Tori Spelling

Tori Spelling Headshot

Actress • Personality

Birth Date: May 16, 1973

Age: 50 years old

Birth Place: Los Angeles, California

Spouses: Dean McDermott

Parents: Aaron Spelling

Actress and television personality Tori Spelling was born into Hollywood fame - her father was producer Aaron Spelling - though her own relationship with stardom was best described as rocky, with high points that included her starring role on "Beverly Hills 90210" (Fox, 1990-2000) and ebb moments in which she confessed to various personal dramas on reality television series. Born Victoria Davey Spelling in Los Angeles, California on May 16, 1973, she was the daughter of television producer Aaron Spelling and his wife, Candy. Spelling began appearing in guest roles on her father's television series, including "The Love Boat" (ABC, 1977-1987) and "Fantasy Island" (ABC, 1977-1984) while she was still in grade school, and by her late teens, had amassed a sizable resume of such appearances. In 1990, she earned her starmaking role as good girl Donna Martin on "Beverly Hills 90210." Her appearance on the series sparked rumors that she had been cast at the behest of her father, who produced the series and denied the allegations; for her part, Spelling did her best to dispel any negative allegations by working a tireless schedule of TV-movies and guest roles on other episodic series between seasons of "90210" until the show ran its course in 2000. The majority of these were made-for-TV potboilers, including the notorious camp-fest "Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?" (NBC, 1996). But as the decade worn down and "90210" declined in popularity, Spelling made the shrewd decision to try her hand at character roles in independent films. The results were surprisingly successful: she showed a knack for light comedy as a hapless newcomer to an eccentric family in "The House of Yes" (1997) and an aspiring actress in the gay-themed indie "Trick" (1999). Spelling received positive reviews for her performances, which led to a minor role as an exaggerated version of herself in Wes Craven's "Scream 2" (1997). But subsequent film projects went unnoticed, and an attempt to spoof her rich-kid persona on the sitcom "So Notorious" (VH1, 2006) earned critical praised but lasted just 10 episodes. By the new millennium, Spelling had become a staple of TV-movies, including the 2005 Lifetime project "Mind Over Murder." Though married at the time to actor/writer Charlie Shanian, she fell in love with her co-star, Dean McDermott, and after splitting from their respective spouses, married in 2006. The couple appeared in their first reality series, "Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood" (Oxygen, 2007-2012), which followed their attempts to launch a bed and breakfast business. But these and other efforts were largely overshadowed in the press by a slew of scandals, beginning in 2006 when Spelling received just $80,000 from her father's $500 million estate after his death that year. Bad blood between Spelling and her mother was alleged as the reason for the financial snub, but other problems soon surfaced: the couple struggled to remain financially afloat while also enjoying a lavish lifestyle, and battled constant rumors about an impending divorce. The latter reached a feverish pitch in 2013, when McDermott revealed that he had cheated on Spelling, which was covered in agonizing detail in the press and on their series, "True Tori" (Lifetime, 2014). The couple eventually appeared to regain their marriage, although their problems were far from over: they were sued by writers who claimed that the couple had appropriated their ideas for a reality series, "Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings" (Oxygen, 2011), and both Spelling and McDermott were sued by American Express and the state of California for unpaid debt. Spelling again attempted to rebound by pouring her past into a string of memoirs, starting in 2006 with the best-selling sTORI Telling while also maintaining a tireless schedule of reality show appearances, hosting opportunities and the occasional acting role. These included "Tori & Dean: Cabin Fever" (CMT, 2014), which found the couple living in rural Canada and attempting to restore a log cabin; she also appeared in a camp remake of "Mother, May I Sleep with Danger" (Lifetime, 2016), with a story by actor James Franco that replaced the original psycho-thriller plot with vampire gangs. In 2019, Spelling starred in and co-produced "BH90210" (Fox, 2019- ), a spoof of the series which reunited most of the original cast to play exaggerated versions of themselves. For the series, which lasted a single season, Spelling poked gentle fun at her ever-expanding brood of children with McDermott and their financial woes. Slightly more successful during this period was Spelling's appearance on the wildly popular "Masked Singer" (Fox, 2019- ), where she displayed an impressive singing voice while wearing an elaborate unicorn costume.

