.: Facts :.

Full name: Holly Marie Combs (Aka Holly Ryan)
Nickname: Holz
Date of birth: December 3, 1973
Place of birth: San Diego, California, USA
Star sign: Sagittarius
Moon sign: Pisces
Religion: Protestant.
Family: Holly's mother Lauralei is only 15 years Holly's senior, and her father David, only 17. Holly's an only child. Her parents remained married for two years after her birth.
Lives with: her three sons, Finley Arthur, Riley Edward, and Kelley James.
Lives in: The Bell Canyon area which is located in the San Fernando Valley in California. (Has since moved to Friday Harbor, WA since 2021)
Pets: Three quarter horses: Jesse, Jake, and Jezebel; eight dogs: (two of them are her ex-husband s) Hugo, Travis, Sugar, Bear, Bleu, Fly Guy, Jethro and Lola (Lola was given to her by Alyssa a long time ago when one of her adopted puppies died of parvo). She also had another dog named Ike which was a black lab but he died in December 2011 and another dog named Thunder who was a German Shephard that died in April 2012; two cats: Bob and Selina (Selina is named after Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman and her other cat, Blue was too but he died in 2010 after being attacked by coyotes). Her rescue cat, Lou passed away in 2014. She used to have two lovebirds; Lollipop and Flower. Holly also has four rabbits (Two of them are named Thumper and Jack), and koi fish! She did have a a turtle but she had to re-home it when she had Finley because of a salmonella risk, so it went to a nice big pond in her friend s backyard. She also use to have 2 physically challenged hamsters, one was very fat and one only had 3 legs. The hamsters were once classroom pets of Storm Lyndon's and they went home in the summer break. When she was 13-29 she had a Siberian husky named Wiley, which was given to her by Actor, Don Johnson. He lived to be 16. Since 2022 she owns three goats named Flora, Fawn and Huckleberry Billy.
Height: 5'2 or 158 cms.
Weight: 128lbs (9 stone 2lbs) or 58.18kg
Fav food: Italian - "pretty much all kinds". She also loves Cheeseburgers, Coca Krispies, Salami, and Bacon.
Fav color: Blue
Fav Music:
Different kinds, from country and to really hard rock. She is a big Remy Zero fan. Right now shes listening to Sugarland and Lady Antebellum. She also loves Daughtry's voice too.
Fav Book: 'Practical Magic' by Alice Hoffman and 'The Garden of Eden' by Ernest Hemingway. "I love his lyrical and palatable writing. It's pure escapism to another time and place."
Fav shows: The X-Files, Friends and Desperate Housewives. One of them used to be Mad About You.
Fav actor: Andy Garcia (Who also starred in oceans eleven!) and Matthew McConaughey.
Fav actress: Susan Sarandon is one of them. She played her mom in her first movie. She also admires Courtney Love.
Fav movie: Wild at Heart. She also loves horror movies.
Fav subject in high school: English
Worst subject: Math
Hair care products: Finesse
Particular signs: Four tattoos. Three are on her wrists and one on inner arm. She used to have one on her right shoulder but had it lasered off. She got her first one when she was 16 years old.
Best quality: She is loyal in friendship.
Worst quality: Smoking, however she quit since the birth of her first son, Finley.
Pet Peeves:People eating with their mouths open, especially eating potato chips!
Hobbies: Horseback riding and gardening. She loves to play Scrabble as well as other games like Trivial Pursuit, Beyond Balderdash, Monopoly and the Worst-Case Scenario [Survival] Game.
Car: She drives a Dodge pick-up truck.
She hates: To be naked in movies because when she was 21 she went topless for a few seconds in 'A reason to believe' and didn't think anything of it (She didn't read the script, and by the time she got there is was too late to turn back), then all of a sudden the pictures were all over the internet and captured in 15 different poses. In 2002 she did a semi topless shot for the magazine 'Stuff' and due to people editing and adding to the picture I don't think she'll be doing that again for a while.

When on the set of Charmed, Holly and Shannen looked in the mirror at what they were wearing and then all of a sudden the mirror fell and broke without them even touching it, making the crew think they were real witches. (as a joke)

Holly & Shannen were having lunch in a restaurant and a woman came up to them with a six year old girl and said 'Look honey, those are the witches from TV.' The girl gasped and started backing away from them. Holly almost cried thinking she scares children.

Holly is a very down to earth person. Holly says she is not into the whole Hollywood scene. Nowadays the simple pleasures in life suit her just fine.

She was a Rebel at 16 and dressed in black.

