Tiffani Thiessen has been part of pop culture for so long that it is hard to remember TV without her. She started working as a teenager, became a household name as Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell, then turned up the drama as Valerie Malone on Beverly Hills, 90210. Along the way, she added best-selling author and host to her résumé, finding new fans in just about every era of media.
Her latest role is Miss Graves, the glamorous and formidable head of an elite magic school in the new supernatural series Coven Academy, with the full series available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu starting today.
Ahead, we chatted with her about what a lifetime on camera has taught her about beauty.
You started in this industry as a teenager, and now you’re playing a character who radiates total command of a room. How does the confidence you bring to Miss Graves compare to the confidence it took to walk into an audition at 15, and where did the gap between those two get closed?
“At 15, I thought I had strong confidence in myself, but at 52, that confidence is like no other. There’s a ‘who gives a f--k’ attitude that has developed after many years of being in the spotlight in Hollywood. My feeling now is that it’s not my job to impress people anymore. I am who I am. I am here to enjoy this life and create meaningful memories and connections. I have been fortunate to have this career that I still find joy in and I can only hope that that joy spreads to others.”
What’s a piece of ‘conventional wisdom’ about how you should look on camera that you were told early on and have since completely thrown out?
“I was lucky enough to be given great advice on aging from the women in my family. My mother and grandmother were huge inspirations in my life and career and continue to be. They always told me that aging is a privilege. A privilege you should embrace with gratitude and grace. I continue to take those words to heart.”
We’ve talked before about what you’ve added to your routine in your 50s. What’s something you’ve subtracted? A product, a habit or even a mindset you actively let go of that made more room for how you want to look and feel now.
“I have subtracted all the BS. The unnecessary negativity that only takes away from your life. Whether that’s people, places, activities or items.”
Did stepping into Miss Graves’s look (the wardrobe, the makeup, the whole presence of her) change anything about how you think about your own beauty identity off-screen?
“Miss Graves is quite glamorous. You can tell Emma (Miss Graves) cares about her appearance and how she presents herself to people. She actually reminds me a lot of my grandmother. My grandmother never left the house without her ‘face on.’ She always took the time to put herself together before ever stepping foot outside. Talk about commitment. That is very different than me. I love to dress up and feel good on occasion, but I think comfort is where my priority lies.”
If you could sit down with the version of yourself who first got into that makeup chair decades ago, what’s the one thing about beauty or self-image you’d want to correct for her before she spent years believing it?
“I would tell her to embrace every stage of life. I look back at some of my old photos or even videos and remember being critical of myself. I think now, how truly wasteful those thoughts were. Every stage of life is beautiful in its own right. Every stage had its own special place in my timeline. I cherish all of them so much now and look back at them with love.”
So much of the beauty conversation right now is about aging ‘well’ versus aging ‘visibly.’ As someone who’s had her face and her aging process watched publicly for over 30 years, how do you personally draw the line between caring for yourself and chasing an idea of youth?
“It’s simple: I’m not chasing anything. I’m living in the now and cherishing every stage I enter with grace and immense gratitude.”
Hollywood’s standards for women have shifted a lot since you started, some for the better, some still frustratingly the same. What’s one change you’ve genuinely felt in how you’re allowed to show up, and what’s one thing you’re still waiting to see change?
“I am happy to see more women embracing the natural aging process we all go through. What I am hoping to see more? More women coming together in support of one another. I am seeing more of it, but we can always use more. Women supporting women is what we should all want more of.”
