Tiffani Thiessen

Thiessen was born in Long Beach, California,{{Cite web |date=2023-10-25 |title=Tiffani Thiessen fed me fried chicken, cheesy enchiladas, beef jerky and a Michelin tasting menu in Long Beach. We had leftovers |url=https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2023-10-25/tiffani-thiessen-saved-by-the-bell-cookbook-author-food-crawl |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Antonios |first=Caitlin |date=2023-09-18 |title=Actress Tiffani Thiessen talks growing up in Long Beach, and all things food |url=https://lbpost.com/hi-lo/food/actress-tiffani-amber-thiessen-talks-growing-up-in-long-beach-and-all-things-food/ |access-date=2025-02-03 |website=the Hi-lo |language=en-US}} the daughter of Robyn (née Ernest), a homemaker, and Frank Thiessen, a park designer and landscape architect.{{Cite web |last=Randee Dawn |title=Tiffani Thiessen shares throwback pic of look-alike mom |url=https://www.today.com/series/today-celebrates/tiffani-thiessen-shares-throwback-pic-look-alike-mom-t152906 |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=www.today.com |date=April 25, 2019 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Tiffani Thiessen Credits Family for Her Motherhood Success |url=https://people.com/parents/tiffani-thiessen-credits-family-for-her-motherhood-success/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=Peoplemag |language=en}} She has credited her brother, Todd, as one of her most important sources of inspiration, and her mother and grandmother as role models.{{cite web|url=http://www.tiffanithiessen.org/articles/article003.html |title=Tiffani Thiessen's interview |publisher=Tiffani Thiessen fansite |access-date=November 14, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104164035/http://www.tiffanithiessen.org/articles/article003.html |archive-date=November 4, 2007}} Thiessen told InStyle magazine: "I'm a mutt. I have so much of everything in me, and half of it I don't even know. German on one side, Greek, Turkish and Welsh on the other. My mom is very olive-skinned; I get my blue eyes from my dad."{{cite web|url=http://www.tiffanithiessen.org/tiffani/press/1998/instyle-interview/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101128184604/http://tiffanithiessen.org/tiffani/press/1998/instyle-interview/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 28, 2010|title=InStyle Interview|website=tiffanithiessen.org|page=261|date=November 1998}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.greekgateway.com/news/celebrities-you-didnt-know-of-greek-descent|title=Celebrities you didn't know were of Greek descent|last=Team|first=Greek Gateway|website=Greek Gateway - The Top Greek Entertainment Website|language=en-US|access-date=2017-04-08}}

Thiessen participated in beauty pageants during her childhood and was crowned Miss Junior America in 1987. The following year, she appeared on the cover of Teen magazine, having won the magazine's "Great Model Search". In 1989, she was named Cover Girl{{'}}s "Model of the Year", and landed her first role of Kelly Kapowski on NBC's television sitcom Saved by the Bell, starring until its end in 1993. The success of the show gave her career a boost and Thiessen received Young Artist Award nominations for Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast in 1990 and Best Young Actress Starring in an Off-Primetime Series in 1991 and 1993. Simultaneously, Thiessen guest-starred on series such as Married... with Children, Charles in Charge and Step by Step. In 1992, she starred in her first television movies Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style and A Killer Among Friends, making her film debut in Son in Law in 1993. She then continued with starring in spin-off Saved by the Bell: The College Years in its single season (1993–94) and in television movie Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas (1994), which marked the end of the original Saved by the Bell series.

