Shannen Doherty left Charmed. The story of one conflict: how Alyssa Milano was hired and Shannen Doherty fired from “Charmed”

Shannen Doherty turns 46 on April 12. The mention of her name chills the hearts of former girlfriends, abandoned men and Hollywood directors who had the honor of working with this star. She left a fatal mark everywhere, forcing her victims to waste nerve cells and even, in some cases, sacrifice their careers.

Shannen Doherty, “the greatest of the ten witches in the history of television,” turned out to be a real disaster for those around her in real life - friends, colleagues and even family. Although none of them could deny that Shannen is very talented and charming.

She grew up in the family of a real estate agent and a beauty salon owner, who pampered and nurtured her. The sweet and modest girl had an easy-going and gentle character. But in still waters, as they say, there are devils. Time will pass, and Shannen's parents, shuddering in horror, will learn from television news about the adventures of their bitchy daughter.

In the meantime, young Shannen plays in amateur performances, getting used to applause and a little fame. Even then, a spark of ambition lit up in her, a desire to achieve her cherished goal - to become a Hollywood star. Shannen persistently goes to television castings and persistently knocks on the doors of Luck. And finally, Fortune smiled on her: the girl was given a small role in the TV series “Father Murphy.” We can say that from that moment Doherty’s brilliant acting career began. True, there were some small hiccups along the way, but a strong and strong-willed girl (you can’t take these qualities away from a future star!) overcame everything.

Test of Glory

Photo: still from the TV series “Charmed”

“A young actress capable of being both innocent and seductive” - this praise from critics for Shannen’s participation in the soap opera “Our House” unexpectedly played a positive role in her future fate. Doherty was invited to the film “Fatal Game” directed by Michael Layman, where she competed with Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.

And then a turning point in her life happened: the “king of TV series” Aaron Spelling himself noticed a talented and bright girl. The cinema maestro offered Shannen the role of Brenda Walsh in the series Beverly Hills 90210. This popular youth film will be the pinnacle of Doherty's acting career. He will bring her fame, money and the title of star. But popularity will play a bad role in Shannen’s life; it will spread like sweet poison in her soul, which will lead to the most unpleasant consequences. From a “sweet girl” she will turn into an unpredictable, scandalous and, frankly, just a crazy star. Not a week passed without the actress appearing on the pages of the tabloid press. Brawls, loud quarrels, drunk driving - these actions have become a kind of hobby for Shannen Doherty. She was constantly late for filming and provoked her colleagues. Grinding his teeth and remembering that viewers adore the on-screen Brenda, the “king of series” tolerated her presence in the series for a long time. But one day Aaron Spelling couldn’t stand it and pointed to the door. And the star had to put on a good face despite his bad performance. She began to claim that she was too close to the role of Brenda, and therefore was forced to leave the series.

Colleagues' hatred

Truly life is as round as a ball: Aaron Spelling and Shannen Doherty will meet again. And he will again offer her a role in his series “Charmed.” Although the venerable director understood that he was taking a lot of risks. This time Shannen was entrusted with the image of the elder witch Prue Halliwell. It would seem that all the cards are in her hands - and prove in practice that you are still talented, charming, and have left old sins behind. But less than a year later, the set turned into a kind of gladiatorial amphitheater. Some believed that the cause of the scandals was the increasing popularity of Alyssa Milano, who played one of the witch sisters, while others saw the root of evil in Shannen’s relationship with actor Julian McMahon, a participant in the filming. They say Doherty was terribly jealous of Alice. Although, to be honest, there was no reason for such a point of view. However, the initially friendly relationship between Alyssa and Shannen gave way to hostility. They sometimes almost got into fights on the set. But most of the blame for what happened lies on Shannen's conscience. Her quarrelsome and unpredictable character and passion for turning any little thing into a loud quarrel forced Aaron Spelling to decide to break up with Doherty. This time he showed generosity towards his former favorite: Shannen herself orchestrated the death of her heroine in the TV series “Charmed.”