Credits

The Wheel

Guest
Game Show
2022

Love at First LieStream

Host
Reality
2022

Sherri

Guest
Talk
2022

Access Daily With Mario & Kit

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Show
2022

MessynessStream

Guest
Reality
2021

Overserved With Lisa VanderpumpStream

Self
Reality
2021

Celebrity Wheel of FortuneStream

Guest
Game Show
2021

The Drew Barrymore ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2020

GMA3: What You Need to Know

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2020

Famously AfraidStream

Actor
Series
2019

Access Daily

Guest
Show
2019

Tamron Hall

Guest
Talk
2019

BH90210Stream

Actor
Tori Spelling/Donna Martin
Series
2019
69%

BH90210Stream

Executive Producer
Series
2019
69%

BH90210: Extras

Actor
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2019

MasterChef Celebrity Family Showdown

Contestant
Special
2019

Today With Hoda & Jenna

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2019

Strahan & Sara

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2019

Today 3rd Hour

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2018

The Look: All Stars

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2018

People Features

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2018

Access Live

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Show
2017

Tori and Dean Specials

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2017

Not Today Bianca

Guest Star
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2016

Kocktails With Khloé: An Extra Shot

Guest
Show
2016

Kocktails With KhloéStream

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Reality
2016

Mother, May I Sleep With Danger?Stream

Actor
Julie
Movie
2016
64%

Izzie's Way Home

Voice
April
Movie
2016

Tori Spelling: Celebrity Lie Detector

Self
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2015

FABLife

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Talk
2015

The Jason Show

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Show
2015

Rupaul's Drag Race: RuVealed

Guest Star
Show
2015

Celebrity Family FeudStream

Guest
Game Show
2015

The Meredith Vieira Show

Guest
Talk
2014

Hollywood Today Live

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Show
2014

Mystery Girls

Actor
Holly Hamilton
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2014

Mystery Girls

Creator
Show
2014

Mystery Girls

Executive Producer
Show
2014

Tori & Dean: Cabin Fever

Self
Show
2014

True Tori

Executive Producer
Show
2014

True Tori

Self
Show
2014

Tori Spelling

Self
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2013

Hello Ross

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2013

Dean & Tori's Backyard Bash

Actor
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2013

Head Case: Extras

Actor
Show
2012

Oprah: Where Are They Now?Stream

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Talk
2012

Katie

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Talk
2012

Craft Wars

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2012

Craft Wars

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2012

The Mistle-TonesStream

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Marci
Movie
2012

The Chew

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Talk
2011

Dish Nation

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Talk
2011

Big Morning Buzz Live

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2011

Tori & Dean: sTORIbook Weddings

Self
Show
2011

Jake and the Never Land PiratesStream

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Pirate Princess
Series
2011

Jake and the Never Land PiratesStream

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Pirate Princess
Series
2011

The Talk

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Talk
2010

Access Hollywood Live

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2010

Breakfast in Bed Marathon

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2010

Chillin' With Dylan

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2009

The Dr. Oz Show

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Talk
2009

Watch What Happens Live With Andy CohenStream

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Talk
2009

RuPaul's Drag RaceStream

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Series
2009

Macy's Passport Celebrity Catwalk Challenge

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Show
2008

The Bonnie Hunt Show

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Talk
2008

90210Stream

Guest Star
Donna Martin'
Series
2008

90210's 50 Hottest Marathon

Actor
Show
2008

The Wendy Williams Show

Guest
Talk
2008

Tori & Dean

Actor
Show
2008

Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood

Self
Show
2008

Cthulhu

Actor
Susan
Movie
2008

Yo Gabba Gabba!Stream

Guest Star
Series
2007

Head Case

Guest Star
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2007

Tori & Dean: Inn Love

Self
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2007

The Better Show

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2007

The Morning Show With Mike & Juliet

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2007

Housesitter

Actor
Elise Crawford
Movie
2007

Kiss the Bride

Actor
Alex
Movie
2007

Rachael Ray ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2006

Back to School With 90210

Actor
Show
2006

etalk

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2006

So NoTORIous

Actor
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2006

The Tyra Show

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Talk
2005

American DadStream

Guest Voice
Kim
Series
2005

Mind Over Murder

Actor
Holly Winters
Movie
2005

Family Plan

Actor
Charlie
Movie
2005

Hush

Actor
Nina Hamilton
Movie
2005

Fashion Police

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Reality
2004

Fashion Police

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Reality
2004

The Insider

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2004

The Help

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2004

50 Ways to Leave Your Lover

Actor
Stpehanie
Movie
2004

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Guest
Talk
2003

Jimmy Kimmel Live!Stream

Guest
Talk
2003

A Carol Christmas

Actor
Carol Cartman
Movie
2003

Less Than PerfectStream

Guest Star
Series
2002

Naked Movie

Actor
Iris Pytkin
Movie
2002

SmallvilleStream

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Linda Lake
Series
2001
78%

Live With Regis and Kelly

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Show
2001

Scary Movie 2Stream

Actor
Alex
Movie
2001
14%

Sol Goode

Actor
Tammie
Movie
2001

Entertainment Studios.com

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2000

Beverly Hills, 90210: The Final Goodbye

Actor
Show
2000

Family Guy

Guest Voice
Donna
Show
1999

Family GuyStream

Guest Voice
Donna
Series
1999

Los Criminales

Actor
Lucy
Movie
1999

Trick

Actor
Katherine
Movie
1999

Perpetrators of the Crime

Actor
Lucy
Movie
1999

Kickin' It: With Byron Allen

Guest
Show
1998

The View

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Talk
1997

The House of Yes

Actor
Lesly
Movie
1997

The Alibi

Actor
Marti Gerrard
Movie
1997

Access Hollywood

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News
1996

Malibu Shores

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1996

Deadly Pursuits

Actor
Meredith
Movie
1996

Coed Call Girl

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Joanna
Movie
1996

Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?

Actor
Laurel Lewisohn
Movie
1996

Awake to Danger

Actor
Aimee McAdams
Movie
1995

Entertainers: With Byron Allen

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1994

Extra

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1994

Burke's Law

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Mary McKenna
Show
1994

Death of A CheerleaderStream

Actor
Stacy Lockwood
Movie
1994

E! News

Actor
News
1991

BlossomStream

Guest Star
Series
1991

Beverly Hills 90210Stream

Actor
Donna Martin
Series
1990

The BFFs of BH

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1990

The Fresh Prince of Bel-AirStream

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1990

Saved by the BellStream

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Violet Bickerstaff
Series
1988

Monsters

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Beverly
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1988

Hotel

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Soap
1983

Shooting Stars

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Jenny O'Keefe
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1983

Entertainment Tonight

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News
1981

Entertainment Tonight

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News
1981

Fantasy Island

Guest Star
Series
1978

Good Morning America

Guest
News
1975

Today

Guest
News
1952

News aboutTori Spelling