In 1994, after her tenure on Saved by the Bell had ended, Thiessen landed the role of Valerie Malone in Fox's Aaron Spelling-produced hit teen-drama Beverly Hills, 90210, to fill the void after Shannen Doherty's departure. She was the first actress to directly join the main cast of the show and portrayed Valerie until 1998, when she left in the early episodes of the ninth season of the show. While starring in 90210, Thiessen began to take on continuous dramatic leading roles in television films: The Stranger Beside Me (1995) and She Fought Alone (1995), Sweet Dreams and Buried Secrets in 1996. After her departure from the show, she appeared in a number of films, including Speedway Junky (1999), From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999), Love Stinks (1999) and The Ladies Man (2000); she also guest-starred on NewsRadio (1999), Two Guys and a Girl (2000), Just Shoot Me! (2001) and Good Morning, Miami (2003–04). In 2000, she was featured in the music video for "You're a God" by Vertical Horizon, portraying a beauty pageant contestant, in her first music video appearance. That year she also dropped her middle name which she had been including professionally for many years and is now credited as simply Tiffani Thiessen.{{cite news |url=http://www.hollywood.com/news/TV_STUFF_Tiffani_Drops_Amber/312130 |title=TV STUFF: Tiffani Drops Amber |work=Hollywood.com |date=March 29, 2000 |access-date=November 12, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318002527/http://www.hollywood.com/tv/tv-stuff-tiffani-drops-amber-57152943/ |archive-date=March 18, 2016 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }} Thiessen was Spelling's first choice to replace Doherty in the series Charmed in 2001, but she refused his offer because she was hoping the NBC pilot for Everything But the Girl would be picked up.{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2001/06/12/spelling-asked-tiffani-thiessen-join-charmed/|title=Charm's Way|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=June 12, 2001|access-date=December 25, 2012}} The role eventually went to Rose McGowan.

Meanwhile, Thiessen starred in direct-to-video parody film Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth (2000) and in television movie Everything But the Girl (2001), before appearing in the Woody Allen-directed film Hollywood Ending (2002) and starring in action-drama series Fastlane (2002–03) as Wilhelmina 'Billie' Chambers, for which she received a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice TV Actress – Drama/Action Adventure. In 2003, she launched her production company Tit 4 Tat Productions, producing and directing the short film Just Pray in 2005,{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445023/ |title=News |date=February 25, 2005 |publisher=imdb.com |access-date=December 23, 2012}} which earned distinctions at several film festivals,{{Cite web |title=Tribeca Film Festival (2005) |url=https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0000894/2005/1/ |access-date=2023-04-14 |website=IMDb |language=en}} including winning Best Score at the Rhode Island International Film Festival, an Academy Award qualifying festival. The original motion picture soundtrack album, co-produced by Thiessen and Al Gomes of Big Noise, was placed on the Official Ballot for the 49th Annual Grammy Awards by The Recording Academy in several categories including Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.{{cite web|url=http://www.bignoisenow.com/tiffanithiessen.html |title=Tiffani Thiessen 'Just Pray' Soundtrack Official Site |access-date=October 10, 2006}}

Later on, she starred in television movies Stroller Wars (2006) and Pandemic (2007), she joined the cast of ABC's drama What About Brian (2007) for its last five episodes and starred in the science fiction film Cyborg Soldier (2008). In 2008, she made her second music video appearance, this time for Ben Lee's "American Television". Thiessen appeared with her husband Brady Smith on the September 6, 2009 episode of season four of the reality show HGTV Design Star. Interior designer Lonni Paul, one of the final three contestants of the season, was given the task of redesigning Thiessen's guest bedroom with an eco-friendly theme; Thiessen and Paul now have a nursery furniture line called PetitNest.{{cite web |url=http://www.petitnest.com/store/pages/about-us.html |title=About us |publisher=Petitnest.com |access-date=December 23, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427212000/http://www.petitnest.com/store/pages/about-us.html |archive-date=April 27, 2012 |df=mdy-all }} From 2009 through 2014 Thiessen appeared in the USA Network crime series White Collar as Elizabeth Burke.

