Jason Priestley
Priestley was born Jason Bradford Priestley on August 28, 1969 in Vancouver. He started acting at 15 in local television commercials and got his first TV spot in 1987 with the TV show Airwolf. After guest spots on 21 Jump Street and a leading role on the short lived 1989 series Sister Kate (which starred Stephanie Beacham, the woman who would play Dylan's mom Iris on Beverly Hills 90210), he was chosen in 1990, at the age of 21, to play Brandon Walsh. It's well-known 90210 lore that Priestley was the last actor to be cast, getting the role 48 hours before they began shooting the pilot.
Shannen Doherty
Unlike many of her co-stars, Shannen Doherty was no stranger to the acting world when she was cast on Beverly Hills 90210. Born Shannen Maria Doherty on April 12, 1971, she began acting at the tender age of 10 with a guest appearance on Father Murphy and other 80s shows. Her appearance on Father Murphy caught the eye of Little House on the Prairie producer Michael Landon, who immediately cast her in the final seaason of the hit drama, playing Almanzo Wilder's niece Jenny. From there she continued to be a fixture on TV (including a two-season run as Kris Witherspoon on Our House), but also launched her film career at 14 by appearing alongside equally budding actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt in 1985's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and cemented her stardom in 1989's cult drama Heathers. She was 19 when she was cast on 90210 as Brenda Walsh.
Jennie Garth
Jennie Garth was born Jennifer Eve Garth on April 3, 1972. She lived in a small town in Illinois for most of her childhood, until her family moved to Arizona. She was discovered competing at a talent show, after studying dance and dabbling in modeling since junior high. She studied acting at home and finally made the move to Los Angeles around 1988. Her first role was a guest shot on Growing Pains in 1989. This was followed by a short-lived series with Barbara Eden entitled A Brand New Life, which was cancelled after 13 episodes. The very next year, she was picked to play the role that would change her life: Kelly Taylor on Beverly Hills 90210. She was 18 years old.
Ian Ziering
Ian Andrew Ziering was born on March 30, 1964. He began acting in commercials when he was 12, and film and television followed when he was 17. After several After School Specials(both for ABC and CBS) and a stint on Guiding Light and The Doctors, he was chosen to play Steve Sanders on Beverly Hills 90210. He was 26 years old.
Gabrielle Carteris
Gabrielle Anne Carteris was born on January 2, 1961, in Scottsdale, Arizona, but moved to San Francisco at a young age. She began studying ballet and mime in high school. However, she also attended Sarah Lawrence College, graduating in 1983. She bgan appearing in After School Specials after college, as well a role on the soap Another World. She was 29 when cast as Andrea Zuckerman on Beverly Hills 90210, following a chain of her being cast in younger roles.
Luke Perry
Luke Perry was born Coy Luther Perry III on October 11, 1966 in Ohio. He left for Los Angeles to pursue acting after high school. After working in construction for some time, he finally appeared in a music video by Twisted Sister, which led to his casting on the soap operas Loving and Another World. He was 24 when cast in the role of Dylan McKay, after initially going out for Steve. Ironically, the network didn't want him on the show at first, unsure about Perry's screen power and the character(who wasn't even in the pilot). But, after much pressure from producer Aaron Spelling, they let him stay, after which he cemented himself as a teen idol.
Brian Austin Green
Born Brian Green on July 15, 1973(the "Austin" was added later), Brian Austin Green started acting at the tender age of 12 in 1985. In 1987, he landing a recurring role on one of the top primetime soaps of the 1980s, playing Abby Cunningham's teen son Brian on Knots Landing for three years. He made several other guest appearances on shows of the 1980s, including the "lead" on the pilot of Good Morning, Miss Bliss(which was later retooled to become 90s Saturday morning hit Saved by the Bell). He was cast on Beverly Hills 90210 as David Silver at the age of 17, partly due to Aaron Spelling's belief that his own personality matched the personality of the character.
Tori Spelling
Tori Spelling was born Victoria Davey Spelling on May 16, 1973. She was the oldest child and only daughter of prolific producer Aaron Spelling. She began acting at 8 on her father's shows after taking acting lessons. These included The Love Boat, Hotel, Vegas, TJ Hooker, and Fantasy Island. The same year she was cast on 90210, she began a recurring role as Violet Bickerstaff, Screech Powers' love interest, on Saved by the Bell. She was cast, like Brian Austin Green, at age 17. The story goes that Spelling auditioned under a fake name in order to avoid nepotism, auditioning for Kelly Taylor. The producers of the show, however, saw right through this ruse and invented the part of Donna Martin for her. She played her role for all 10 years, the same as Garth, Ziering, and Green, whose characters Kelly, Steve, and David, respectively, appeared for all 10 seasons.
Carol Potter
Carol Potter was born on May 21, 1948 in New York City. After graduating from high school in New Jersey, shed graduated from Radcliffe College. She made her Broadway debut in 1977, and debuted on TV in 1981 in Today's FBI. Appearing on TV throughout the 1980s, she married Spencer Eastman, with who she had a son, before he died in 1988 . At the age of 41, she was cast as Cindy Walsh in Beverly Hills 90210, which premiered in October 1990, the same month she married for a second time, to Jeffrey Josephson. She left the show when her 5 year contract expired in 1995.
James Eckhouse
James Eckhouse was born James Hays Eckhouse on February 14, 1955 in Chicago. He attended MIT in the 1970s before pursuing a career in acting. His first acting gig was a small role in Another World. He paid his dues throughout the '80s with small roles in big films like When Nature Calls, Trading Places, Fatal Attraction, and Big. He was 45 when he was brought onto 90210 in 1990 to replace the original dad, Ferris Bueller's Day Off's Lyman Ward. He too left when his original 5 year contract expired in 1995.