Tiffani Thiessen was born Tiffani-Amber Thiessen on January 23, 1974, in Orange County, California. After appearing in TV commercials for Peaches and Cream Barbie, Thiessen competed in several beauty pageants as a child, winning Miss Junior America in 1987 and Teen magazine's great model search in 1988. Thiessen was also made Cover Girl magazine's model of the year in 1989. That same year, Thiessen got her big break in showbiz when she was cast as cheerleader Kelly Kapowski on the popular Saturday morning series Saved By The Bell. While acting on Saved by the Bell, Thiessen also attended Valley Professional High School in Studio City, California, where she was named class valedictorian in 1992.
Thiessen landed her next major television role in 1994, on the Aaron Spelling teen drama, Beverly Hills 90210. Starring alongside Jason Priestley, Luke Perry, Ian Ziering, and Tori Spelling, Thiessen joined the show as Val, the voluptuous vixen who wreaks havoc in posh Beverly Hills. Thiessen was brought on the show to fill the void left by Shannen Doherty. In 2001, she was offered a role to replace Doherty on another series, Charmed, which instead went to Rose McGowan.
After leaving 90210 in 1998, Thiessen focused mostly on films, including Love Stinks in 1999, The Ladies Man in 2000, and Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th in 2000. Her most critically-acclaimed role came in 2002, starring alongside Woody Allen in Hollywood Ending.
In 2005, Thiessen directed the short film, Just Pray. As the first major release from Thiessen’s production company, Tit 4 Tat Productions, Just Pray was featured at several film festivals. On her transition from actor to producer, Thiessen has stated, "It's not uncommon for actors to get involved in the development and production side of the camera. Look at Drew Barrymore and her Flower Films or Sandra Bullock and Fortis Films. The list goes on. Having spent so many years on sets, working with different levels of material and building so many relationships with people, I felt capable and prepared to create a business entity that would allow me to direct and produce while complimenting my acting career. To remain stagnate and only focus on acting would be short sighted. And, since I love the business and it's all I've ever known, it was a natural progression to start such a company."
In January of 2007, Thiessen joined the cast of the TV show What About Brian, which also stars Barry Watson, Matthew Davis, Rick Gomez, Amanda Detmer, and Rosanna Arquette.
On July 9, 2005, Thiessen married actor, Brady Smith in Montecito, California. She was previously engaged to actor Richard Ruccolo from October 2001 to April 2003; and also involved with actor David Strickland, who committed suicide in 1999. Thiessen was also in a relationship with 90210 co-star, Brian Austin Green, with whom she lived for several years.
Thiessen has been involved with various children’s charities, including serving on the National Advisory Council for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and volunteering at Camp Rainbow Gold, a summer camp in Ketchum, Idaho, for children with cancer.
Thiessen lives with her husband, Brady; their two dogs, Buck and Pearl; and two cats, Sadie and Savannah.
YUDDY
