Tiffani Thiessen Dishes on Her Cookbook, Turning 50 and the Rumored 'White Collar' Reboot
Tiffani Thiessen is forever a '90s icon thanks to her roles in Saved by the Bell and Beverly Hills, 90210, but in the many years since those beloved shows aired, she’s branched out considerably. The star published her second cookbook, Here We Go Again: Recipes and Inspiration to Level Up Your Leftovers, last year, and has served as a TV personality and producer, while her roles in the procedural series White Collar and the Gen Z teen show Alexa & Katie introduced her to new audiences.
Most recently, Thiessen has teamed up with Hormel Pepperoni to celebrate National Pepperoni Pizza Day (coming up on September 20) by inviting people to take PTO, or “Pepperoni Time Off,” and enter to win a trip to New York City or Chicago in October — just in time for National Pizza Month. “We have pizza nights a lot in our house,” she says with a grin. “My kids are big fans of making homemade pizza. They’re cute, because they say they’re ‘decorating pizza.’”
Tiffani Thiessen spoke to FIRST for Women about her cookbook (which just so happens to feature her enjoying pizza on the cover), the many phases of her career and the highly anticipated potential White Collar reboot.
FIRST for Women: What inspired you to write your latest cookbook?
Tiffani Thiessen: It was an idea that spawned during the very beginning of COVID, when we were all scared to go to the grocery store. It was really interesting, because it made me think of how I grew up — not because of COVID, but because of the cost of food. I came from a very modest family. My parents didn't have a ton of money, so my mom was always stretching food. We would have a roast chicken on Monday, and it would turn into chicken enchiladas on Tuesday or Wednesday.
I had never seen a cookbook geared toward the idea of what’s left in your kitchen, so it was about teaching people, especially my kids and my husband — he hates leftovers — about how to reinvent your idea of what leftovers really are.
Rebecca Sanabria
FFW: Cooking can be a great form of stress relief. What else do you do to unwind?
TT: I love being outside, whether I’m hiking or walking. I go to the gym three to four times a week, and that hour of working out is really important to me. I'm a routine girl.
Recently, I've gotten into plunging and ice bathing, which is very good for my body as well as my mental health. When people haven't done it, they might not understand getting in freezing cold water. But after you've done it, it actually does get much easier. My husband and I look forward to it.
@tiffanithiessen/Instagram
FFW: You turned 50 earlier this year, and your daughter is now around the age you were when you started acting. How have you embraced these milestones?
TT: I was definitely gearing up to turn 50. I really wanted to embrace it and be the best I could be at that age. I took almost an entire year reflecting on what that would look like and how I wanted to be physically and mentally at a good spot.
Now that my kids are a little bit older, I can actually put a little more time into myself, whether that's gym time or outside time or just getting into a better mental space and taking the time to read books again and do things that feed my soul. That was a big concentration for me leading up to 50, and I'm still doing it.
My daughter just had her first day of high school. It was a little overwhelming. I didn't think I was going to get very emotional about it, but I totally did. I tell her not to speed along, and just really enjoy things. Don't rush it. We all try to grow up so fast, and even more so nowadays. As I’ve had my children, I’ve seen how fast it's going. I look back at things and I think, “Wow, I feel like that was a million years ago,” but at the same time it wasn't that long ago.
Monica Schipper/WireImage/Getty
FFW: There’s been talk of an upcoming White Collar reboot. Can you share anything about what the show will be like?
TT: It's definitely in the works. It's like anything in Hollywood, where it could take forever. We have no idea when it's going to happen. But we're all on board, and Matt Bomer, Tim DeKay and myself have been very public about saying that.
There’s a script, and it’s really good. It touches on everything, and it's one of those scripts that’s going to make our audience that loved the show already love the reboot, because they get to see these characters over 10 years in the future, but then it's also been reworked and there’s a sort of newness to it, so it's great for new viewers too. It's got such excitement and it's very character-driven, which was always a big thing for that show. I hope we get to see it happen.
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FFW: Having been in so many popular and long-running shows, how does it feel to look back at them?
TT: I look back on my career and I'm very fortunate and grateful that it's been a long one. I have fond memories from Saved by the Bell, when I was in my teen years, to Beverly Hills, 90210, when I was in my young adult years, to White Collar, when I was starting my family. They’re all such different parts of my life. Having shows that run for a long time is something you don't see very often anymore, and the shows all make up big chunks of my life that have become milestones for me.
My daughter actually just finished watching White Collar and absolutely loved it. She was addicted. When she was watching, it was pretty crazy, because I told her, “I just had you when I was in that season,” “I was pregnant in this season.” It’s come full circle.
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