Failures in your personal life

Kurt Isvarenko is Shannen's third official husband, with whom she found true happiness

Photo by @theshando

The personal life of the scandalous star somehow did not work out. Perhaps the title of “bad girl” that Hollywood gave her played a certain role in her relationships with men. However, one gets the impression that she treated her chosen ones with some carelessness and ease. And even with a certain contempt mixed with aggression. This, by the way, is evidenced by the case when the former fiancé of the star actress Dean Factor filed a lawsuit against her. He claimed that Shannen once pointed a gun at him and threatened to “hire two thugs to beat and rape him.”

Shannen's first marriage to actor Ashley Hamilton can easily be called a kind of whim of a single woman and a faint hint of family life. Six months later, the young people separated. And Doherty did not take anything useful out of this marriage, except disappointment and a little life experience. The actress’s second marriage to producer Rick Salomon was also “lightning fast”; it lasted just over six months.

Infertility

Despite her outward noisy life, Shannen suffers from loneliness and lack of reliable support. And in order to hide this condition, she often goes to great lengths, trying to maintain her reputation as a star bitch. And the real drama of her life is that she cannot have children and is deprived of maternal happiness. And if we put aside all Shannen’s antics and scandalous acts that she often committed out of inertia and ignorance, we must admit that Doherty has a kind and easy-going heart. At the age of eleven she opened a shelter for homeless animals. Shannen has not changed her habit of helping her younger brothers even now. Dogs and horses in her house seem to be Shannen's most faithful and best friends. The actress personally helps the animal shelter, that is, she does not just finance, but often visits, helps volunteers care for sick animals, and on her Instagram you will find dozens of posts about finding new owners for abandoned animals. Shannen is ready to give all her unspent maternal love to unfortunate animals.

Terrible disease

Shannen has always been a strong person. And now she has to prove this in the fight against a serious illness - breast cancer. According to her, the fact that the disease is advanced is the fault of former manager Tanner Mainsten, who incorrectly obtained medical insurance. And the actress had to sue him. Upon learning of the terrible diagnosis, Shannen was ready to give up. She even said goodbye to her fans on Instagram. But thanks to the care of her mother, husband and friends, Shannen found the strength not only to begin the fight against cancer, but also to show the whole world what suffering she has to experience every day. Fans and friends were a little shocked and surprised by Shannen's courage in posting a post in which her mother and friend helped the actress say goodbye to her once luxurious hair. After chemotherapy, her hair began to thin and fall out, and Shannen decided to shave her head. She is not afraid to post photos from the hospital during chemotherapy on her page and thanks her loved ones for their support. Currently, Shannen Doherty is courageously fighting the disease. Her third husband, photographer Kurt Isvarenko, helps her overcome it; he surrounded Shannen with long-awaited love and care. And we wish the star actress a speedy recovery so that she can once again delight the audience with bright roles. In addition, without her extravagant antics, the world around her looks boring and gray...

This series premiered in the fall of 1998. From the very first episode, viewers simply “stuck” to the screens, trying not to miss a single word or gesture. The actresses playing three charming witch sisters instantly acquired an army of fans who praised them as best they could. Their popularity, as well as their fees, grew by leaps and bounds. So what happened? Why did Shannon Doherty leave Charmed? Let's try to figure it out in this article.

How it all started in the series

One dark, rainy evening, the youngest of the three Halliwell sisters, Phoebe, returns to her childhood home. The older sister, Prudence (or Prue, as she is usually called), and the middle sister, Piper, continue to live in this house, as before. It is the middle sister who always acts as the peacemaker in the family, and this evening, when relations between the older and younger sisters are heating up again, she tries to reconcile them. The night that followed this strange evening turned out to be the most unusual in the girls’ lives, because when the older sisters went to bed, the youngest, Phoebe, went to the attic and found some book there. After reading a few lines from it, she also goes to rest and does not notice that thanks to the words spoken out loud, everything in her life and the lives of her sisters has changed forever.

