biography

Victoria Davey "Tori" Spelling was born on May 16th, 1973, the daughter of Aaron and Candy Spelling. Her father was a powerful TV executive. He had major success in the seventies producing Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, Vegas, The Love Boat, and Fantasy Island. He was also responsible for the more recent Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place.

Tori began her acting career at the age of five with a guest appearance on Vegas. She appeared in more of her father's shows (Fantasy Island, Love Boat, Hotel, and T.J. Hooker) as well as a made-for-TV movie (Three Kings) during the eighties before landing the spot of Donna Martin on Beverly Hills 90210 in 1989. She is now one on the few original cast members who never left the show, although one rumour claims that Shannen Doherty was kicked off the show for being a bad influence on Tori.

Following a brief role on Saved By the Bell, for which she won the 1991 Youth in Film Award, Tori embarked on a series of made-for-TV movies. Her first, A Friend to Die For (1994), was successful, mostly because audiences had little trouble believing Tori as a spoiled cheerleader. Awake to Danger was less fortunate, and her subsequent made-for-TV movies went downhill quickly.

Around this time, Tori made a startling discovery. Logging onto the internet for the first time, she found reams of material dedicated to her every flaw. Her critics had a heyday picking apart her appearance and acting skills. According to them, if Tori was not Aaron Spelling's daughter, she would not be working as an actress.

Her answer to these critics came in the movie theatres. The House of Yes, based on Wendy MacLeod's stage play, was originally released at the Sundance Film Festival and was picked up for general release by Mirimax Films. The movie portrayed a college student, played by Tori, who meets her fiancé's strange family for Thanksgiving dinner. Parker Posey (Dazed & Confused, subUrbia) played the fiancé's twin sister. The film was a critical success, with many of the critics amazed at how much Tori's acting improves when she works with a decent script and character.

That same year, Tori appeared in Scream II. In Scream, one of the characters comments that if a movie was made about the events, her part would be filled by Tori Spelling. In an act of self-parody, Tori played that role in the fictitious movie based on the original that appears in the sequel.

Despite her critical accomplishments in these two movies, she was still nominated for a Razzie for Worst New Star. When the award went to Dennis Rodman, it was seen as a sign of her increasing standing as an actress.

Since the making of these movies, Tori has filmed the yet-to-be-released Perpetrators of Crime in Montreal. Although the plot is currently unknown, it is known to co-star William B Davis (Cigarette Smoking Man from X-Files) and Mark Burgess (Butterbox Babies). She has also released Alibi, another made-for-TV movie. Recently, she guest starred on Malibu Beach, a show produced by her father and featuring her brother. Whether or not she has made any headway in reaching her "achievable" dream of acting in an ensemble sitcom is not known. She is now living in Los Angeles with her dog Audrey, whom she adopted during the filming of The House of Yes.