Shannen Doherty was born on April 12, 1971 in Memphis, in the United-States. She was raised by religious parents and she received a pretty strict education. Tom, her father, was a bank employee, and Rose, her mother, worked as a beautician. Shannen also has a big brother, Sean. Today, he works in politics.

In 1977, the Doherty family moves to Los Angeles. Henceforth in the cinema's capital, Shannen rapidly manifests an interest in the world of acting. In spite of her young age, she asks her mother to subscribe her to theatre courses. At first she was reluctant but she finally decided to help her. At the time gifted and really comfortable in public, Shannen soon become a frequenter of the stage. She is not scared of action and she participated in a lot of amateur plays. Already having a strong personality, she knows how to get attention and charm the audience. Helped by her mother, Shannen had multiple auditions hoping to begin acting on television. In 1981, things went very fast. Because of a small role in the series Father Murphy, people discover for the first time the face of Shannen Doherty. Against what she thought, this series will allowed Shannen to make the big jump. Father Murphy was a series produced by Michael Landon, the creator of Little house on the prairie whom also plays the role of Charles Ingalls. Impressed by Shannen's performance, he offers her a regular role on Little house. Shannen was very excited! A few weeks later, she found herself in Jenny Wilder's skin, Almonzo's niece. For her, this experience is a godsend. For 2 years, she learned everything during the acting job, meanwhile getting a few small roles in the series Magnum and Gagney and Lacey. She also stars in Ron Howard's comedy, Night Shift.

In 1984, in despite of millions of fans, Little house on the prairie ends up on NBC. A period of doubt starts for Shannen. At 13, to the audience's eyes, she is still unknown. Whilst she would like to go on in her career and have new roles, no serious propositions pop up. Disappointed, Shannen however won't give up, believing that her future is in front of the cameras. For 7 years, going at school to please her parents, Shannen also went to some new auditions do her best to break-through. Her efforts are leading her to an apparition in an episode of Supercopter in 1984, and in Circus of the Stars in 1985. In the same year, she has also a role in a movie called Girls just want to have fun, with Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City) and Helen Haunt. The year after, she plays in the series Our House, where she has a regular role. For the first time, the critics are interested in her. The magazine TV Guide wrote: "Shannen Doherty is the only young actress able to be cute and sexy without giving nausea." After this encouraging experience, Shannen appeared in an episode of 21 Jump street. At last, in 1989, the producer Michael Lehmann asked her to play a total bitch in the movie Heathers, with Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. This role will be her springboard. In 1990, the producer Aaron Spelling asked her to play Brenda Walsh, one of the heroine of his new series: Beverly Hills 90210.