Victoria Davey Spelling was born on May 16, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Aaron and Carol "Candy" Spelling. Her TV producer father found major success during the latter half of the '70s with hits like Starsky & Hutch, Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, and Fantasy Island (the latter two featured young Tori in guest-starring roles during the mid-'80s). Tori made her acting debut at the age of seven when she was cast as Robert Urich's niece in an episode of Vega$.
She continued to receive parts on network programs and TV movies, including Shooting Stars (1983), T.J. Hooker (1984), The Three Kings (1987), and Hotel (1985 and 1987), yet another Spelling production.
A 16-year-old Tori Spelling made her big-screen debut with a small part in 1989's Troop Beverly Hills. A guest-starring appearance in a 1990 episode of the popular teen sitcom Saved by the Bell (starring a young Tiffani-Amber Thiessen) earned her a Young Artist Award. That same year, Tori Spelling was cast in the role that would make her a household name (at least for the under 20 demographic); she won the part of "Donna Martin" in Beverly Hills, 90210. Despite denials from Aaron Spelling, it was widely speculated that Tori Spelling was hired due to her father's position as the show's producer, which harvested some unfavorable comments about the actress over the next few years.
Tori Spelling would go on to play the materialistic Beverly Hills princess for the duration of the '90s, and made guest appearances on other shows like Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Melrose Place (another Spelling production) and Blossom. Roles in made-for-TV movies supplemented her series work; Tori Spelling portrayed a spoiled cheerleader in 1994's A Friend to Die For, and followed up this performance with parts in 1995's Awake to Danger, and 1996's Mother, May I Sleep with Danger?, Deadly Pursuits and Co-ed Call Girl.
Tori Spelling returned to the big screen in 1997 to costar in The House of Yes. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and for the first time in her career, Tori Spelling received some favorable reviews. She followed this up with a cameo in Scream 2 (1997), where she poked fun at her own image in the film-within-a-film segment. Despite positive reviews for both screen appearances, she still received a Razzie nomination for Worst New Star, for her role in The House of Yes. Tori lost out (or, depending on how you look at it, won) to Dennis Rodman.
She continued to pursue film roles as 90210's run was winding down. It was rumored that she had plans to leave the series in its tenth season, and landed a supporting role in another Sundance hit comedy, Trick (1999), in which she portrayed a dubiously talented singer/actress. Once again, she received generally favorable reviews, and was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role.
Following appearances in Scary Movie 2 and Sol Goode (both 2001), Tori Spelling took a hiatus from film work to costar in the Los Angeles stage production of Maybe Baby, It's You, a comedy made up of vignettes. She also married then-boyfriend Charlie Shanian until they separated in 2006 and she married actor Dean McDermott.
Meanwhile, after several TV movies (like 2005's Hush and Family Plan, and 2006's Mind Over Murder), Tori Spelling became the executive producer of her own reality show Tori & Dean: Inn Love, based on she and her husband's challenge of opening a bed and breakfast. She gave birth to their first son, Liam, in March 2007. Tori Spelling also worked on the movie Kiss the Bride in '07.
In 2008, Tori Spelling and Dean McDermott kicked off a second season of their show, closing down the B&B and returning to L.A. in Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood. In June, they gave birth to a little girl, Stella.