February 25, 1995 - Hello Magazine. Photos by Jadran Lazic.
Shannen Doherty in her Hollywood Home.
Beverly Hills 90210's bad girl turns over a new leaf
Since she left school in Tennessee to begin her acting career in 1981 at the tender age of ten, Shannen Doherty achieved early fame through Little House On The Prairie and went on to superstardom with her role as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills 90210, which she played for four years before leaving in unhappy circumstances. Along with her fame came a reputation as a partygoing wild young thing.
But, despite rumours about her tempestuous nature and off-screen temper tantrums, American television viewers have flooded producer Aaron Spelling with letters demanding her return to the series.
Shannen will be returning to Beverly hills 90210 to make a guest appearance, but in the meantime she has traded her tight jeans for feminine bustiers and demure new look for her role as Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind, in a new television film about the famous writer's life.
Another part of her past that Shannen is ore than happy to leave behind is her involvement in several well-published arguments with boyfriends.
Shannen has been engaged twice – first to Christoper Foufas and then to Dean Factor, heir to the Max Factor Fortune.
Then, in September 1993, after a very swift courtship, she married Ashley Hamilton, son of actor George Hamilton. Their marriage broke down just five months later, but Shannen can now recognise that she learned something positive from that most difficult episode.
Meeting her current boyfriend, 27-year-old director and producer, Rob Weiss, seems to have marked a major change in her life. He is rumoured to be the director of a forthcoming Oliver Stone production based on the Bret Easton Ellis novel, American Psycho.
After dating Rob for a year, Shannen now leads a much calmer lifestyle and spends much more time in her beautiful home in the Hollywood hills. It was there that the petite, raven-haired actress spoke to us about her new-found tranquility and her hopes for the future.
You started acting when you were only ten, do you ever regret that you started so early in your life?
"Yes, because I missed going to regular school and having classmates. I used to learn on the set with a tutor, so I was constantly in the company of adults. I didn't have a normal childhood and I am sorry about that."
Michael Landon produced the series Father Murphy in which you appeared, then he hored you to play Jenny Wilder in The Little House on the Prairie. Was he a very important person in your life?
"He was my mentor, my idol. Michael was like a second father to me. He was the most gentle man I have ever met. I can sincerely say that he was my teacher and my guide."
Did you enjoy working on your recent portrayal of Margaret Mitchell, the author of Gone With the Wind?
"I was so happy to get the part, as she had always fascinated me. And I must admit it was great fun to dress up in the very feminine costumes of that period. I read everything I could find about Margaret Mitchell. To learn her southern accent I went to live in North Carolina for a month before we started shooting so I could be among people who spoke that way. I also worked with a dialect coach."
What are you working on now?
"My boyfriend is going to direct a movie and I'm going to play in it. But I won't say any more becuase the project is in its early stages."
Do you prefer working in film rather than television?
"Yes, that's my plan. I want to get my own production company rolling and start developing and producing my own things. I want to continue to be an actress, but only to play the roles that excite me."
Can you tell us a little more about your boyfriend, Rob Weiss?
"He makes me happy. He has a lots of ambitions, a lot of drive, and he has a lot to teach me. Rob learns a lot from me, too. It's a very supportive relationship and it gives me a stable and happy environment."
Was meeting Rob a turning point in your life?
"Without any doubt. But to be honest with you. I've grown up a lot in the past year. I am stronger and I have got out of two bad situations."
Would you like to elaborate on those bad times?
"I'm talking about Beverly Hills 90210 where I was unhappy in my last two years with the show. Then there was my marriage to Ashley Hamilton in which I was even more unhappy."
Do you feel that your marriage was a mistake?
"Yes, it was. I know that each experience teaches you something and I have learned a lot from that one, but living through it was very difficult. I knew on my wedding day that it was a mistake, and I went through that whole day knowing in my head that I really shouldn't have gone ahead with it."
Then why did you marry Ashley?
"Because all of my friends around me kept pushing me to get married. 'Go ahead, do it! Do it!' they would say. I couldn't back down. So I did it. A month after our marriage I found out that Ashley had many problems that I had not been aware of. I loved him because I thought he had a good heart. But there are so many kinds of love. Now that I am really 'in love' with Rob, I know the difference."
You seem to have a very good relationship with Rob?
"Exactly. Since we are also close friends, we understand and learn from each other."
Do you forsee a wedding in the near future?
"Oh, it's a good way off yet. Right now I want to concentrate on my career."
Are you a little scared to try marriage again?
"A little. I have only known Rob for a year. We need more time to learn more about each other. But I am not against marrying again. And the next time I get married I would like it to last forever. So I'm not going to rush things. I'm being smart and taking one day at a time."
Can you talk about the problems that you had on Beverly Hills 90210?
"The first two years were great. We were a bunch of young actors who became good friends, we were happy. My character, Brenda Walsh, was fascinating.
"Then Brenda changed and I did not like the character I was protraying any more because the writers and producers made her less interesting to me. She seemed to have far less range, the character wasn't challenging me as an actress. So I asked to quit. But I was under contract and they didn't let me leave for another two years."
How did you manage to work so long in a situation you didn't like?
"To a certain extent those two years felt as if I were serving a prison sentence! But some of the people were really nice and I leanred a lot from the experience."
In what ways have you changed since you left the series last spring?
"I'm more patient, more mature. Don't forget that at the beginning of the series I became suddenly famous. I didn't understand how to deal with fame. It was a huge responsability that I was unable to cope with at the time.
"I was probably too young and too naive, to handle the unhappy situations. Today I am stronger. I have a certain inner peace that allows me to deal with anything."
With your experience, if you had children would you want them to go into acting?
"No. I'll never have my child in this business."
We've so often heard you described as a tempestuous wild-child. Could you describe the real Shannen?
"I am quite a nice person. I was lucky to have great parents who brought me up well. When I read nasty things about myself, even though they were 90 per cent untrue, they hurt terribly. It was an insult to my parents who do not deserve to hear that their daughter was so naughty. Especially as I wasn't."
How do you cope with the stories?
"You just have to deal with it the best you can. You start by getting angry and wanting to change things. But it doesn't work that way. So you have to learn to live with all the stories. I was never able to stop them anyway.
"Now I am strong, very ambitious and I think I also have a good heart. My good friends can attest to that. I like to help people and I am a good loyal friend.
What do you like to do when you're not working?
"I love cooking. And I love shopping, that's my downfall! But I am also very wise and I give myself just so much money to spend each week."
What kind of clothes do you like to wear?
"At home I wear mostly jeans and T-shirts, things that are comfortable. But when I go out at night I like to wear flowing long dresses. I like to look very feminine."
You used to be seen at all the hot nightclubs but more recently you've left that scene alone. What happened?
"Now I stay here in the evenings with my boyfriend. We cook, we eat, we read, we listen to music. We are happy at home alone. We are in love and it's pretty frightening, we are a bit like an old married couple! I know exactly what he's going to say and he knows exactly how I'm going to react to something. We can predict almost everything about one aother, which is actually great. It's very comfortable."
If you could change anything about yourself now what would it be?
"I want to stop smoking. I always promised to myself that I would. I also want to take better care of myself. I adore cheeseburgers and French fries, they're my daily lunch and I know it's bad.
"Apart from that I don't think I would change anything. I like myself. My parents and my brother Sean like me too. I'm happy. I can't ask for anything more."
Interview: Christopher Monroe.
