“Beverly Hills, 90210” star Gabrielle Carteris reveals why Andrea never wore a bathing suit: 'It enraged me'
- - “Beverly Hills, 90210” star Gabrielle Carteris reveals why Andrea never wore a bathing suit: 'It enraged me'
Raechal ShewfeltJanuary 1, 2026 at 10:00 PM
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Gabrielle Carteris poses in shorts alongside her 'Beverly Hills, 90210' costars
Beverly Hills, 90210 actress Gabrielle Carteris always managed to wear more clothing than the other women on the show, and now we know why.
The reason that her Andrea Zuckerman was never in a bikini or even a one-piece swimsuit is simply because Carteris "didn't want to be seen that way," she revealed on a recent episode of former costar Jennie Garth's I Choose Me podcast.
“[Executive producer] Aaron Spelling, I remember before we started the summer episodes, [saying,] 'All right, ladies, we're going to be wearing bathing suits in the summer, so you might want to know that.' I was like, 'What does that mean?' I refused to wear a bathing suit. I don't know if you ever saw, I never wore a bathing suit."
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Garth, who played Kelly Taylor, recalled that Carteris had often been clad in "hot little shorts" for scenes at the beach.
"I wore shorts or I had my leotard and my shorts," Carteris noted. "I wore my overalls and my tank top, but I refused to wear [a swimsuit], because it infuriated me. I mean, I had a cute little body at the time, I think, but it enraged me that that was the conversation."
At the time of filming, Carteris was more than a decade older than her female costars, who included Garth, Tori Spelling, and the late Shannen Doherty. They were still teens, like they played on the drama about twins from Minneapolis and their mostly wealthier friends coping with life in the glamorous city.
Garth asked if the reason for her decision had been that she "didn't want to be objectified."
It was.
"Yes. I didn't like that," Carteris said, explaining that she didn't audition for roles that required wearing itty-bitty outfits.
"I did a lot of commercials before I did 90210. I was very fortunate to have a very good commercial life," she said. "[Back] when commercials, you know, you could do something. I never would go on an audition with a bathing suit."
John Salangsang/Variety/Penske Media via Getty
Gabrielle Carteris attends the Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2020
She didn't seem to think it had affected her time on the series, which aired from 1990 to 2000. While the series ran on Fox for 10 seasons, all of which Garth was a part of, Carteris left the show full-time in the sixth.
"I just didn't want to objectify myself. So I never did," Carteris shared. "They never challenged me on it at 90210. I’m sure it made it so certain things they chose for me not to do in the show, because I just wouldn't do that. I don’t want to be seen that way."
Garth replied, "I love that."
Carteris explained on the July 25 episode of the 9021OMG podcast hosted by Garth and Tori Spelling that her departure from the show was for multiple reasons. It began, she believed, when her character welcomed a baby, which aligned with her entering motherhood in real life."They didn't know how to write for me after that, and it was just a matter of time. I was wanting something more, I think, and they just — it wasn't going to happen," Carteris said. "So I moved on."
Listen to their full conversation above.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
