Tiffani Thiessen

Tiffani Amber Thiessen (born January 23, 1974) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Kelly Kapowski on NBC’s Saved by the Bell (1989–93) and as Valerie Malone on Fox’s Beverly Hills, 90210 (1994–98), two TV series that met with great success. Thiessen has also starred in other TV series such as Fox’s Fastlane (2002–03), ABC’s What About Brian (2007), and USA Network’s White Collar (2009–14), as well as in a number of TV movies, and she has also appeared in several films like Son in Law (1993), Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth (2000), Hollywood Ending (2002), and Cyborg Soldier (2008).
Thiessen was born in Long Beach, California, the daughter of Robyn (née Ernest), a homemaker, and Frank Thiessen, a park designer and landscape architect. She has credited her brother, Todd, as one of her most important sources of inspiration, and her mother and grandmother as role models. Her mother has Greek, Turkish and Welsh heritage. She attended Cubberley Elementary and Marshall Junior High School in Long Beach. In 1992, Thiessen graduated as valedictorian at Valley Professional High School in Studio City, Los Angeles.