Tiffani Thiessen Biography

Tiffani Amber Thiessen was born on January 23, 1974, in Long Beach, California, USA, to Robyn, a homemaker, and Frank Thiessen, a park designer and landscape architect. Her elder brother Todd is a professional cyclist. She also has a younger brother named Schyler.

She spent her childhood at Long Beach with her family. She went to ‘Cubberley Elementary’ and ‘Marshall Junior High School.’ She later studied at ‘Valley Professional High School’ in Los Angeles and graduated as a valedictorian.

Tiffani Thiessen’s career started at the age of eight. At the insistence of her uncle Roger Ernest, she started trying her hand at acting and modeling and soon appeared in her first TV commercial for ‘Peaches and Cream Barbie.’

She competed in several beauty pageants and was crowned ‘Miss Junior America’ in 1987. In 1988, she went on to win ‘Teen’ magazine’s ‘Great Model Search.’ The following year, she won ‘Cover Girl’ magazine’s ‘Model of the Year.’

She ventured into television and her role as the popular cheerleader ‘Kelly Kapowski’ on NBC’s ‘Saved by the Bell’ in 1989 turned out to be her big breakthrough. The series aired for four seasons. The show was a huge success and she became a teen idol.

In 1994, she landed the role of ‘Valerie Malone’ on Aaron Spelling’s long-running hit series ‘Beverley Hills 90210.’ She played the role for 136 episodes till 1998, before leaving the show to pursue her movie career.

She featured in movies like ‘The Stranger Beside Me’ (1995), ‘She Fought Alone’ (1995), and ‘Sweet Dreams‘(1996). She co-produced as well as starred in ‘Buried Secrets’ (1996).

She also continued to appear in TV series, and was cast in several series over the years. She starred in ‘Cupid’ (1999), ‘News Radio’ (1999), ‘Two Guys and a Girl’ (2000), ‘Just Shoot Me’ (2001), ‘Fastlane’ (2002-2003), and ‘Good Morning Miami’ (2003-2004).

In the meantime, she also featured in Vertical Horizon’s music video ‘You’re a God’ (2000). She also appeared in Woody Allen’s ‘Hollywood Ending’ (2002).

In 2003, she ventured into production and launched her own production company ‘Tit 4 Tat Productions.’ In 2005, she directed ‘Just Pray’ under her own production company and the movie earned acclaim at several film festivals.

In 2006, she accepted an invitation to serve on the ‘National Advisory Council’ of ‘Make-A-Wish’ foundation. In 2008, she acted in the movie ‘Cyborg Soldier’ and featured in Ben Lee’s music video titled ‘American Television.’

She then became a celebrity cook and started hosting her own cooking show ‘Dinner at Tiffani’s’ on Cooking Channel TV. She also has a website (www.tiffanithiessen.com) where she offers household organizing solutions, cooking recipes, and DIY projects. She is also regularly featured on ‘People’ magazine.

From 2009 to 2014, she appeared as ‘Elizabeth Burke’ in USA Network’s crime series ‘White Collar.’ She later joined the main cast of Netflix’s sitcom ‘Alexa & Katie’ where she played ‘Lori,’ the mother of the titular character ‘Alexa.’ The show aired from 2018 to 2020.

Tiffani Thiessen is known for her role as the bubbly cheerleader ‘Kelly Kapowski’ in the popular series ‘Saved by the Bell.’

Her portrayal of ‘Valerie Malone’ in the hit teen drama ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ brought her much acclaim and success.

Tiffani Thiessen won the ‘Miss Junior America’ beauty pageant in 1987.

She won ‘Teen’ magazine’s ‘Great Model Search’ in 1988.

She was nominated for ‘Young Artist Awards’ for ‘Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast’ (1990), ‘Best Young Actress Starring in an Off-Prime-Time or Cable Series’ (1992), and ‘Best Young Actress in an Off-Prime-Time Series’ (1993) for her portrayal of ‘Kelly Kapowski’ in the popular series ‘Saved by the Bell.’

She was nominated under the ‘Choice TV Actress-Drama/Action Adventure’ category at the 2003 ‘Teen Choice Awards’ for her role as ‘Wilhelmina "Billie" Chambers’ in the series ‘Fastlane.’

In 2009, she received the ‘CLCA Green Image Award’ from the ‘Green Expo/Green Image Awards’ for teaching sustainable living techniques to residents and her contribution towards the ‘California Green Movement.’

Tiffani Thiessen dated her ‘Beverly Hills’ co-star Brian Austin Green from 1992 to 1995. Later, she dated actor David Strickland, whose untimely death due to suicide in 1999, left her emotionally disturbed.

 She dated actor Richard Ruccolo whom she met on the sets of ‘Two Guys and a Girl.’ She got engaged to him in 2001. However, they broke off their engagement in 2003.

Thiessen married actor and artist Brady Smith on 9 July 2005. The couple has two children, Harper Renn (born in 2010) and Holt Fisher (born in 2015).

Tiffani Thiessen is friends with her ‘Beverly Hills’ co-star Jennie Garth. It was Garth who played cupid and set up a blind date between Thiessen and Brady Smith.

She has five dogs named Buck, Pearl, Bo, Maggie, and Penny. Her cat is named Savannah, while her hen is named Ruby. She also has four chickens named Anna, Elsa, Mable, and Sugar.

Her home was once owned by Jack L. Warner, the founder of ‘Warner Bros. Studios.’ The home has hosted legendary guests over the years, including Marilyn Monroe.