Over a career that’s spanned three decades, Tiffani Thiessen is once again flipping the script. With her well-known TV roles on “Saved by the Bell” and “Beverly Hills, 90210,” Thiessen made a name for herself as a ‘90s icon, but has managed to reinvent her career to include her other passion: cooking.
“I have always had a love for food, and I think it developed from traveling a lot when I was on ‘Saved by the Bell,’ learning about different cultures and cuisines,” she says.
She pursued her love of food by exploring new career ventures: as host and producer of her cooking show, “Dinner at Tiffany’s,” and now with her first cookbook, “Pull Up a Chair.”
For Thiessen, the opportunity to be creative is what drives her in different career directions.
“It’s been really fun for me to find a new way to be creative [with food],” she says. “So I still have my true passion, I’m still doing my acting, but food is another passion and a way for me to be creative.”
Since becoming a mother to her two children, Harper and Holt, Thiessen wants her children to appreciate and practice healthy eating habits.
“We grow a lot of food at our house, and it’s important to teach my kids where food comes from and what’s healthy and what’s not healthy,” she says.
Motherhood has also shifted her priorities when it comes to making money, something Thiessen says she’s always been responsible about.
“I’ve been very fortunate to pretty much work consistently, and I’ve tried to be responsible and careful with my money and not be crazy with it,” she says. “I truly believe the best way to learn is through experience.”
Thiessen says her priorities have shifted away from her next career move and instead, she’s able to focus on her family.
“Before it was always about working and making money and striving to do new things,” she says. “Now that I have a family my priorities are very different—it’s just being happy and playing outside with my kids. My eyes are all to them really.”
WATCH MORE
Successful working parents share their secrets
Here’s why women need to save 20% more than men
This story was originally published on November 1, 2018.