In the morning, not just beautiful girls, but powerful witches woke up in this house. Many years ago, when they were still very young, their grandmother, Penelope (Grams), “connected” their powers to save her granddaughters and give them the opportunity to live a normal childhood, without magic and demons. But now, after her death, their strength has returned.

Prudence Halliwell

Prue was the first of three girls born to Patricia Halliwell and Victor Bennett. From birth she had telekinesis, and this gift returned to her when she was already an adult. She was popular at school and did very well. Since childhood, Prue has been a responsible girl. She liked taking photographs, but when their mother was killed by the Water Demon, she gave up her dream and began to think about providing for her younger sisters. The girl became seriously interested in art history and after some time began working as an art appraiser at the Baklad auction house.

After her mother died, Prue developed a fear of water; she was afraid that her life would end in the same way. With the return of magic to the sisters' lives, they all (and Prue mostly) learn to overcome their fears and try to better understand themselves and their passions. After one of the stories in which the sisters found themselves ten years in the future, Prue saw herself as a tough careerist, a very wealthy woman, completely devoid of a personal life. After this test, she decides to change her life and make her dream a reality: she became a photographer for a magazine.

When the sisters regain their strength, Prue, as usual, takes care of the younger sisters and quickly becomes the most powerful and strong of the three.

The actress who brought Prue to life

The older sister Prudence in this series about good witch sisters was played by the famous actress Shannen Doherty. She is a very bright personality, known in Hollywood for her penchant for all sorts of scandals, nervousness and overly inflated self-esteem, which often interfered with her work. What helped her was that she had a bright, attractive appearance.

She also has plenty of acting skills, so the role of Prue Halliwell was a success for her.

So why did Shannon Doherty leave Charmed? She once left her previous project about the boys from Beverly Hills with a huge scandal. But when the decision was made to create a new series about witches, the producer took the risk of inviting her to this filming, because this story was very different from his previous projects. At first everything was more than good. But by the beginning of the second season, very serious tension arose around the figure of Shannon.

Why Shannon Doherty left Charmed has been of interest to her fans for many months after that. And it all began long before this day.

Laurie or Alice?

Initially, the producer cast actress Laurie Rom for the role of Phoebe, the youngest of the sisters. But due to some reasons, she was forced to refuse, despite the fact that the filming process had already begun and they even filmed a pilot episode, but then they chose it for several seasons and became Phoebe Halliwell.

By the way, Shannon also auditioned for the role of the middle sister, Piper, and Combs, who was invited to the project first, was supposed to play the younger one. But over time, everyone outplayed. As a result, Holly became Piper, and Shannon became Prue.

Why did Shannon Doherty leave Charmed? After all, at first everything was more than good. The girls who played the sisters became friends in real life. But everything has changed. From episode to episode, Milano won the hearts of viewers. This became especially noticeable when a new hero appeared on the screens - Cole. Their love - the strong feeling of a witch and a demon - attracted a lot of attention to them. Now the admiration for the older sister has subsided a little. But the middle one received it in full.

Official reasons for leaving

Doherty always loved to be the center of attention - both on camera and in life, so this situation did not suit her. Now the girls only communicated on camera. As soon as filming of the next episode ended, they could even start a fight.

It's no longer so surprising why Shannon Doherty left Charmed. But there was also a very important incentive to start scandals and fights with Alice. At the time the series was filmed, Shannon was having an affair with Julian McMahon, who played the role of Cole. And she could not contain her jealousy both towards her lover and towards her serial sister. Even the fact that Milano began to develop more than friendly relations with a completely different actor playing the role of the Guardian Angel of all the sisters did not diminish her jealousy.

The producer was tired of seeing all these squabbles and decided to remove Alice from the series. And she herself stated this, demanding to choose between her and Shannon. The plot of Phoebe's death had already been prepared. How suddenly everything changed.

