A few years ago, on her 50th birthday, blowing out the candles on her cake put Jennie Garth in a reflective mood. She had many blessing to count, including living through a wholesome Midwestern upbringing and working as a model in her beloved Arizona desert as a teenager. Then, she flew west to Los Angeles to seek fame and fortune as an actress. She achieved almost-instant success at the age of 18 after landing the role of Kelly Taylor in the iconic 1990s TV show “Beverly Hills, 90210.”
The series not only lasted 10 seasons but also spawned spinoffs (like the classic TV show “Melrose Place”), reboots, and reunions. It led to a slew of other film and television roles for Garth, plus opportunities to direct and produce.
But, a major health issue arrived in 2002 alongside Garth’s success. At age 30, she was diagnosed with a mitral valve prolapse – a condition that can cause blood to leak backward into the heart. (Twenty-three years later, the condition remains under control, though it requires lifelong monitoring.)
On a personal note, Garth divorced from her first husband, musician Daniel B. Clark, in 1996. Then, she had three daughters while married to actor Peter Facinelli until 2013. She also penned a best-selling memoir, “Deep Thoughts From a Hollywood Blonde,” in 2014 with Emily Heckman. And she married her third husband, actor/restaurateur Dave Abrams, in 2015. Then, with an empty nest and waning power as a middle-aged actress in Hollywood, Garth found herself at an impasse. How could she achieve a sorely needed reinvention?
A seminal “Beverly Hills, 90210” line – written by late Emmy-nominated producer Jessica Klein – entered Garth’s mind. In a May 1995 episode of the show, aired during its fifth season, a love triangle played out. In the scene, both responsible boyfriend Brandon Walsh (played by Jason Priestley) and bad boy Dylan McKay (played by Luke Perry) pressured Garth’s character, Kelly, to pick one of them. “I choose me” was the heroine’s ultimate response; it shocked both boys and the show’s rabid devotees.
“The reason I went back to that was because I had met some fans who were going on and on about how much that meant to them and how they never realized they could make that decision or that choice for themselves until Kelly said it,” Garth recalls. “It was like a light bulb went off inside of me. I finally had that moment where I said, ‘Oh, this is my purpose here.’ Because I always knew I was meant to spread some message or do something more than [just being] an actress for hire.”
Today, Garth intently broadcasts her belief that people – especially women of a certain age – can choose themselves at any moment. “It’s not selfish,” she says, adding that she sees it as a necessary form of self-care. “We’ve spent a very long time choosing other people, and rightly so. If you’re the main parent, or if you’re the person running the household, you have a full-time job for a very long time. And it’s the hardest job you’ll ever have … You’re constantly making choices for other people, with other people in mind, for the betterment of someone else. It’s just time for us to reclaim our identity and our autonomy and just move forward, however we want.”
A Trio of Megaphones
The first of three platforms this newly minted entrepreneur is marshalling is an iHeartRadio podcast called “I Choose Me with Jennie Garth.” She talks about topics that concern women like her: marriage and motherhood, how to maintain your health while aging gracefully, and how to successfully weather all the curve balls that life throws at you.
Garth’s second endeavor was writing another book. Park Row Books (an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers) will publish “I Choose Me: Chasing Joy, Finding Purpose, and Embracing Reinvention” in April 2026. The author says she worked hard for most of her life to accomplish those goals. “I’ve always been kind of a searcher, a seeker, and this is my journey,” she says. “I’m putting it out there so that I can help other women find their own passions.”
While Garth understands that many of her admirers are men, she’s most interested in reaching women. “If it weren’t for other women, I wouldn’t be where I am, or at a place in my life where I’ve gained some wisdom,” she reveals. “I think a lot of it has come from listening to other women. All I care about is spreading positivity and information that can help people continue growing in life, because that’s what we’re supposed to do.”
The third – and arguably most thrilling and time-consuming – endeavor that occupies Garth is her “Me by Jennie Garth” fashion line. She designs it “from the ground up” with her middle daughter, Lola Facinelli. (The 22-year-old serves as the brand’s chief creative officer.) “Everything I do is with comfort in mind because, listen, I don’t want to be uncomfortable anymore unless I’m getting paid,” Garth says, chuckling. “It’s [loungewear] all the way to work clothes and date night. And it’s for everybody. We have major size inclusivity, all the way up to 3X.” The clothing is sold exclusively through QVC.
Location, Location, Location
Garth – an avid, lifelong traveler – uses her favorite destinations as inspiration for her clothing line. Another set drops every month, and she names each one after a specific locale. The inveterate desert aficionado made sure to devote one set to Palm Springs. She’s visited the area since she landed in LA more than three decades ago. And some episodes of “Beverly Hills, 90210” were filmed in Palm Springs.
“I really talked a lot when I was launching that collection about the way Palm Springs makes me feel,” she says. “I just feel so grounded there. I feel such peace. There’s something magical about the desert. I just fell in love with [Palm Springs]. I fell in love with the people, the community, and the food. I love Mexican food. So, it all works for me. And at least two of my very favorite people – my best friend, Adele, and my manager of close to 40 years, Randy James – live there.”
With all she’s got cooking on a hot trio of burners, is there room left for a fourth endeavor – acting? “I’m very interested in a role that will excite me, a role that will be transformative for my career,” Garth says. “Until that role comes along, I don’t plan on working as an actress. I have a lot of other buckets I can keep working on now, thank goodness. But, I do love acting, and I don’t think I would ever just retire completely.”
I asked Garth if she had any thoughts about appearing on the cover of Desert Magazine's November 2025 issue. “I’m so honored to be on the cover of this magazine,” she says, laughing. “You have no idea. I feel like I finally made it because that’s a very important place to me. I’m so happy to get to do this. Honestly, every time I go there, I feel so special that I’m there. There are some people who have never gotten to go to Palm Springs to experience the feeling that I can’t quite describe. Those mountains, that air – there’s just something.”
