Jennie Garth

Jennie Garth

Jennie Garth at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards
Born Jennifer Eve Garth
April 3, 1972 (1972-04-03) (age 38)
Urbana, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Years active 1988–present
Spouse Daniel B. Clark (1994–1996)
Peter Facinelli (2001–present) 3 children
Website
http://www.jenniegarth.com

Jennifer Eve "Jennie" Garth (born April 3, 1972) is an American actress, best known for starring in the prominent role of Kelly Taylor throughout the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. She is also known for starring as Valerie Tyler in What I Like About You.

Contents

Early life

Jennifer Eve Garth was born three hours south of Chicago, in Urbana, Illinois, to John[1] and Carolyn Garth, who each already had three children from different marriages. Garth grew up on a 25-acre (100,000 m2) horse ranch in Arcola, Illinois, with her six older half-siblings: Johnny, Chuck, Lisa, Cammie, Wendy and Lynn. Jennie also lived in Tuscola, Illinois, during her younger years. When Garth was 13 years old, she and her family moved to Glendale, Arizona. She took dancing lessons and modeled while living there, which led to her participation in a talent competition where she was discovered by a Hollywood Talent Manager named Randy James. She attended Greenway High School her Freshman year and transferred to Apollo High School for her Sophomore year. She later left Apollo High School during her junior year, when she and her mother moved to Los Angeles to work with James so Garth could become an actress, later obtaining her high school diploma in California. There, she started taking acting classes and went to auditions almost every day. After living in L.A. for about four months, she landed the role of "Erica McCray" on the NBC tv series, A Brand New Life (1989-'90), which lasted eight episodes including, "Episode Zero."

Career

Garth landed her first role starring as Denise in the television series Growing Pains. She also appeared in six episodes on A Brand New Life as Erica McCray. Garth then auditioned for the part of Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell, but the role eventually went to her Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Tiffani Thiessen.

Jennie Garth at the 1992 Emmy Awards.

In 1990, she landed the role of Kelly Taylor on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210. Throughout the series, Garth's character faced several trials and tribulations, along with difficult issues regarding family and her romantic life. Garth displayed an exceptional understanding of the character's struggles and triumphs, portraying Kelly in a relatable way which made her one of the most developed and popular characters on the show.[2] Garth appeared on the series for the full 10 seasons until its end in 2000, along with Ian Ziering, Tori Spelling, and Brian Austin Green. She won a Young Artist Award and was nominated for the Teen Choice Awards, both for her role on Beverly Hills, 90210. She was also instrumental in launching the spin-offs Melrose Place and 90210, with the character of Kelly becoming a continuity icon by appearing in the most franchise episodes as of 2009.[3][4] In addition, Garth became the first female cast member to direct episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210.

Her successful role on Beverly Hills, 90210 opened the door to several lead roles in made-for-TV films in the 1990s, including Danielle Steel's Star (1993), Without Consent (1994), Falling for You (1995), and An Unfinished Affair (1996). She also had minor and supporting roles in the theatrical films Telling You (1998), My Brother's War (1997), and Power 98 (1996).

In 1994, Jennie Garth made a Special Guest Appearance at Wrestlemania X in New York City's Madison Square Garden.

In 2002, Garth starred in the sitcom What I Like About You as Valerie Tyler. Along with co-star Amanda Bynes, she appeared on the show for all four seasons. The show centered around the relationship of the Tyler sisters, along with their friendships and romances. In 2003 she starred in the television movies The Last Cowboy and the Christmas family drama Secret Santa, playing as a journalist. She and the cast Secret Santa won the 2004 CAMIE Award.

In 2005 she voiced her Beverly Hills, 90210 character Kelly Taylor, as well as an additional role in the DVD Film Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story. The ensemble cast also included Seth McFarlane, Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, and Drew Barrymore. Garth also starred in the 2007 TV teen drama film Girl, Positive, playing a teacher who was HIV positive. She and co-star Andrea Bowen (known for the series Desperate Housewives) won a Prism Award for their performances.

In September 2008, Garth returned to the role of Kelly Taylor on the series premiere of the CW Network's spin-off series, 90210. In the new series, Garth's character Kelly Taylor is now a guidance counselor at West Beverly High, where her half-sister Erin Silver also attends.[5] Kelly was reintroduced with a four-year-old son, whose father is ex-boyfriend Dylan McKay. The writers were eager to have her share scenes with former Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Shannen Doherty, who reprised her role of Brenda Walsh.[6] Tori Spelling, who played Donna Martin in the original series, later joined the spin-off in a recurring role as well. Garth reprised the role in the second season.

Garth appeared on the U.S. game show Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? on November 21, 2008. She won $100,000 for her charity, the American Heart Association. This TV show also noted that Garth owns a horse ranch in Santa Barbara, CA.

In 2009, she played the role of Natasha in Candace Bushnell's Web series The Broadroom, which premiered in September.

