I don't know how I've missed this site in past searches, but I'm here now and glad to be here.
I'm a stay-at-home mom of 5 and I think I'm one of the few who've actually seen Shannen grow up before my eyes.
I first saw her thanks to my grandfather. 8 yr. old me, sitting down, being made to watch a little television show. The following week, grandpa was watching me again while mom went out and did something, once again, I saw the name flash across the screen. This time, I wrote it down. I still have that little scrap of paper...framed now.
29 years later, I've finally gotten that show on DVD, and now, my kids (2 of my girls are named after Shannen, as well) love watching it with me.
Little House on the Prairie, you ask?
Nope!
Father Murphy - Shannen's first ever role - had me hooked.
It was hard keeping up in the beginning, without the internet, without even the teen magazines I got into once I got a little older, but I would constantly beg my mom to get TV Guide and other available entertainment publications at the time, just to try to catch a glimpse of her name, see what she was going to be in next.
Being a Shannen fan this long, I've heard all the rumors (UGH!), met many other fans (YEA!)...and am always looking forward to see what she's going to be in/doing next.
Mystique