Tori Spelling with her parents, Aaron and Candy Spelling. Photo / Getty Images
Tori Spelling with her parents, Aaron and Candy Spelling. Photo / Getty Images
She was 90s TV royalty, growing up in a vast Hollywood mansion and landing a role on her Dad’s hit show Beverly Hills 90210, so how did Tori Spelling, daughter of soap opera millionaire Aaron Spelling, wind up living in a trailer park?
The answer lies largely in what Spelling’sfather decided to leave her of his US$600 million (NZ$983 million) fortune - not a lot - and his apparent reason for doing so.
Tori Spelling, centre front, played Donna Martin on dad's hit show Beverly Hills 90210.
When the self-made TV mogul died in 2006, he perhaps wisely left the bulk of his money to his wife, Candy. His children, Tori and Randy, were given US$800,000 (NZ$1.3 million) each.
Unlike the lavish lifestyle afforded his children, Spelling’s fortune was hard-earned. A Jewish boy who grew up in 1920s anti-Semitic Texas, according to his autobiography, his family was dirt poor and the children slept five to a bed.
Spelling would go on to dig himself out of poverty, firstly by becoming a World War II pilot and then pivoting to become one of Hollywood’s most prolific producers of the time. His credits include The Mod Squad, Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Starsky and Hutch and Fantasy Island which amassed more than 200 episodes in the 70s and 80s.
In the 90s he created the legendary soap dramas Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210 which saw him cast his daughter in the role of Donna Martin.
The cast of 'Beverly Hills 90210' at the People's Choice Awards in 1992 From left to right, Jason Priestley, Tori Spelling, Aaron Spelling, Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry. Photo / Getty Images
But in real life, the Spelling family was fraught with competition and manipulation.
Noted in her 2008 book sTORI Telling, and by several accounts made to Page Six, Spelling’s daughter and his wife were “competitive for [Aaron’s] attention” - which he is said to have manipulated to his advantage.
In an interview with Good Morning America, Spelling revealed that just before her father’s death, he told her how much he was planning to leave her.
“I didn’t want him to think that I was asking him for the money, or even talking about something so morbid as when he would pass. But it was a conversation I needed to have … for myself and for my brother.
“We had lunch and he said, ‘You’re gonna be okay. I made sure. You’re getting just under a million.’”
But as a percentage of her father’s fortune, it was peanuts. So why did the vast majority of Aaron Spelling’s millions go to his wife instead?
In a 2014 interview with the New York Times, Candy said her daughter’s spending habits had long been a concern and that was reflected in the inheritance she received from her father:
“She would close a store and drop like $50,000 to $60,000. I never did anything like that. She just went crazy.”
From left to right: Stella Spelling, Tori Spelling, Beau Spelling, Dean McDermott, Finn Spelling, and Hattie Spelling. Photo / Getty Images
According to Page Six, sources have also claimed Spelling’s spending knows no bounds.
“Their household bills run 100 grand a month,” said a source. ”There’s no end to the spending. In 2016, she had a room stacked to the ceiling with boxes she didn’t even open.
“There were clothes stuffed into the bathroom with price tags still on them. Besides her shopping, there’s pet care, hospital stays, private schools, you name it. The house was a pit filled with animals like pigs, snakes and ferrets. It’s white trash central.”
In 2020 Spelling, who has also admitted that “bad shopping habits die hard” and “I’m not great with money”, had her bank accounts seized when she refused to pay back US$88,731 (NZ$145,000) on an American Express credit card.
While she’s since paid back the outstanding amount, it appears money troubles still plague the reality TV star as images emerge of Spelling and her five children living in a trailer park.
And while it’s been alleged her mother has tried to find a home for her daughter and grandchildren, previously saying she would always try to assist her daughter financially, so far she’s turned them all down.
