A Year After Shannen Doherty’s Death, I Think About Prue Halliwell in ‘Charmed’ Often

Growing up in a big family in Zimbabwe, I loved having older brothers and sisters around me. I knew that I could run amok in our neighborhood, do and say what I wanted (within reason) and if anything happened, my older cousins would come to my aid and back me up. Even if I was wrong.

But still, for as unhinged as I could be, I also had to abide by a code of conduct: Homework needed to be done, my chores needed to be squared away, and helping out with my younger cousins was not negotiable. There was something about having people looking out for me that gave me both freedom and structure.

So, when I watched Charmed and saw Prue Halliwell on screen for the first time, decades later and thousands of miles away from the familiarity of my birth home and my family, I immediately recognized the character.

I got into the show pretty late. The first episode I ever watched was “Oh, My Goddess Part 1”  which was the season 5 penultimate. By that time, the show had already garnered a cult following and Shannen Doherty had long left the series.

Her character, Prue Halliwell, would come up in episodes every now and then, with Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) often referencing her in memory. And when TNT or the WB would have their Charmed marathons, they never started from the first season of the show, so I was without the full context for a long time.

That was until Charmed hit Netflix sometime around 2016 and I got to watch it from the beginning.

While l always liked the idea of Piper as the eldest sister, Phoebe as the middle and Paige (Rose McGowan) as the trouble-making baby of the family (younger siblings will never beat the rabble-rousing allegations, I fear), the character of Prue was especially intriguing. 

Unlike a lot of the other TV big sisters that were in my viewing orbit — like DJ Tanner from Full House, Raven Baxter from That’s So Raven, or Jennie Garth in What I Like About You — Prue Halliwell was different. She meant business. Not only was she older than some of the aforementioned TV sisters, but she came with a sense of toughness that was paired with vulnerability and resulted in a badass character that was nurturing, but not to be messed with.

She was a girl’s girl, but still maintained high standards for herself and her sisters — and God help the men who tried to come in between them. She was the most feared witch in the Underworld. All demons knew if they were to try and infiltrate the Charmed ones, she had to be the last option because she would give them hell.

She was diligent and meticulous and could sniff out the sneakiest double-talker from a mile away. The fights with her siblings went beyond just petty closet theft or boy trouble. They were about having ambition and survival and making sure they were making choices that reflected their values. And she held herself to the same standards. In moments where she fell short, she was tough on herself, but in the relatable way all our high-achieving older siblings are tough on themselves. It allowed us to give her some compassion.

She was a fierce protector, whose guidance made it so that Piper could fulfill her dreams of owning a nightclub (aptly named P3) and Phoebe could be the free spirit of the pack until she figured herself out.

Prue Halliwell represented the trope of the parentified eldest daughter long before we had a name for it and she still made us all want to be like her. She tussled with the roughest of demons, yet, she was still feminine with a chic wardrobe and enviable head of hair. And I just thought she, like my big sisters, was so cool.

I was immediately drawn to Prue and the Charmed Ones’ family dynamics because it’s exactly the type of structure I grew up under. Bossy and often annoying as they were, my big sisters set the standard. So whenever I felt homesick or missed their authority, I’d look to Prue Halliwell to fill that void in my living room.

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Of course, Prue’s personality wasn’t just because of the writing. Doherty herself was outspoken and had exacting standards for herself. Her reputation for being uncompromising, even to the point of conflict about the things she believed in, got her labeled as a “bad girl” in Hollywood back in the day.

And while I won’t delve into the complex relationships she had with former colleagues in this piece, I think most people would agree that she was ahead of her time when it came to advocating for herself on set.

So many people were attached to Doherty’s body of work from different eras. Some loved her as Jenny Wilder in Little House on the Prairie, some as Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 — but for me, Prue Halliwell was the gold standard.

Even when I watch her now, it feels as though under the care of any other actress, she might be too off-putting, too shrewd. But Doherty made her feel like everyone’s cool, bossy and really, really pretty big sister.

Charmed is available for streaming on Peacock.