File:Tiffani Thiessen.jpg in 2010|253x253px]]

On February 4, 2015, Thiessen reunited with Saved By the Bell costars Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Elizabeth Berkley, Dennis Haskins and Mario Lopez on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, in which they appeared in a Saved by the Bell sketch with host Jimmy Fallon.{{cite magazine|title=Watch a Glorious Saved by the Bell Reunion Courtesy of Jimmy Fallon|url=https://time.com/3696826/jimmy-fallon-saved-by-the-bell-reunion-tonight-show/|magazine=Time|access-date=20 February 2015}}{{cite web|title=Jimmy Fallon assembled the cast of 'Saved by The Bell' for an epic reunion|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/jimmy-fallon-saved-by-the-bell-reunion-2015-2|website=Business Insider|access-date=20 February 2015}}{{cite web|title=Jimmy Fallon reunites most of the 'Saved by the Bell' cast|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-jimmy-fallon-reunites-most-of-the-saved-by-the-bell-cast-20150205-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|date=February 5, 2015|access-date=20 February 2015}} In the same year, Thiessen started hosting her own show on Cooking Channel called Dinner at Tiffani's, which ran until 2017.

On June 7, 2017, Thiessen was cast as Lori Mendoza, mother of the Mendoza family on the multi camera Netflix sitcom Alexa & Katie, which premiered its first two seasons on March 23 and December 26, 2018.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/06/tiffani-thiessen-cast-alexa-katie-netflix-multi-camera-comedy-1202108836/|title=Tiffani Thiessen To Co-Star In Netflix Multi-Camera Comedy 'Alexa & Katie'|author=Nellie Andreeva|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=June 7, 2017|access-date=June 7, 2017}} In 2021, at the 48th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, she was nominated in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Daytime Fiction Program.

In March 2020, it was announced that Thiessen would join the cast of the Saved by the Bell sequel series, reprising her role as Kelly Kapowski. She guest-starred in three episodes.{{cite web|url=https://www.bustle.com/p/the-saved-by-the-bell-reboot-will-feature-zack-kelly-together-again-22583165 |title=The 'Saved By The Bell' Reboot Will Feature Zack & Kelly Together Again |website=Bustle|date=March 1, 2020|access-date=March 4, 2020}} The show premiered on NBCUniversal's streaming network Peacock beginning November 2020.{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/tv/saved-by-the-bell-revival-first-official-trailer/|title=Saved by the Bell revival drops first official trailer: 'The old gang back together'|magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=October 27, 2020|access-date=October 27, 2020}} In November, it was announced that Thiessen would host the MTV comedy clip show Deliciousness, a spinoff of that network's previous program, Ridiculousness.{{cite web|first=Jonathan|last=Borge|url=https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1211679/mtvs-ridiculousness-spinoff-is-guaranteed-to-make-you-hungry-and-make-you-laugh|title=MTV's Ridiculousness Spinoff Is Guaranteed To Make You Hungry—And Make You Laugh|website=E! Online|date=November 23, 2020}}

In April 2013, she participated in the One Bag party as part of Earth Month, in which the Glad company promoted "clean, green living".{{cite web|url=http://downriversundaytimes.com/2013/05/19/celebrity-extra-199

|title=Celebrity Extra|last=Elavsky|first=Cindy|date=May 19, 2013|work=Downriver Sunday Times|agency=Times-Herald Newspapers|access-date=August 2, 2013}}

Thiessen was a teen idol during the 1990s, starting from her role as cheerleader Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell and then playing bad girl Valerie Malone on Beverly Hills, 90210. In a much-discussed moment, Justin Bieber appeared wearing a T-shirt with a photo of Thiessen in her Saved by the Bell days at the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards,{{cite web|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/celebs-wearing-celebrities-gallery-1.1822991?pmSlide=1.1822980 |title=Justin Bieber wears Tiffani Thiessen |work=Daily News |access-date=July 25, 2015}} admitting his admiration for her. Basketball player Chris Paul also revealed publicly that he was a fan of Thiessen back then, when she sent him an autographed

Saved by the Bell-era photograph of herself for his 29th birthday in 2014.{{cite web|url=http://uk.eonline.com/news/547939/chris-paul-gets-best-birthday-gift-a-saved-by-the-bell-era-autographed-photo-of-tiffani-thiessen |title=Chris Paul Gets "Best" Birthday Gift—A Saved by the Bell-Era Autographed Photo of Tiffani Thiessen! |work=E! Online |last=Finn |first=Natalie |date=June 3, 2014 |access-date=July 25, 2015}}

