Jennie Garth is an American actress and director, best known for starring in the prominent role of Kelly Taylor throughout the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise. She currently stars in her own reality show, Jennie Garth: A Little Bit Country on CMT.
Jennie Garth was born in Urbana, Illinois to John and Carolyn Garth, each of whom already had three older children from previous marriages: Johnny, Chuck, Lisa, Cammie, Wendy and Lynn. Garth spent much of her youth on a 25-acre (100,000 m2) horse ranch in Arcola, Illinois. Her family eventually moved to Tuscola, Illinois, and then, when Garth was 13 years old, to Glendale, Arizona. There, she began taking dancing lessons and modeling, which led to her participation in a talent competition, where she was discovered by Hollywood talent scout and manager, Randy James. She attended Greenway High School as a freshman and later transferred to Apollo High School in her sophomore year. Determined to become an actress, she left school during her junior year to work with James in Los Angeles (she would later obtain her high school diploma in California). She began taking acting classes and going to auditions almost daily, and soon landed a role as “Erica McCray” in the NBC TV series A Brand New Life (1989–90).
Garth landed her first role in the television series Growing Pains. She also appeared in six episodes on A Brand New Life as Erica McCray.
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), “Lies of the Heart: The Story of Laurie Kellogg (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).
Garth ranked #59 on the FHM 100 Sexiest Women of 2000, and #93 on the magazine’s 100 Sexiest Women of 2001.
Garth was married to Daniel Clark from 1994 to 1996.
In 1996, Garth met actor Peter Facinelli while filming the movie An Unfinished Affair. On January 20, 2001, she married Facinelli in a traditional Roman Catholic ceremony. They have three daughters: Luca Bella (born on June 30, 1997), Lola Ray (born on December 6, 2002), and Fiona Eve (born on September 30, 2006).
On March 13, 2012, Garth and Facinelli announced that they were divorcing. On March 28, 2012, Facinelli filed for divorce.