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.