Tiffani Thiessen

Tiffani Thiessen
Born	Tiffani-Amber Thiessen
Occupation(s)	Actress, producer
Years active	1989–present
Spouse	Brady Smith (2005-Present)

Tiffani Thiessen (born Tiffani-Amber Thiessen on January 23, 1974) is an American actress known for her roles as Kelly Kapowski in Saved by the Bell and as Valerie Malone in Beverly Hills, 90210. After many years of going by her full name, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, she is now credited as simply Tiffani Thiessen.

Early life

Thiessen was born in Long Beach, California. Her father, Frank, was a park designer; her mother, Robyn, was a homemaker. She is of Turkish, German, Greek and Welsh descent. She 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." She credits her brother, Todd, as one of her most important sources of inspiration, and her mother and grandmother as role models. Her uncle, Roger Ernest, attended college with Steven Spielberg and co-wrote one of his student films called Slipstream. He also appeared in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Sugarland Express, playing a police officer in both films. Ernest was the first person to suggest that Thiessen enter show business.

Career

After a childhood of beauty pageants, Thiessen was crowned Miss Junior America in 1987 and won Teen magazine's "Great Model Search" in 1988, gracing the cover of that issue. A year later, her first big break in show business was her role on the television program Saved by the Bell, which was publicized and given a great deal of fanfare by the same magazine. She portrayed Kelly Kapowski, a role she continued playing in the short-lived Saved by the Bell: The College Years. Thiessen began to appear in guest roles on several television film, including Hawaiian Style, A Killer Among Friends, Son in Law, and Wedding in Las Vegas.

In 1994, Thiessen was casted on Beverly Hills, 90210 playing Valerie Malone. This was very different from her previous roles, playing a naive, and a fun young woman but also a trouble maker at times. She portrayed her role as Valerie Malone for five season.

Thiessen later guest-starred in the sitcom Two Guys and a Girl and the short-lived action show Fastlane, as well as guest-starring on Just Shoot Me! playing Amy Watson. Her transition to film has not gone well so far, as most of her movies have been critically panned. In 2002, she appeared in the film Hollywood Ending, directed by Woody Allen.

In 2005, Thiessen directed a 21-minute film called Just Pray. It placed at several film festivals and was the first major effort from her new production company, Tit 4 Tat Productions.

In January 2007, Thiessen joined the cast of ABC's drama What About Brian, playing the boss of Brian, and potential love interest for Adam. However, in May 2007, ABC officially canceled the series.

Personal life

She has had past relationships with co-stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Brian Austin Green and Mario Lopez. In March of 1999, Thiessen's then-boyfriend, actor David Strickland, committed suicide. From October 2001 to April 2003, she was engaged to actor Richard Ruccolo, whom she had met during the Two Guys and a Girl run. On July 9, 2005, she married actor Brady Smith in Montecito, California.

Thiessen is a part of the Make-a-Wish Foundation. In February 2006, she accepted an invitation to serve on the National Advisory Council for the organization.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Saved by the Bell	Kelly Kapowski	TV series (1989-1993)
1992	Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style	Kelly Kapowski	TV movie
	A Killer Among Friends	Jenny Monroe	TV movie
1993	Son in Law	Tracy
1993	Saved by the Bell: The College Years	Kelly Kapowski	TV series (1993-1994)
1994	Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas	Kelly Kapowski	TV movie
	Beverly Hills, 90210	Valerie Malone	TV series (1994-1999)
1995	The Stranger Beside Me	Jennifer Gallagher	TV movie
	She Fought Alone	Caitlin Rose	TV movie
1996	Sweet Dreams	Alison Sullivan	TV movie
	Buried Secrets	Annalisse Vellum	TV movie (also co-producer)
1999	Speedway Junky	Wilma Price
	From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money	Pam
	Love Stinks	Rebecca Melini/Juliette
2000	Ivans XTC	Marie Stein
	The Ladies Man	Honey DeLune
	Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth	Hagitha Utslay
2001	Everything But the Girl	Denise	TV movie
	A Christmas Adventure from a Book Called Wisely's Tales	Vixen (voice)
	Just Shoot Me!	Amy Watson	3 episodes
2002	Hollywood Ending	Sharon Bates
2002	Fastlane	Wilhelmina 'Billie' Chambers	TV series (2002-2003)
2005	Just Pray		Short film (co-producer only)
2006	Stroller Wars	Lainey	TV series
2007	Pandemic	Kayla Martin	TV movie
	What About Brian	Natasha Drew	TV series
2008	Cyborg Soldier	Lindsey Reardon

Award nominations

Teen Choice Awards

• 2003 - Choice TV Actress: Drama, "Fastlane"

Young Artist Awards

• 1989 - Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast, "Saved by the Bell"
• 1991 - Best Young Actress Starring in an Off-Prime Time or Cable Series, "Saved by the Bell"
• 1992 - Best Young Actress in an Off-Prime Time Series, "Saved by the Bell"

Radio

• Recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's 'Hip-Hop Literacy' campaign
• She was featured in the following music videos:
  • "You're a God" by Vertical Horizon
  • "American Television" by Australian artist Ben Lee.

External links

• Official website
• Tiffani Thiessen at IMDb
• tit 4 tat Productions - Thiessen's production company. Includes her profile.
• Biography at TV.com
• Fansite