Thiessen dated her Saved by the Bell co-stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Mario Lopez.{{Cite web|last=Barbuti|first=Angela|date=2021-12-29|title=What You Never Knew About Tiffani Thiessen|url=https://www.thelist.com/719725/what-you-never-knew-about-tiffani-thiessen/|access-date=2022-02-10|website=TheList.com|language=en-US}}{{cite web |title=TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1991 The main plot follows Kelly's adventure as a teacher. Everything seems to be ok until she clashes with… | Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CYsa6U_IByE/ |website=www.instagram.com|author=Saved by the Bell Anniversary}}{{cite web |title=Mario Lopez shares fond memories of dating Tiffani Thiessen in real life |url=https://www.today.com/popculture/mario-lopez-talks-dating-saved-bell-co-star-tiffani-thiessen-t165326 |website=TODAY.com |date=October 22, 2019 |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Mario Lopez And Tiffani Thiessen Share 'Saved By The Bell' Memories {{!}} TODAY All Day | website=YouTube | date=November 20, 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA2y9yu6Eoc |language=en}}

In early 1992, Thiessen started dating her future 90210 co-star Brian Austin Green, introduced by mutual friend David Faustino.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20105065,00.html |title=Brian Austin Green & Tiffani-Amber Thiessen|date=February 13, 1995|magazine=People|access-date=June 28, 2012}}{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1995/10/13/robin-williams-secures-aladdin-sequel/ |title=Robin Williams Secures an 'Aladdin' Sequel|date=October 9, 1995|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=December 23, 2012}} In 1999, she dated David Strickland, who died by suicide that year.{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1999/04/02/david-strickland-found-dead/|title=David Strickland found dead|date=April 2, 1999|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=December 23, 2012}} From 2001 to the spring of 2003, she was engaged to actor Richard Ruccolo, whom she had met during the Two Guys and a Girl run.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1081763,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070102222219/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1081763,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 2, 2007|title=Tiffani Thiessen Weds Actor Brady Smith|date=July 12, 2005|magazine=People|access-date=June 28, 2012}} She married actor Brady Smith on July 9, 2005, and they have two children: a daughter born in 2010,{{cite web|url=https://people.com/parents/tiffani-thiessen-welcomes-daughter-harper-renn/|title=Tiffani Thiessen Welcomes Daughter Harper Renn|date=June 15, 2010|first=Eunice|last=Oh|work=People|access-date=February 1, 2019}} and a son born in 2015.{{cite web|url=https://people.com/parents/tiffani-thiessen-welcomes-son-holt-fisher/|title=Tiffani Thiessen Welcomes Son Holt Fisher|work=People|last1=Stroup|first1=Kate|last2=Leon|first2=Anya|date=July 2, 2015|access-date=October 9, 2016}}

Thiessen served as maid of honor at 90210 co-star and best friend Jennie Garth's 2001 wedding to actor Peter Facinelli, with whom she co-starred on Fastlane. Garth and Thiessen's friendship has since come to an end.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/jennie-garth-tiffani-thiessen-still-not-speaking-2012155|title=Jennie Garth, Tiffani Thiessen Still Not Speaking|date=May 15, 2012|magazine=Us Weekly|access-date=June 28, 2012}} Her friendship with fellow 90210 star Tori Spelling also ended after Spelling's marriage to her first husband ended.{{cite web|url=http://www.inquisitr.com/289646/tiffani-amber-thiessen-discusses-co-star-feuds/|title=Tiffani Amber Thiessen Discusses Co-Star Feuds|date=July 31, 2012|publisher=The inquisitr|access-date=December 23, 2012}}

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Category:1974 births

Category:20th-century American actresses

Category:21st-century American actresses

Category:Actresses from Long Beach, California

Category:American people of German descent

Category:American people of Greek descent

Category:American people of Turkish descent

Category:American people of Welsh descent

Category:American child actresses

Category:American film actresses

Category:American television actresses

Category:American voice actresses

Category:Living people