Holly & Shannen Doherty are best friends and even though Shannen and Alyssa Milano fell out, she still considers Alyssa as one as her best friends too. Shannen & Holly were friends 7 years before Charmed!

Holly actually knew her Charmed co-star, Brian Krause (Leo) years before they started working together. She said it felt strange kissing him at first because he was like a brother. They both made a point of staying in character around each other and didn't discuss their personal lives much because it made it easier to be Piper and Leo. That is what made Piper and Leo's love story seem so realistic!

In May 2000, Along with Tangi Miller and Alyson Hannigan, Holly was a spokesperson for a Breast Cancer Awareness campaign for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Ford Motor company sponsored a Breast Cancer Awareness questionnaire which was a four page brochure featured in Vogue, Glamour, Self, Mademoiselle, and Women's Sports and Fitness magazine to raise awareness about the disease. In 2004 she was also a spokesperson for America Lights Up In Pink And Blue for premature babies. Since 2005, Holly became a spokesperson for Ortho Women's Health which encourages women to visit their gynecologist and feel comfortable talking about issues to their doctor. She was also Austin s Animal Services spokesperson for the 2011 campaign, "Summer of Love" to encourage animal lovers to foster a dog or a cat. In 2015 she appeared in a 'Boycott SeaWorld' public awareness campaign focusing on the need to boycott SeaWorld to end the suffering of Orcas. Holly also supports the following charities: Children's Defense Fund, Best Friend Animal Sanctuary, March Of Dimes, St Judes, Make A Wish, National Hemophilia Foundation, Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and The Carroll Center for the Blind.

Along with Alyssa Milano and Rose McGowan, she appeared in a Red Cross PSA at the end of a 'Charmed' episode to encourage people to donate blood.

She has appeared in print ads for MAC and Energizer Batteries. She was also in TV ads for Wendy's and Japanese Purina Dog Chow.

Holly once had Uterine Fibroids. The tumor was the size of a baseball. When she had the operation she was really scared because she thought she would never be able to have children. Shannen was with her every time she had to go to the doctor and she was holding her hand. Alyssa, even came to see her everyday for the 15 days where she was hospitalized. She even lied down in the bed beside her. Awwww! Alyysa named the tumor "Jonathan". This was the reason that she was not in the "Power of Two" (Season 1, episode 20) epidode of Charmed.

When she was first learning to walk at aged two, she hit her head on a marble coffee table and that's why she has a scar above her eyebrow.

She was a vegetarian for six years but one day she couldn't resist a cheeseburger so she isn't anymore!

David E. Kelley told Holly she didn't have enough heart to Play Kimberly on 'Picket Fences'. So she yelled at him while she was in New York and she ended up getting the part. Well done!

Holly got married to Bryan (Bugsy) Travis Smith (an actor) when she was 19yrs old but they got divorced four years later. They only went out for 8 days before they got married. (In a Las Vegas chapel). She then dated Brian Bouma. He worked on the crew for 'Our Mother's Murder'. A few years later, she then got engaged to Storm Lyndon (who is a second grade school teacher from Venice Beach and he teaches in South Central L.A) but they broke up in late 2000. They met while on a holiday in Mexico in a bar/restaurant with 'Charmed' ex co-star and bestfriend, Shannen Doherty. On February 14th, 2004 (valentines day) she married David Donoho, who used to work as a Key Grip on the set of Charmed. Holly filed for a divorce on November 11th, 2011. They have three sons together, Finley Arthur, Riley Edward, and Kelley James.

Her favorite football team is the Los Angeles Chargers. Both of her grandmothers were fans so she became on after being around them. Her all time favorite player is Junior Seau.

In her teenage years she worked at a Hallmark store in Long island, New York.

She enjoys Decorating.

If she wasn't an actress, she would have liked to have been a Marine Biologist.

Holly is a Scuba Diver. She became certified when she was just 13 years old.

One of her favorite episodes of Charmed is 'Awakened' and she also enjoyed shooting the pilot.

At first Shannen and Holly decided to read Wicca books so they wouldn't offend anybody in Charmed.

She prefers to be called "Holly" not "Holly Marie" because she says her mum calls her "Holly Marie" when she's mad. "My mother's very proud of the name she gave me. She thought it sounded rhythmically better. It doesn't really make a difference to me what people call me, but since my mother calls me Holly Marie when she's angry, I prefer just my first name." Holly Marie was especially used on Picket Fences because of Lauren Holly being on the same show. It stopped two people from yelling out "What!" each time "Holly" was called out. Also, another reason why she use uses her full name is because her mother used it for her SAG (Screen Actor's Guild) card when she got her first acting job.

