Doherty was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of Rosa, a beauty parlor owner, and Tom Doherty, a mortgage consultant. Doherty has Irish ancestry on her father\'s side and English, Scottish, and Scots-Irish ancestry on her mother\'s side. She was raised in her mother\'s Southern Baptist denomination.\n', '

Doherty had guest spots on TV series including Voyagers! and Father Murphy. When a casting notice was released in Hollywood for a regular role on the popular Little House on the Prairie, she jumped at the opportunity and at the age of 11 eventually won the recurring role of Jenny Wilder, thanks in part to actor/producer Michael Landon\'s seeing her guest spot on Father Murphy, which he also produced. Doherty stayed in the series until the show\'s cancellation in 1983.\n', '

In 1982, Doherty lent her voice to the animated film The Secret of NIMH. In 1985, Doherty starred as Maggie Malene in the teen movie comedy Girls Just Want to Have Fun alongside actresses Helen Hunt and Sarah Jessica Parker.\n', '

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