Ian Ziering

Ian Ziering was born on March 30, 1964, in Newark, New Jersey. Growing up, Ziering was classmates in elementary school with another future TV heartthrob, Scott Wolf of Party of Five. Ziering got his start in show business at age twelve, working in television and radio commercials. A graduate of William Paterson College in Wayne, New Jersey, Ziering made his feature film debut in his late teens, in the film Endless Love (1981), starring James Spader, Brooke Shields, and Tom Cruise.

Following his film debut, Ziering worked mostly in television, appearing on such shows as the daytime soap Guiding Light, and over-the-top sitcom Married with Children, with Christina Applegate. In 1990, Ziering landed the role for which he is best-known, playing irreverent rich kid Steve Sanders on the popular 90s series Beverly Hills 90210. Starring alongside Shannen Doherty, Jason Priestley, Luke Perry, and Tori Spelling, Ziering would spend the next decade hanging with the popular kids of 90210, and becoming a part of popular culture in the process. At the height of the show’s popularity, Ziering, who pronounces his first name "Eye-an", was followed in his car by fans who recognized the phonetic spelling of his license plate, which read: Eyean.

Although Ziering is mainly associated with his television acting, he has also performed on Broadway, in the musical version of I Remember Mama; as well as in a national touring production of Peter Pan. Throughout 90210's run, Ziering occasionally appeared in films such as Flash Flame and 1997’s Savate.

In 1997, Ziering married former Playboy Playmate, Nikki Schieler; however, the couple later divorced in 2002. Ziering was among the guests at his former cast mate Jason Priestley’s 2005 wedding to Naomi Lowde. Tori Spelling, Tiffani Thiessen, and Jennie Garth were also in attendance.

In 2004, Ziering appeared in the Indie thriller Stripped Down, and in 2006, he appeared in the film Domino starring Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, and Ziering’s former 90210 cast mate, Brian Austin Green. During an interview with Chud.com, Ziering described his humorous reaction to being pitched the script for Domino, stating, "I was sent the script and my agent said, ‘You’re going to like this,’ and I read it. I don’t remember what page it is, but on page whatever, out of a grey Mercedes walks Ian Ziering and Brian Green. And I immediately closed the script. ‘This is a joke.’ So I called my agent and he said, ‘No, this is the real deal....’ So I said, ‘Okay, yeah, I’ll finish reading it’ and really liked the script. Liked the fact that Ian Ziering, not speaking in third person but the character, is edgier than the real me.... I think it’s pretty interesting to become a bit of an icon of pop culture when all of a sudden you’re spoofing yourself."

As of 2007, Ziering is slated to appear in popular celeb-reality show, Dancing with the Stars, alongside Billy Ray Cyrus, Heather Mills, Joey Fatone, and Leeza Gibbons.

YUDDY