Jennie Garth reflected on her Beverly Hills, 90210 days in her newly released memoir, I Choose Me, sharing details about her relationships with each costar.
Garth, now 54, starred as Kelly Taylor in the teen drama, which ran for 10 seasons from 1999 to 2000. The show also starred Jason Priestley (Brandon Walsh), Shannen Doherty (Brenda Walsh), Gabrielle Carteris (Andrea Zuckerman), Ian Ziering (Steve Sanders), Brian Austin Green (David Silver), Tori Spelling (Donna Martin) and Luke Perry (Dylan McKay).
The first chapter of Garth’s book — which hit shelves on Tuesday, April 14 — reveals how each one of her “dear castmates” impacted her life.
Keep scrolling to read what Garth said about her 90210 costars:
Jason Priestley
Jennie Garth wrote that Jason Priestley “brought that steady, older-brother energy on set” when they filmed the show.
“I saw how much he was like his character, making people around him feel safe and seen. Jason quietly kept us anchored, never asking for praise, leading with calm and kindness,” she wrote. “I didn’t fully appreciate it back then. He carried so much responsibility, and he did it with such an even temperament. Today, I admire the husband and father he’s become, so many of those same qualities now serve his family. I must have kissed him at least a million times on camera, but the real gift is knowing the man behind the character. I love him wholeheartedly.”
Shannen Doherty
While Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty went through a public feud because of their onscreen roles, they “had so much in common” otherwise.
“She taught me how to walk through fire without flinching. She taught me how to stand up to people who tried to shrink us,” Garth wrote. “She unknowingly gave me the messaging to ‘never let ’em see you sweat’ and to never second-guess my instincts. We didn’t always get it right — we were young, and it got messy as we butted heads — but there was this unspoken respect between us.”
Doherty died at age 53 in July 2024.
Tori Spelling
Jennie Garth wrote that she and Tori Spelling have an “unbreakable” friendship.
“Tori and I have probably spent more time together than anyone else from the cast, and our friendship has deepened over the years,” Garth shared. “We’ve made shows, created businesses, thrown ideas at the wall together — and through it all, I always felt like we had each other’s backs.”
Garth also called Spelling her “soul sister.”
Brian Austin Green
Brian Austin Green was the “little brother” of the cast.
“He was the youngest, the baby of the group, and I was always looking at him with protectiveness,” she recalled. “He loved to make us laugh, mostly when he would call out our silly antics; we would end up agreeing with him and laughing at ourselves until our makeup was running down our faces.”
Garth noted that Green has grown up to be “a good man.”
Ian Ziering
Jennie Garth referred to Ian Ziering as “joy personified” in her book.
“He makes me laugh harder than anyone, and his pep talks are legendary,” she wrote. “He’s the guy who’ll check in to lift me up, and I’ve come to rely on his motivational chats over the years.”
Luke Perry
Jennie Garth noted that she had a “complicated” relationship with the late Luke Perry.
“The truth is, he was my first love. I never said it publicly. I never even really admitted it to myself until later. But it’s true,” she wrote. “I had never loved someone like I loved Luke, in that way you love someone when you’re young and unsure and everything feels enormous. Our relationship was up and down, intense and unfinished.”
Perry died at age 52 in March 2019.
Gabrielle Carteris
Jennie Garth recalled Gabrielle Carteris as the “mother hen” of their group.
“She was a few years older and always seemed to have a solid sense of who she was, even when the rest of us were flailing,” Garth wrote. “She didn’t seem to need extra attention or outside affirmation to know her value to the show.”
Over the years, they’ve only grown closer.
“I’ve come to appreciate how loyal she is, and fiercely loving,” Garth shared. “She’s truly someone worthy of being looked up to.”
I Choose Me is out now.