What happened and why did Shannon Doherty leave “Charmed”, because the role of the older witch brought her unprecedented popularity?

One of the versions is more loyal: Shannon was offered a role in another film, and she agreed. The other was less prosaic.

The actress could no longer contain her emotions; the scandals went beyond the set. She was often detained for driving while intoxicated. The producers' patience was running out. And then Milano delivered her ultimatum: either she or Shannon. Since Alice’s popularity at that moment was steadily rising, and she did not cause any scandals, Spelling decided to leave her in the project. And they did the last favor for Doherty, offering to choose the cause of her character’s death herself, and even direct it.

The actress chose Prue's death at the hands of the demon Shex (the Master's servant), whom the sisters could not defeat.

So Shannon Doherty left Charmed. The reasons were both professional and personal. And which ones outweighed will remain a mystery to the broad masses.

The series “Charmed” (English Charmed; on Ukrainian screens it was released under the name “Usi Zhinki - Witches”) lasted for 8 whole seasons and became one of the highest-rated projects of the TV channel “The WB”. “KP in Ukraine” decided to find out how the life of the main characters of the series turned out.

Prue Halliwell - Shannen Doherty, 44

Among the then-acting series, Doherty was the most popular actress. She has a leading role in the popular soap Beverly Hills 90210. After filming only three seasons, Shannen left the project in 2001 due to disagreements with actress Alyssa Milano, who played the role of Phoebe. The actress's roles on the big screen are not particularly noticeable, but her television career is developing rapidly. The actress hosted several successful shows - “Cruel Intentions”, “Divorce from Shannen Doherty”, and took part in “Dancing with the Stars”, where her partner was two-time winner of the show Mark Ballas. On January 2, 2015, the reality show “Lost Lands with Shannen and Holly” premiered on the American television channel “Great American Country.” The authors and presenters of the project were Doherty and her best friend and colleague from “Charmed” Holly-Marie Combs. As part of the program, the actresses visit interesting but little-known places in the United States.

In August 2015, the actress announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Doherty's health condition is not critical and the tumor is treatable.

Doherty was married three times. The first two marriages turned out to be short-lived. The actress lived with her first husband Ashley Hamilton for one year. And the marriage with producer Rick Salamon was annulled 7 months after the wedding. On October 15, 2011, Shannen married photographer Kurt Isvarenko, with whom she still lives. The actress has no children.

Piper Halliwell - Holly-Marie Combs, 41

Holly-Marie Combsie and Shannen Doherty met on the set of Charmed and are still friends to this day. However, Holly's career was less successful. The actress appeared on screens until 2010, when she received the role of the mother of the main character in the ABC series Pretty Little Liars. However, starting from the fourth season, Cobs' role practically became episodic.

Combs has been married twice. From 1993 to 1997 - behind actor Brian Travis Smith. In 2004, she tied the knot with former Charmed worker David Donohoe, with whom she gave birth to three sons. In 2001, the couple divorced. Now the actress lives with her children and numerous animals in Los Angeles.

Phoebe Halliwell - Alisa Milano, 42 years old

Her career began long before Charmed. At the age of 13, she starred in the action movie “Commando” with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and from 1984 to 1992 she played in the sitcom “Who’s the Boss?” After the role of Phoebe, there was only one notable role on the big screen - in the comedy "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend." But countless TV series brought Milano wild popularity and huge fees. The most notable role was in the film “Mistresses” on the ABC television channel. After two successful seasons, Milano left the series due to pregnancy.

Milano was married to Remy Zero member Sinjan Tate for less than a year. In 2009, Milano married sports agent David Bugliari. The couple has two children. Now the actress has completely devoted herself to motherhood and is not yet going to take part in new projects.

