90210’s Jim Walsh moved his family from Minnesota to Beverly Hills for a job promotion but before he became a household name among teens, James Eckhouse had a dayplayer role on Another World and years later, turned up on Days of Our Lives. The prolific actor has over 120 credits to his name.
Carol Potter’s Cindy Walsh, wife of Jim and mom to Brandon and Brenda, was a mother figure to her kids’ friends and one half of the popular phrase from the series, “Jim and Cindy.” And guess what? Potter was no stranger to daytime having had roles on Ryan’s Hope, The Doctors, One Life to Live and Sunset Beach, plus various primetime series after her 90210 fame.
Jason Priestley was the perfect teen dream as Brandon Walsh and was one of People‘s most beautiful people in 1991. He’s done everything from big screen films to Lifetime Christmas movies to starring in his own crime drama.
Shannen Doherty’s Brenda Walsh got quite the culture shock after moving from a small town to the 90210 zip code but earned her place in one of the school’s most popular cliques, as well as in the heart of Dylan McKay (the late Luke Perry). She went on to star as Prue Halliwell in the fantasy drama Charmed and continues to turn up in chilling Lifetime features.
BFF to Donna then later to Brenda too, Kelly Taylor experienced many challenges in her teen years but grew into someone she ended up being proud of. As for Jennie Garth, she went on to become a popular staple in Lifetime and Christmas movies and even voiced her 90210 character in FOX’s animated series Family Guy.
Teen sweetheart Donna Martin, who strived to stay a virgin for as long as possible, often felt insecure but the gang always had her back. Tori Spelling, a mom to five, continues to turn up in movies and television and penned an assortment of books over the years.
David Silver was one of the youngest of the gang and ended up with one of the coolest older girls at West Beverly, Donna. Life didn’t turn out too bad for Brian Austin Green either… With more than 70 credits under his belt, he’s been on everything from popular crime shows to Desperate Housewives, Anger Management and The Connors and even tried his hand as a rapper.
He’ll always be remembered for playing spoiled, rich teen Steve Sanders, but one of Ian Ziering’s first roles was on The Doctors. He also did a two-year stint as Cameron Stewart on Guiding Light before branching out into primetime and fighting off killer sharks in Syfy’s Sharknado franchise.
Smart-as-a-whip Andrea Zuckerman slowly found her way into the cool group and fell for Brandon. But did you know that one of Gabrielle Carteris’ first roles was on Another World? Daytime, primetime, movies, she’s done it all.
Valerie Malone moved in with family friends, the Walshes, and had a hard time fitting in, due to her manipulating ways. However, Tiffani Thiessen had no trouble at all making a name for herself prior to 90210 as Kelly Kapowski in Saved by the Bell and went on to star in a variety of primetime series and movies to date.
General Hospital fans know her as Port Charles’ Brenda but Vanessa Marcil once played another memorable character. Gina Kincaid was Donna Martin’s cousin and a former Olympic-hopeful ice skater — one who caught Dylan’s eye upon his return to Los Angeles after being away from the drama for three years.
Clare Arnold once handcuffed herself to a bed dressed in lingerie to get Brandon’s attention. And fans who stream may have spotted Kathleen Robertson in The Roku Channel series Swimming With Sharks, as well as Amazon Prime’s The Expanse.
Janet Sosna succeeded where no other woman had and won Steve’s heart for the long run and also made him a proud papa. Lindsay Price is a mother in her real-life as well and has two sons with celebrity chef Curtis Stone. Prior to her 90210 fame, she popped up on Days of Our Lives and spent two years on All My Children as An Li Chen Bodine and two on The Bold and the Beautiful as Michael Lai.
After a very brief summer fling with David, which really only amounted to a kiss, newcomer/dancer Nikki Witt fell for… you guessed it, Brandon. Former One Life Live actress Dana Barron has popped up in primetime, on Hallmark and even in an Old Navy commercial as her National Lampoon’s Vacation character, Audrey Griswold.
Fans will recall how Lucinda Nicholson caught the eye of Brandon and added him to her list of adulterous affairs. However, Starship Troopers put Dina Meyer on the map and now with over 90 credits to her resume, she’s been booked and busy ever since.
Though troubled-teen Emily Valentine didn’t mesh well with Kelly, Donna and Brenda’s girl-gang, she and Brandon (what was it with this guy?!) had a wild romance. Christine Elise later appeared in numerous crime dramas, among others, and even played Sylvia on General Hospital: Night Shift.
Her 90210 character, aspiring actress Sophie Burns, once caused a rift between friends Steve and David, but Melrose Place star Laura Leighton went on to lend her talents to numerous other primetime hits. Skin, Pretty Little Liars, Dynasty… shall we go on?
Before Grant Show’s character became one of Melrose Place’s hottest tenants, Jake Hanson was a friend of Dylan’s and a handyman hired by Kelly’s mom, Jackie. In fact, Jake and Kelly’s brief fling sparked a 90210/Melrose Place crossover. While Show had a three-year run on Ryan’s Hope, he went on to have much success in television and movies and most recently played business mogul Blake Carrington on the CW’s Dynasty reboot.
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