Tori Spelling
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Victoria Davey Spelling (born May 16, 1973) is an American actress. Her first major role was Donna Martin on ''
Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to as ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling via his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for 10 seasons on Fo ...
'', from 1990 to 2000. She has appeared in made-for-television films, including '' A Friend to Die For'' (1994), '' A Carol Christmas'' (2003), '' The Mistle-Tones'' (2012), both versions of '' Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?'' (1996 and 2016) and '' The Last Sharknado: It's About Time'' (2018). She has also starred in several independent films including '' The House of Yes'' (1997), '' Trick'' (1999), '' Scary Movie 2'' (2001), ''
Cthulhu Cthulhu is a fictional cosmic entity created by writer H. P. Lovecraft. It was introduced in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu", published by the American pulp magazine ''Weird Tales'' in 1928. Considered a Great Old One within the pantheon ...
'' (2007), '' Kiss the Bride'' (2007) and '' Izzie's Way Home'' (2016). She reprised her role of Donna Martin in ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' spin-off, '' BH90210'', in 2019. Spelling's autobiography, '' Stori Telling'', topped the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list.


Early life

Spelling was born in Los Angeles. She is the daughter of
Candy Candy, alternatively called sweets or lollies, is a Confectionery, confection that features sugar as a principal ingredient. The category, also called ''sugar confectionery'', encompasses any sweet confection, including chocolate, chewing gum ...
and Aaron Spelling."A Look at Tori Spelling's Family Tree"
. ''Genealogy Magazine''. June 2007.
She has a younger brother, Randy, a former actor who, , works as a life coach. Spelling's parents were from
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families whose ancestors moved to the United States from
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and
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. Her middle name comes from her paternal grandfather, David. She graduated from the elite all girls private school the Westlake School, which after her graduation merged in to the Harvard-Westlake School in 1991.


Career


Early work

At age six, Spelling was given acting lessons from an acting coach hired by her father, and was subsequently given guest spots on television series such as ''
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'', '' T. J. Hooker'', ''
Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
'', '' Fantasy Island'', '' Vega$'' and ''
Saved by the Bell ''Saved by the Bell'' is an American television teen sitcom created by Sam Bobrick for NBC. The series premiered, in prime time, on August 20, 1989, a Sunday night. Targeted at kids and teens, ''Saved by the Bell'' was broadcast in the United ...
''. At the age of 17, she was given the role of Donna Martin on ''
Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to as ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling via his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for 10 seasons on Fo ...
'', co-produced by Aaron Spelling's company Spelling Television. Tori Spelling portrayed Donna for the show's entire run and was nominated for two Young Artist Awards. While starring on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', Spelling was cast in a number of
made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
films, including '' Co-ed Call Girl'' (1996), '' A Friend to Die For'' (1994), and '' Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?'' (1996), and several
independent film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is film production, produced outside the Major film studios, major film studio system in addition to being produced and distributed by independ ...
s, including '' The House of Yes'' (1997) and '' Trick'' (1999).


2006–2009

In 2006, Spelling starred as herself in the VH1
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
'' So Notorious'', which parodied her public image. In January 2007, she and her second husband Dean McDermott pretended to purchase and operate a
bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...
hotel, Chateau La Rue in Fallbrook, California for their reality series, '' Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood'', originally ''Tori & Dean: Inn Love'', which aired on
Oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...
from 2007 to 2012. In July 2007, Spelling became a minister to marry a gay couple at Chateau La Rue. A tape of the wedding ceremony was shown on ''Inn Love''. Spelling's fashion and jewelry line premiered on HSN. She released her autobiography, '' sTori TELLING'', on March 11, 2008. Her second book, '' Mommywood'', was released on April 14, 2009. On January 7, 2009, it was reported that Spelling would reprise her role as Donna Martin on ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' spin-off '' 90210''. She appeared in the nineteenth and twentieth episodes of the first season as a special guest star.