In January 2010, Garth starred in a web series created by NBC Universal called "Garden Party". The show is aired on iVillage and focuses on various farms, vegetables, and how parents can promote healthy eating in their children. "Garden Party" focuses on a different vegetable each month and is sponsored by Hidden Valley Ranch.

Dancing with the Stars

In 2007, Garth appeared on Season 5 of Dancing with the Stars and was paired with Derek Hough. Garth had consistently high scores throughout the entire competition and was one of the few contestants to maintain 8s and above after week two. She was eliminated on the ninth week of competition finishing at a respectable fourth out of 12, after scoring her first perfect score of the competition with her Cha-Cha-Cha [7] while Marie Osmond (who came in last place for three weeks up to that point) remained in the competition. The audience gave her a standing ovation. Judge Len Goodman stated that it "was not her time to go." In her exiting montage video, Derek Hough stated how proud he was of her for going on an emotional journey and improving from three 7s to three 10s.

Performances

Week # Dance/Song Judges' score Result
Inaba Goodman Tonioli
1 Cha-Cha-Cha/ "Uptown Girl" 7 7 7 Safe
2 Quickstep/ "Suddenly I See" 7 7 7 Safe
3 Tango/ "Cite Tango" 9 8 9 Safe
4 Paso Doble/ "Because We Can" 8 10 9 Safe
5 Samba/ "Cosmic Girl" 8 9 8 Safe
6 Mambo/ "Mambo Baby" 9 9 9 Safe
7 Viennese Waltz/ "Runaway"
Rumba/ "Fallen"
8
9
8
9
9
10
Last One Saved1
8 Jive/ "It Takes Two"
Foxtrot/ "I've Got You Under My Skin"
8
9
8
9
8
8
Last One Saved1
9
Semi-finals
Tango/ "The Take Over, The Breaks Over"
Cha-Cha-Cha/ "Mustang Sally"
9
10
10
10
9
10
Eliminated


1Does not necessarily mean they were in the bottom two.

Popularity

Garth at the Twilight premiere in Los Angeles

Garth ranked #59 on the FHM 100 Sexiest Women of 2000,[8] and #93 on the magazine's 100 Sexiest Women of 2001.[9]

Personal life

On April 16, 1994, Garth married musician Daniel B. Clark. They separated in 1995 and Garth filed for divorce in 1996. In 1996, Garth met actor Peter Facinelli while filming the movie An Unfinished Affair. She converted to Catholicism and on January 20, 2001, she married Facinelli in the traditional Roman Catholic ceremony.[10] They have three daughters: Luca Bella (born on June 29, 1997), Lola Ray (born on December 6, 2002), and Fiona Eve (born on September 30, 2006).

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes
1989 Just Perfect Girl TV film
1993 Danielle Steel's Star Crystal Wyatt TV film
1994 Without Consent Laura Mills TV film
1995 Lies of the Heart: The Story of Laurie Kellogg Laurie Kellogg TV film
Falling for You Meg Crane TV film
1996 A Loss of Innocence Chelnicia Bowen TV film
An Unfinished Affair Sheila Hart TV film
Power 98 Sharon Penn
1997 My Brother's War Mary Fagan Bailey
1998 Telling You Amber
2001 Watching Detectives Celeste
2002 How High Elle TV film
2003 Secret Santa Rebecca Chandler TV film
The Last Cowboy Jackie Cooper TV film
2005 Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story Kelly Taylor (voice) DVD film
2007 Girl, Positive Sarah Bennett TV film
2011 Mulligan Unknown Filming

Television

Year Show Role Notes
1989 Growing Pains Denise 1 episode
1989–1990 A Brand New Life Ericka McCray 6 episodes
1990 Teen Angel Karrie Donato
1990–2000 Beverly Hills, 90210 Kelly Taylor 292 Episodes
1992 Melrose Place Kelly Taylor Guest Appearance, 3 episodes.
1993 Teen Angel Returns Karrie Donato Guest Appearance
1994 WrestleMania X Herself Guest timekeeper
2000 The Street Gillian 8 episodes
2002–2006 What I Like About You Valerie "Val" Tyler 86 Episodes
2008 Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Herself Celebrity guest appearance
2008–2010 90210 Kelly Taylor 20 episodes
2009 The Broadroom Natasha Web Series (4 episodes)
2010–present Garden Party Herself NBC Web Series

Awards and nominations

Year Award Result Category
1991 Young Artist Awards Nominated Best Breakout Actress
Won Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series
Nominated Best Young Actress Co-starring in a Television Series
1993 Won Favorite Young Ensemble Cast in a Television Series
Won Best Young Actress in a Television Series
1994 Nominated Best Youth Actress Guest Starring in a Television Show
1998 Nominated Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Guest Starring Young Actress
1999 Golden Globe Awards Nominated Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Television Series
Teen Choice Awards Won Television - Choice Actress
2004 Character and Morality in Entertainment Awards Won Best Ensemble Cast
2008 Prism Awards Won Outstanding Performance in a Miniseries

References

External links