 Her radio show, Sexually Speaking, became a nationwide sensation in the 1980s. She became a household name and celebrity, appearing on TV shows and building her own empire. In a 1992 interview, the Holocaust survivor and orphan said this about her legacy. I want to be remembered as an immigrant to this country who believed in what she's doing. Shannon Dougherty got her start in Hollywood as a child actress. But it was in 1990 that Dougherty became a household name, playing Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills 90210.