Paige Matthews - Rose McGowan, 42

McGowan joined Charmed in season four following Shannen Doherty's departure. At the same time, the actress played in the mini-series “Elvis: The Early Years”, and also appeared in Brian De Palma’s film “Black Orchid”. Unlike her serial sisters, the actress achieved success on the big screen. In 2007, McGowan played in Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's films Grindhouse, Death Proof and Planet Terror. In 2008, she starred in the film Fifty Dead Men, and in 2009 she guest starred in five episodes of the television series Nip/Tuck, starring her Charmed co-star Julian McMahon (Cole).

In 2007, the actress was in a car accident. Another car crashed into her car. According to the actress, the lenses of her glasses, breaking during the collision, cut her eyelids and left terrible scars. McGowan was forced to undergo a series of plastic surgeries, which greatly changed her appearance.

Rose McGowan in 2007 and 2005. Photo: gettyimages.com

In 2001, Rose returned to the screens with the role of the main villain in the blockbuster Conan. The actress has also achieved success in the directorial field. McGowan won an award at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival for her short film Breaking Dawn. In 2014, she announced the start of her musical career and the recording of her debut album.

In the late 90s and early 2000s she dated Marilyn Manson. Only in 2015, the actress admitted that they broke up due to the musician’s addiction to cocaine. In 2013, McGowan married artist Davey Diteil and has no children.

“Beverly Hills 90 210” became a cult favorite for a whole generation of young people, and the actors who played the main roles there became idols and sex symbols. The other day, the 1+1 channel began rerunning this popular soap in the 90s, and KP decided to find out what the actors it made famous are doing now.

In 1998, when it was announced that Shannen Doherty would star in the new Charmed, fans of the actress were surprised because her relationship with producer Aaron Spelling (who launched Charmed) left much to be desired.

The fact is that before this, Doherty played one of the main roles in “Beverly Hills, 90210” and with her behavior managed to bring even the peace-loving Spelling (not to mention her colleagues on the series, with whom Shannen was constantly in conflict - with Jennie Garth it even came to full-fledged fights).

As Charmed creator Connie M. Burge told InStyle, Aaron Spelling fully supported the candidacy of Shannen Doherty for the role of the older sister, Prue - especially since Doherty already had a friendly relationship with Holly Marie Combs, who was considered for the role of the middle sister, Piper. .

For the role of the youngest sister, Phoebe, the producers initially cast Laurie Rom, who starred in the pilot episode and even managed to attend several promotional events in support of “Charmed.” However, then, due to some “personal reasons,” Laurie was forced to leave the series.

What Phoebe was originally supposed to look like (opening credits of the Charmed pilot)

That's how Alyssa Milano appeared on the scene. For the producers of "Charmed," the opportunity to get Alyssa was a stroke of luck, since Milano was already a star thanks to "Melrose Place" and "Who's the Boss?" The combination of Shannen, Holly Marie and Alyssa proved successful - when Charmed began airing in October 1998, the series became an immediate hit. Compliments poured in to the star trio: “It’s like we caught lightning in a bottle with our girls and their chemistry,” executive producer Brad Kern rejoiced. “We are very lucky that the three of us found each other,” echoed Alyssa Milano.

The friendship of the “Charmed” trio, both on screen and off, seemed ideal - Shannen and Holly Mary were even bridesmaids at Alyssa’s wedding in 1999 (however, Milano and her chosen one, musician Sinjan Tate, divorced just 10 months later).

By the beginning of season 3 of Charmed, the first rumors appeared about a tense situation on the set - conflicts between Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano became known, but the tabloids could only guess about the reasons. The most common theory is that Shannen was jealous of Milano's growing popularity. No less popular - Shannen did not like the direction in which the series was moving (that more attention was paid to the romances of the sisters, rather than their relationships with each other), and the actress did not hesitate to express her opinion.

Be that as it may, it got to the point where the on-screen sisters did not talk to each other at all - except perhaps out of necessity. “There were times when I came up and said: “Good morning, Shannen,” and she was defiantly silent,” Alyssa admitted much later. “But there were also times when she would come up to me and say, ‘Good morning, Alyssa,’ and I wouldn’t respond.”