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, is a park designer of
German descent; her mother, Robyn, is a homemaker of
Greek,
Turkish 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.