Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (born on January 23, 1974) is an actress known for her work on television as Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell and as Valerie Malone on Beverly Hills, 90210. After many years of going by her full name Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, she is now credited simply as Tiffani Thiessen.
Thiessen was born in Long Beach, California, USA. Her father Frank was a park designer; her mother Robyn was a homemaker; her older brother Todd is a professional cyclist; her younger brother Schuyler is an engineer. She is of Turkish, German, Greek, and Welsh descent. She credits her brother Todd, as one of her sources of inspiration and considers her mother and grandmother as role models. Her uncle Roger Ernest, attended school with Steven Spielberg who co-wrote one his student films, Slipstream. Ernest was the first one who suggest that Thiessen pursue a career in show business.
After a childhood of many 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 when she was cast as Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell, a role she continued playing in the short-lived Saved by the Bell: The College Years. Thiessen also began to make several guest roles in television films, including Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style, A Killer Among Friends, Son In Law, and Saved by the ...
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