Holly is known to get restless and bored very easily.

Many years ago, Holly once lived in really bad housing where the only place she could have privacy was in the bathroom.

She was a bridesmaid along with Shannen Doherty, at Alyssa Milano's wedding to Cinjun Tate, lead singer from Remy Zero in 1999.

Holly keeps her horses at the same ranch as Alyssa so they go horse riding together whenever they can.

Holly is known to turn up on the Charmed Set in her PJ's and slippers!

Holly once admitted she is a little clumsy "I'm the clumsy one on the show. If there's any wire around, I'll trip and fall". She once she stumbled on an air ventilator and landed on some concrete. Fortunately, her swollen elbow wasn't broken.

She attended the Professional Children's School N.Y, where Sarah Michelle Gellar also attended. She was taught by Ernie Martin.

When Holly was house hunting, she lived with Shannen in her house. Holly also lived in Shannen's trailer during Charmed.

Shannen was the first one to be hired for Charmed. She was given the script and read it with Holly beside her and then went into the office to talk to Mr Spelling about casting Holly too!

Charmed star Alyssa Milano has said of Holly's comedic gifts, "She can be dry like Bob Newhart or physically hilarious." Best friend Shannen Doherty added, "Holly's fiery and feisty. I knew she'd be perfect [for Charmed]."

At the beginning of series one, Holly was asked by the producers to wear a padded push-up bra, because they thought that Holly looked underprivileged next door to Alyssa and Shannen. She refused to do it and said that she preferred being all natural, which is why she went braless for a lot of scenes.

Her clothes on 'Charmed' are from shops like Gap, Banana, Republic or Guess.

She never went to college

Her favorite comedian is Chris Rock.

Loves "chick rock"...Sarah McLaughlin, Tori Amos and Paula Cole "and all the girls", along with country music.

Her two favorite groups are Supremes and U2.

Recommends Julie Reeves (country) CD "It's About Time".

Her favorite live concert was Tori Amos, but claims Sarah McLaughlin is better in concert. Sarah is her favorite solo artist.

She thinks the sexiest guy on The WB is Joshua Jackson.

Her friends say that she has those feelings that everyone takes really seriously cause she's usually right.

She watched 'Who's the boss' (starring Alyssa Milano) religiously as a child/teen!

Every time she gets a new job, she redoes a portion of her house and always saves just incase she never works again.

Her mom was in punk rock band called 'Girl Talk'.

In the Charmed episode 'Coyote Piper', Shannen taught Holly how to dance. She was the choreographer. One of the men to whom Piper, possessed by the essence, in this episode, gives a shot of booze during her bar dance is David Donoho, her then boyfriend and now ex-husband who used to work as a key grip on the show.

Shannen Doherty suggested to Aaron Spelling that he hire Holly for one of the Charmed sisters. Holly originally auditioned for the part of Phoebe.

Her mom named her Holly-Marie after the prom queen at her school!

She turned down a role in the movie, The Craft (1996) to do Sins of Silence (1996) (TV). Ironically theme song for the show Charmed is the same song as featured in the soundtrack of the movie. The movie also had the same theme as Charmed which was witchcraft.

She once made a pilot for CBS, named 'Rockenwagner' which was obviously never picked up.

She was often compared to a gypsy in her younger years, spouting from the fact that she moved from place to place. She has now settled into a house in L.A, which she redecorates - a lot.

In 1993, she Won Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a New Television Series for: 'Picket Fences' (1992)

In 1994, She was Nominated Young Artist Award Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series for: 'Picket Fences' (1992)

In 1995, She was Nominated Young Artist Award Best Performance by a Youth Actress in a TV Mini-Series or Special for: Perfect Stranger, A (1994) (TV)

In 1999 she was a Hostess for the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards

In 2002, she did a series of mini interviews to promote Charmed (season 4) for UK television.

The character Piper set a hair trend in season 4 when she wore a Hair Glove. Since then the Hair Glove has had a reasonable amount of sales. Holly herself has also set a trend with her eyebrows, because of the very slight yet well defined arch she has. This is due to a small scar. People are selling Brow Stencils so that people can have eyebrows like Holly's.

It takes eight days to film an episode of Charmed.

Holly sometimes suffers from stage fright. "when Picket Fences won the first year and the whole crew went up to accept, I was so petrified that they had to hold me up to keep me from falling over."

Michelle Pfeiffer left Holly completely starstruck when they first met.

Holly received a lot of hate mail when she was in the movie 'Love's Deadly Triangle' because it was based on a true story and people were scared of her.

