Express Newspaper January 7th 2011
As Brenda Walsh on "Beverly Hills, 90210," Shannen Doherty won fans for her bad-girl rep both on-screen and offscreen. These days, the actress and "Dancing With the Stars" alum has put her tabloid times behind her. In her new book, "Badass: A Hard-Earned Guide to Living Life With Style and (the Right) Attitude" ($26, Clarkson Potter), she details how she became the confident chick she is today.

Why write this book?

Most people have read at least one self-help book. I remember reading a couple and saying, "I can't really relate to these." I thought, "I've made some mistakes and I've learned a lot. Maybe my past mistakes and the way I choose to lead my life now could be helpful."

People might be expecting a tell-all, but you didn't go that route.

Tell-alls, I'm not supportive of. I think that everybody has the right to privacy, and tell-all books are usually told from an incredibly slanted opinion, and it's only one person's opinion. I was taught when I was young that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it all, and I like to stick to that as much as I can.

What does living like a badass mean to you?

It means living with integrity, compassion, passion, creativity. It's sort of embracing life and living it to its fullest while being conscious that you're one of millions and millions of people. There has to be an awareness of the ripple effect your actions have on others.

And there's a difference between being a badass and being a bad girl, right?

A bad girl makes the same mistakes over and over again, and doesn't even own up to it. She's always sort of making excuses for herself. Whereas a badass makes a mistake, doesn't make the same mistake twice, and that mistake impacts her. She feels bad and sits there and dissects it to learn a lesson from the mistake, to move on and be a better person for it.

Is there anything you know now that you wish you'd known during "90210's" heyday?

It's hard for me to say would I do anything differently. There are so many positives mixed in, and who knows without the negatives how the positives would have been? But I probably would have locked myself in my house more often. I probably shouldn't have married the people I married. I haven't exactly had the best radar for good men.

How does your badass attitude carry over into your wardrobe?

Some people like how I dress; others say I'm not fashionable at all. I couldn't care less. For me, staying classic is really important. I don't want to spend a fortune on clothes. There are so many purses I look at that I love, but the purse I always go back to is my classic black Chanel tote. It never goes out of style, and it looks brand-new, even though it's five or six years old.