People May 19th 2003

People May 19th 2003

Ten years after graduation, stars of FOX's high school hit get together to recall fun and feuds. Most people get the jitters before a 10-year reunion. But before the cast of Beverly Hills 90210 got together last month for a FOX special airing May 11th, some alumni of the West Beverly High class of 1993 tossed and turned all night. "I couldn't sleep at all," confessed Gabrielle Carteris. What had Carteris so vexed? The prospect of seeing Shannen Doherty, who was axed from the series for clashing with castmates back in 1994. Costars Brian Austin Green, Tiffani Thiessen and Tori Spelling missed the affair, but Carteris, Doherty, Jason Priestley, Ian Ziering and Jennie Garth made up for lost time. "We were so excited to see each other," said Priestley. Well, not everyone. Doherty and Garth barely managed frosty hellos before heading to opposite ends of a soundstage couch. "I'm not privy to everything that went on between them," says Priestley. "But women have long memories." Will the ex-teen queens make up before West Beverly's 25th reunion? Unwinding later, Carteris - who shared a hug with Doherty - didn't think it mattered: "We were a family together - good, bad, whatever."

Jennie Garth, 31
Teen Trauma: Beverly Hills princess Kelly survived a drive-by shooting, cocaine addiction and a sorority fire.
True Drama: The future of Garth's new WB sitcom, What I Like About You, is as uncertain as Kelly's old love life.
Reunion Update: Right now, Garth, who wed Peter Facinelli (Fast Lane) in 2001, prefers being a mom to the couple's two daughters to television stardom. "It's all about the family," she says. "I'm so lucky."

Jason Priestley, 33
Teen Trauma: Wholesome Brandon Walsh was drugged by wacko girlfriend Emily at a rave.
True Drama: Cheated death in an August racecar accident that fractured his spine, broke his nose and gave him a concussion. "I have scars galore," says Priestley.
Reunion Update: Got good reviews for the movie Love and Death on Long Island (1997); now dating makup artist Naomi Lowde: "She's the closest thing to perfection I've found."

Gabrielle Carteris, 42
Teen Trauma: Class brainiac Andrea Zuckerman's dreams of attending Yale were sidelined because she had to care for her ailing grandmother.
Real Drama: Carteris's Ricki Lake dreams were sidelined when 1995 talk show Gabrielle was cancled.
Reunion Update: Starred in the reality TV show The Surreal Life with Emmanuel Lewis and Corey Feldman; mother of Kelsey Rose, 9, and Mollie Elizabeth, 4.

Luke Perry, 36
Teen Trauma: Moody Dylan McKay's bride was gunned down in a Mob hit.
Real Drama: Recently seperated from wife, ex-paralegal Minnie Sharp, after nine years; 1994 movie debut 8 Seconds went to video almost as fast.
Reunion Update: Now stars in Showtime series Jeremiah. "He knows how lucky he is to be working," says costar Malcolm Jamal-Warner.

Tori Spelling, 30
Teen Trauma: Drinking at the prom nearly got virginal Donna Martin banned from high school graduation.
True Drama: Left producer dad Aaron Spelling's megamansion for a one-bedroom rental. Fended off tabloid plastic-surgery rumors, admitting only to a nose job at age 16. "I lost my baby fat, and people said I had work done," she said.
Reunion Update: Soon to be slumming onscreen as a dog walker in the WB pilot The Help. "She wants to get away from playing Daddy's little girl," says costar Joe E. Tata.

Shannen Doherty, 32
Teen Trauma: As Brenda Walsh, she battled Kelly Taylor (Garth) for the heart of Dylan (Perry.)
True Drama: Sentenced to anger-management classes after attacking a man's car with a beer bottle; divorced from actor Ashley Hamilton after five months; split with Internet exec Richard Solomon after nine months. Killed off on witchy series Charmed after fighting with coven costar Alyssa Milano.
Reunion Update: Claims to have mellowed with age; found dream job hosting Sci Fi series Scare Tactics, in which real people are terrorized by scary pranks. "Shannen's lived a lot of life," says Priestley. "I always liked her. She's a real no-b.s. kind of chick."

Ian Ziering, 39
Teen Trauma: Steve Sanders learned that he was adopted; discovered real mom was (gasp!) poor.
True Drama: Divorcing Playboy Playmate Nikki Ziering, who he says won't give up his last name. "She said maybe I'll make it famous."
Reunion Update: Dating cosmetics exec Lisa Ragland; with Doherty, recently greeted Japanese tourists on a 90210 theme tour of L.A.

Tiffani Thiessen, 29
Teen Trauma: Bitchy Valerie Malone nursed a secret marijuana habit.
True Drama: Admitted "ongoing struggle" to fit Hollywood's waifish beauty ideal; dropped her middle name, Amber, to be taken more seriously.
Reunion Update: Just ended engagement with actor Richard Ruccolo. "They just amicably split," says friend Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder). Now stars in FOX's Fast Lane with pal Garth's hubby, Facinelli.

Brian Austin Green, 29
Teen Trauma: Geeky David Silver lost best pal Scott in a gun accident; later tried to become a hip-hop artist.
True Drama: A review called his 1996 rap debut, One Stop Carnival, among the "worst rap records ever."
Reunion Update: Raising son Kassius, 1, with former 90210 castmate Vanessa Marcil, 34, and currently directing his first movie, the indie comedy Girls Will Be Girls.

The Shannen Files
Shannen Doherty's scraps with other cast members sometimes got as much attention as 90210's plotlines.
Jennie Garth: She and Doherty held up a photo shoot battling over a red dress. "They competed over wardrobe, over everything," recalls castmate Joe E. Tata (Nat). "It was unbelievable."
Jason Priestley: Doherty snuck into his dressing room, peeked at his driver's license, then announced his age. Priestley "turned bright red, grabbed her by the neck and wrestled her to the ground," says Ziering.
Ian Ziering: After damaging one of 90210's Convettes during a joyrie, Doherty let Ziering take the blame. "I think she was creating what she wanted to be - the bad girl," says Tata. "And we're still talking about her, aren't we?"