When Holly shared a lesbian kiss in the TV series, 'Picket Fences' the episode was so controversial at the time that CBS forced the director to dim the lights during the kiss.

Holly obtained her SAG (Screen Actor's Guild) card when she appeared in 'Walls of Glass' aka 'Flanagan' (1985), a film in which her mother, Lauralei also had a role. Her mother was a guest star on Charmed in the episode 'Just Harried' (Episode: #3.15), 22 February 2001 as a girl in the bar. She was also in a movie called 'Forces of Nature' in 1999.

Holly's mothers birth name was Lauralei Hattie Berckhem.

Holly suffers from vitiligo in both of her hands. It's quite visible in some pictures and episodes of Charmed. She has a total of three autoimmune disorders.

Holly went out with David for 2 years before marrying him. They first started dating in 2001.

David (her ex-husband) taught Holly how to ride four-wheel dirt bikes, and the two used to regularly go camping and riding in Pismo Beach, two hours north of L.A. "I'd never been an adrenaline junkie," Combs says. "And riding these things on huge sand dunes is ridiculously frightening. But when it's over, you're like 'Yeah, I did that!'"

Holly calls the Charmed set the "Estrogen Dome"

Holly describes Shannen as "Strong, determined and loving" and Alyssa as "Sweet, nurturing and spiritual".

She admitted on the Regis and Kathy Lee show that she had taken some pictures at Alyssa's wedding and they showed up in The Star. The drugstore (where she got them developed) had sold them to the newspaper.

She used to collect Baskets, lanterns, candlesticks and angels. She now collects antiques that she has collected over time or found at fairs. She also likes to keep a box full of foreign money from places that she has gone to like Canada and Mexico.

She had to pay a fine as a result of Holly telling TV Guide what happened with Shannen's departure.

When Holly announced the news about the Charmed Premiere ratings to the crew in the makeup trailer they told her to speak English.

In June 2003 Holly took photos of Alyssa Milano for a promotion for 'Lovable' push-up bras. The photos and the bra, were then auctioned on eBay to raise money for Town Lake Animal Centre in Texas. The final price was $1,625 US dollars.

Holly's home is decorated in a Western ranch style.

Holly modelled a Levi's jean jacket, a DKNY nylon skirt and a Me & RO silver cuff bracelet for Seventeen Magazine.

Holly's stunt double in Charmed is Nancy Thurston.

A guy was posing as a trailer inspector and had a video camera outside of Holly and Alyssa's trailers. Rose had seen him trying to sneek a peak of the girls while they undressed and had alerted security of him.

Holly had a lot of fun on the Charmed set! "There are occasional food fights. We had Friday-night grape night. Because when I had the scene with Josh and the wine, we started picking up the plastic grapes and throwing them at each other. By Friday night we were so tired, and the director couldn't control us! There were grapes all over the floor."

And more fun... "A few weeks ago, we had real pigs' feet on the set that we had to throw in to make a spell," says Combs. "A foot got tossed at Rose, and she really flinched, which caused me to crack up. Maybe I shouldn't have laughed as hard as I did." Indeed, days later, the severed pig's foot began turning up in all sorts of unlikely places, until, finally, Combs detected a sickly smell emanating from somewhere in her Dodge truck. Her dog, Lola, and Australian Shepard, rooted out the offending porcine body part, which was in an advanced state of decay on the flatbed of the vehicle. "I'm not accusing anyone of anything," Combs says, laughing. "But...."

Holly says she felt a few kicks from Finley before she saw the premiere of 'The Last Samarai'.

Comments from Holly & David regarding their wedding! Holly says: "We had kind of a deadline, so we decided to do it real quick," "We got married at the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara. Yes, I pulled a Gwyneth. I know, it wasn't original, but it was quick!" David says: We decided to make it about our commitment to our new family , referring to the baby boy the couple is expecting in April. {Finley has since been born and she is no longer with David}

Holly had a trailer for infant son Finley and his nanny on the Charmed set.

She made $60,000 per 'Charmed' episode during seasons 1 through 4.

The Charmed girls got a raise for season 8 from $80,000 to $102,000.

She has family in South Carolina and Virginia.

Holly's tape mark colour for Charmed is orange. (this is so she knows where to stand in each scene)

She ranked #62 in FHM's 100 sexiest women countdown in 2002.

She ranked #78 in Stuff magazines 103 sexiest women countdown in 2003.

One of her favourite directors is Mel Damski.

She is good friends with Charisma Carpenter, who was her co-star in 'See Jane Date'.