2010–present

In 2010, Spelling released her third book, ''Uncharted TerriTORI''. Spelling told ''
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'': "I love sharing my stories and experiences with people and connecting to them on both a humorous and emotional level. The response to my first two books has been so amazing that I wanted to write a third one for my fans." ''Home Sweet Hollywood'''s spin-off series, '' Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings'' premiered on April 6, 2011. Writers, who claimed they came up with the idea of a similar series starring Spelling and husband Dean McDermott, filed a $60 million lawsuit against the series, citing breach of
implied-in-fact contract An implied-in-fact contract is a form of an implied contract formed by non-verbal conduct, rather than by explicit words. The United States Supreme Court has defined "an agreement 'implied in fact'" as "founded upon a meeting of minds, which, alth ...
, breach of
fiduciary A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical relationship of trust with one or more other parties (legal person or group of persons). Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money or other assets for another person. One party, ...
duty, slander of title,
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, and unfair business practices among other charges. Later in 2011, Spelling voiced the Pirate Princess in '' Jake and the Never Land Pirates''. She played a role in the comedy short film ''Hoarders: Untold sTori'' which premiered at the Outfest Film Festival in July 2011. On September 4, 2011, Spelling made an appearance on '' Big Brother 13''. On April 21, 2012, Spelling hosted '' My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'' 'Royal Wedding' special, celebrating the series' second-season finale, called '' A Canterlot Wedding''. She also hosted the series premiere of '' Craft Wars'', where three new contestants each episode battle against each other crafting for a chance to earn $10,000. On December 18, 2012, Spelling appeared on Nick Jr.'s ''
Yo Gabba Gabba! ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'' is a Children's television series, children's Musical film, musical television series created by Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz (producer), Scott Schultz and developed by Kay Wilson Stallings. The series is about five cos ...
'' and performed a skit where she baked cookies for the characters on the show. This was part of a Christmas special for the series. The special included other famous guests such as
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and
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. It was announced on August 26, 2013, that production had started on a reality television series titled '' Tori & Dean: Cabin Fever''. The series chronicles Spelling, McDermott, and their four children as they move to a lakeside cabin in Ontario, Canada while renovating it into their vacation home. Eight half-hour episodes were produced and aired on CMT Canada and
HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. HGTV Dream Home is an ...
in 2014. Spelling starred in the short-lived
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TV series '' Mystery Girls'' with former ''90210'' co-star Jennie Garth in 2014. In 2016, Spelling voiced April in the animated movie '' Izzie's Way Home''. The same year, she co-starred in the TV movie '' Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?'' alongside
James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'' (200 ...
. Since June 24, 2018, Spelling is hosting the TV series ''The Look: All Stars''. In the same time, she appears in the successful TV movie '' The Last Sharknado: It's About Time''. On January 30, 2019, Spelling competed in the first season of '' The Masked Singer'' as "Unicorn". In November 2020, Spelling began a podcast with ''Beverly Hills 90210'' co-star Jennie Garth titled ''9021OMG'', where the two re-watch and share memories from their time on the show and chat about their experiences, along with TV and radio personality Sisanie Villaclara. In 2022, Spelling appeared as a guest on the Australian and French versions of ''The Masked Singer''. In 2023, she competed in the Spanish version of ''The Masked Singer'' as "Harlequin". In September 2024, Spelling was announced as one of the celebrities competing on season 33 of ''
Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...
''. She is partnered with Pasha Pashkov.


Personal life

On July 3, 2004, Spelling married actor and writer Charlie Shanian. In July 2005, she was filming the Lifetime TV movie ''Mind Over Murder'' in
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, during which she met actor Dean McDermott, who was then married to actress Mary Jo Eustace. Spelling and McDermott began an affair the night they met. Spelling and Shanian separated in October 2005.Additional on December 23, 2016. Shanian cited
irreconcilable differences The concept of irreconcilable differences provides possible grounds for divorce in the United States of America and Australia, among other jurisdictions. Australia Australian family law uses a no-fault divorce approach, and irreconcilable differe ...
when he filed for divorce, which was finalized on April 20, 2006. Spelling married McDermott less than a month later, on May 7, 2006, in a private ceremony in Wakaya,
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. The couple renewed their vows on May 8, 2010, in
Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...
. They have five children together: three sons, Liam Aaron (born 2007), Finn Davey (born 2012) and Beau Dean (born 2017) and two daughters, Stella Doreen (born 2008) and Hattie Margaret (born 2011). Spelling anticipated a sizable inheritance from her father's $500 million estate after his death in 2006. The estate was to be divided primarily between Spelling, her brother Randy, and their mother Candy. Candy Spelling was the estate executor, but she and Tori Spelling were estranged. Tori and Randy Spelling each inherited $800,000, although Randy was not estranged from Candy. Candy established a $10 million trust fund for Tori's eldest child. In her sixth book, ''Spelling It Like It Is'', Spelling admitted to having financial troubles, due to the cancellation of her reality series, poor real estate decisions, and a difficult fourth pregnancy, during which she was hospitalized for ten weeks. In explanation, Spelling said, "...as my real estate obsession persists, it's starting to look more compulsive. Moving is expensive, and I've put us in a precarious financial situation." In December 2013, after welcoming their second son, ''
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'' broke the news that McDermott was unfaithful to Spelling. The couple worked through the aftermath of the affair on a Lifetime series titled '' True Tori''. While Spelling and McDermott's marriage was back on track, the couple once again made headlines in 2016 for owing $39,000 to
American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...
in unpaid credit card bills. Candy, who was on good terms with her daughter, told
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at the time that she was helping out Spelling and her family financially. In June 2023, McDermott announced that he and Spelling decided to separate after 18 years together in a now-deleted
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post. On March 29, 2024, Spelling officially filed for divorce from McDermott, citing irreconcilable differences and asking for sole physical and joint legal custody of their five children with visitation rights for McDermott.


Filmography


Film


Television


Discography


Bibliography

Spelling has written six books. Three were published by Gallery Books, while one was published by Aladdin Books and another published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment. * '' sTORI Telling'' (2008) * '' Mommywood'' * ''Uncharted TerriTORI'' (2010). * ''Presenting Tallulah'' (2010)"Tori Spelling Shares "Presenting... Tallulah," Being Her Father's Daughter and the Challenges of Having It All"
. ''PR''. October 4, 2010.
* ''CelebraTORI'' (2012) * ''Spelling It Like It Is'' (2013)


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spelling, Tori 1973 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers Actresses from Beverly Hills, California Actresses from Los Angeles American child actresses American film actresses American jewelry designers American people of Polish-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent American television actresses American women autobiographers American women jewellers American women non-fiction writers American women television writers Harvard-Westlake School alumni Jewish American actresses Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish American screenwriters Jewish American television writers Television writers from California Jewish women writers Participants in American reality television series People from Holmby Hills, Los Angeles Spelling family Writers from Los Angeles