with Rose McGowan replacing her as a new half-sister who appeared in season 4. During her time on the show, Doherty picked up two Saturn Award nominations for Best Genre TV Actress.

4

Mallrats (1995)

Shannen Doherty played Rene Mosier

Thanks to your huge success on Beverly Hills, 90210It didn’t take Kevin Smith long to cast her in his follow-up to The Groundbreaking Clerks. His second film, Mallratswas an R-rated teen comedy starring Jeremy London as a college student named TS Quint, a slacker who prefers to just hang out at the local mall rather than do anything with his life. When his girlfriend, Brandi (Claire Forlani), signs up for a dating game show her dad is hosting, TS and his buddy Brodie Bruce (Jason Lee) set out to sabotage it.

Shannen Doherty stars as Rene, the girl who just dumped Brodie Why no direction in his life. This makes her an antagonistic force, especially when she immediately starts dating Shannon (Ben Affleck), who has his sights set on taking down Brody and T.S. The movie was a box office failure and received mostly mixed reviews, however, it became a Massive cult classic since its release, with some critics believing it was ahead of its time, comparing it American pieWhich came out four years later.

3

The Secret of Nima (1982)

Sean Doherty played Teresa Brisby

The first movie that Shannen Doherty took part in was the animated film, The secret of NIMH. Considered one of the scariest animated kids movies, the film is about a group of field mice who want to move before the plowing time in the field in which they live starts. However, when their son Timothy becomes ill, they cannot move and there is a danger when the playing starts early and Timothy has to stay inside, or he could risk death. The thought of children, even mice, in mortal danger was shocking at the time.

Shannen Doherty was 11 when the movie came out, and she voiced TeresaOne of the daughters in the mise family. The film itself was very dark, especially since it was marketed to kids. It has a surprising amount of emotional depth and is one that caused both nightmares and memories that would last a lifetime for the people who watched it as kids. Critics awarded it a 93% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it won Best Animated Feature at the Saturn Awards.

2

Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-1994)

Sean Doherty played Brenda Walsh

The TV series that made Shannen Doherty a star was Beverly Hills, 90210. in the series, Doherty played Brenda Walsh for the first four seasons. She was Brandon Walsh’s (Jason Priestley) twin sister who lived with him in Minnesota until their family moved to Beverly Hills for a job. Once past the culture shock, Brenda and Brandon make some new friends and the series follows their trials, tribulations, friendships, love affairs and tragedies as they navigate high school and beyond.

Brenda’s biggest stories surrounded her meeting and dating bad boy Dylan McKay (Luke Perry), who caused a lot of problems at home and with her new friends. However, Doherty’s time on the show ended after just four seasons, although the series lasted for a total of 10 and remained one of the highest-rated teen shows on television during its run. Doherty won the Best Young Actress award in 1991 and 1992 from the Young Artist Awards for her work on the show.

1

Heathers (1989)

Shannon Doherty played Heather Duke

Shannen Doherty’s most beloved movie role was in the 1989 dark comedy Heathers. In the movie, Winona Ryder stars as Veronica Sawyer, a teenager who becomes involved with a mean girl clique, which includes three rich, beautiful girls, all named Heather. These include Doherty as Heather Duke, Lisanne Falk as Heather McNamara and Kim Walker as Heather Chandler. However, when a bad boy named JD (Christian Slater) moves into town, things start to turn deadly for anyone named Heather.

When JD suggests killing the three Headers, Veronica goes along with him, thinking he’s joking. However, when the deaths start to pile up, she realizes that she is in too deep and has to find a way to escape JD before she ends up next. The film has overwhelmingly positive ratings, sitting at 95% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and has become one of the most beloved cult classics of the 1980s. The Shannon Doherty The movie also spawned a musical and a television adaptation decades later.