She has a crush on George Clooney

Alyssa Milano lives just down the street from her.

Upon Shannen Doherty's departure from Charmed , Holly s character Piper became the oldest sister, despite being the youngest of all four actresses who have played Halliwell sisters in the series. She was also the only cast member who wanted the show to continue.

She gained 40 pounds during the pregnancy of Finley.

The original Charmed series had two more seasons, despite the fact that it was canceled in 2006. Charmed first premiered in 1998, and it aired on the WB network for a total of eight seasons before ending due to network mergers and budget constraints.

When asked on Twitter if people actually called her Piper in real life, Holly answered: "'Pipe down Piper' is sadly one of my [ex-]husband's favorite sayings." However, she tweeted that he didn't tell her this when she started boxing.

Mentioned in an interview about Brian Krause's character Leo, that he wormed his way into the hearts of millions; she still has teenage girls coming up to her saying "Leo's so hot!"

Says that the Glinda costume in 'All Halliwell's Eve' was "the worst costume ever." Holly says there's a Polaroid of her wearing the dress, laying in the grass with the dress all over her.

Nearly every season of Charmed, for promotional photos, Holly is photographed by the doorstep.

During season 6 Alyssa called Brad Kern and said that Holly was pregnant, his reply was "she's a season too late." This is why Chris was created and became Piper and Leo's son who traveled from the future instead of Wyatt.

Holly stated she still has the coat Piper wore as the Angel of Death.

Agreed to her likeness being used for the Charmed comics in early 2010.

On October 7, 2010, the 12th anniversary of the first episode of Charmed, Holly tweeted "I will never forget the thrill I got watching the credits for the first time with Shannen. It was a feeling I had never felt before or since."

Her work on Charmed won her sixth place in Huffington Post's Top 10 Best Witches of All Time category in 2016. She also won sixth place in E! Online's Top 10 Most Bitchen' Witches category in 2011.

Holly did a quiz on BuzzFeed. Her result was Piper Halliwell.

Holly keeps in shape by doing Pilates and yoga.

Holly quit smoking the day she found out she was pregnant with Finey. She has never smoked since.

Holly's third son, Kelley James Donoho was born May 26th, 2009. Born at the 35-week mark of her term and delivered via emergency C-section. She choose not to go public with her third pregnancy, because it was a high risk pregnancy. She says, "We didn't feel comfortable making any announcements until everyone was home healthy. We are and now it is time to celebrate. I, now a mother of three boys, will be going to take a nap!?"

Holly has three sons: Finley Arthur (born on April 26th, 2004 at 1:30PM), Riley Edward (born on October 26th, 2006 at 12:57PM), and Kelley James (born on May 26th, 2009). All on the 26th day! All three of her sons were born by C-section, Kelly, by emergency C-section, at 35 weeks (high risk pregnancy). Besides her own children, Holly now has a stepdaughter with Mike.

currently uses an iPhone; used to have a Blackberry.

Favorite 'Charmed' episode is Sword and the City (Season 6, Episode 8) because she got to have more action scenes and it was also the day she found out she was pregnant with her first son, Finley.

Jean Louisa Kelly was originally cast as Ella in 'Pretty Little Liars', but after the pilot she was replaced with Holly, who now has the role.

When Holly couldn't hide her baby bump any longer, it was written into her 'Charmed' storyline.

Holly never watches a season final of a show she is on because of a superstition she has.

Has two younger half-sisters through her father

Holly was featured on 'Radical Something's' 'No Sweat' EP artwork in 2012.

Holly dated Josh Cocktail from 'Radical Something' from December 2011 - 2015.

She got engaged to her boyfriend in September 2017.

Holly met her husband, Mike Ryan at his Los Angeles restaurant Xoc back in 2016. She met Mike five years after divorcing her second husband David Donoho.

On October 10, 2019, Holly and Alyssa guest starred on Grey's Anatomy for ABC's Cast from the Past week, reuniting with Krista Vernoff and Andy Reaser, both of whom worked on Charmed as writers. In the episode, Holly and Alyssa again played sisters, whose other sister was brain-dead and they were forced to decide whether to keep her on life support or pull the plug.

On Charmed, the actresses' characters have the initials PH. On Grey's Anatomy, their characters have the initials HP. Holly plays Heidi and Alyssa plays Haylee. The third sister is called Heather and might be a nod to the 1988 movie Heathers, which starred Shannen Doherty. Coincidentally, Eric Dane (Jason Dean) was a regular on the show between 2006-2012.

She collects Halloween Houses and Christmas Snow Globes.