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American actress Shannen Doherty has appeared in numerous television programs and motion pictures. After her television debut in Father Murphy in 1981, she landed her first major role in the dramatic western television series Little House on the Prairie (1982–1983), and reprised her role in its three television specials. Doherty received two Young Artist Award nominations for playing the oldest Witherspoon sibling Kris in the family drama Our House (1986–1988). She appeared in four films during the 1980s, including the positively-received, animated film The Secret of NIMH (1982) and the cult classic Heathers (1988). Her breakthrough role was as Brenda Walsh in the teen drama Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990-1994), but she was later dropped from the series because of backstage issues and her negative image as a "bad girl". She starred in television films in the early and mid-1990s, and played Rene Mosier in the romantic comedy Mallrats (1995) in an attempt to rebuild her career.
Doherty enjoyed a resurgence in popularity after being cast by producer Aaron Spelling to play Prue Halliwell on the supernatural drama Charmed (1998–2001). The series was their second collaboration following Beverly Hills, 90210. The character was praised by critics and fans, earning a spot as one of the best witches in television history according to a TVLine article, and Doherty took an active role in the show's production, directing three of its episodes. Following disagreements with Spelling and co-star Alyssa Milano, Doherty left the series in its third season. Doherty starred in a string of television films, and reunited with Spelling taking a recurring role on the prime-time soap opera North Shore (2004–2005). The following year, she was cast as Denise Johnson in the unaired pilot of the sitcom Love, Inc., but was dropped from the show by producer United Paramount Network (UPN). She reprised her role as Brenda Walsh in the reboot of 90210 (2008–2009), appearing as a special guest star in eight episodes in its first season.
While acting in scripted material, Doherty also participated in five reality television shows, none of which had much success, except Shannen Says (2012), in which she received positive reviews. In 2010, Doherty competed in the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars to honor her father who had a stroke in December 2009. Later that year, she also voiced the identical twins Mari and Kari on the animated web series Mari-Kari, and starred in the independent satirical thriller Burning Palms after a nine-year absence from film. In 2012 and 2014, she directed two music videos for the band Radical Something. In 2016, she starred alongside Alec Baldwin, Danny Glover, and Michael Madsen in the sports drama film Back in the Day.