Jennie Garth is beloved for her role as Kelly Taylor on the iconic ’90s teen show Beverly Hills, 90210, but recently, she’s proven herself to be far more than just an actress. The star has taken one of the most memorable moments from her teen queen days—when, faced with a choice between two suitors, she chose herself—and as an entrepreneur, she’s used that moment as a launching pad for a fashion line, Me by Jennie Garth (available from QVC, where she’s also a Q50 ambassador celebrating women over 50); a podcast, I Choose Me; and the first I Choose Me Women’s Summit, taking place at the iHeartTheater Los Angeles on January 11.
The event, which will feature a dynamic lineup of speakers and vendors, is proof that “When women come together, something good is going to happen,” says Garth. “I love to surround myself with women who know more than I do, and that’s how I learn.” Jennie Garth sat down with First for Women to talk about this exciting new phase in her career and what to expect from her upcoming event.
First for Women: You’ve recently started your I Choose Me brand, which includes a podcast, a clothing line and your upcoming Women’s Summit. Where did you find your inspiration to launch all these projects?
Jennie Garth: My inspiration really came straight from the ’90s, from Kelly Taylor’s lips. She said, “I choose me” in that moment where she had to choose between Brandon and Dylan, and I didn’t really think that heavily about it until maybe a year or two ago. I started hearing that line again from women who had grown up with Kelly and were fans of the show, and they told me that that line meant so much to them in that moment, and they never really knew they could choose themselves. It opened up this portal in my mind of, “I see there’s a message here, and I want to continue making women aware that they have the option to always choose themselves.”
I felt like my work with that line wasn’t done, and I wanted to continue spreading that message, so that’s where the brand came from, and I really saw it as this multidimensional thing that I was so passionate about. I started the fashion brand with QVC and wanted to alleviate the stress of women’s fashion choices and give them a brand where they could choose something out of their closet that they felt confident in straight out of the gate in the morning.
The podcast is another way to bring awareness to the fact that we have choices in life. Now with the Women’s Summit that I’m doing in January, that’s something that I really felt called to do: To bring a community of women together. I never really had the support of other women in my industry until I met the women that are also in the QVC Q50 group with me. It was then that I was like, “Wow, there’s such a magical power when a room full of women come together and share their thoughts and encourage one another.”
That was the moment when I realized I wanted to put something of my own together for women, using the initial “I choose me” message, and also bringing together these fabulous women who are educated and successful. That’s what I want to listen to and be inspired by. I want to see people that are in the same position as me age-wise and see what they’re doing. That’s where the women’s event came together for me, and I’m just so excited to have these ideas and be able to make them happen.
FFW: What has it been like to grow up alongside your fans?
JG: I always felt supported by my fans and the fans of the show, but I never really got it until I was a fully grown woman and I went to conventions. I think that was the initial moment when I was like, “Wow, these women are my peers. We grew up together; we’re all experiencing the same things,” and it crossed over in my mind. They’re not just fans, they’re also friends and comrades.
I don’t think I was always as in touch with how the show affected people. It probably wasn’t until I started doing 9021OMG, my podcast, that I started to rewatch it myself and then really feel the impact as a viewer and a fan. That closed the gap a little bit more, and then I started posting my workouts on my social media and I would get so many incredible supportive messages from my fans. It kept driving me forward and I wanted to do more and more with that connection with them.
FFW: What can we expect to see at your upcoming event?
JG: At 52, I started a fashion brand out of nowhere, having no expert training and now doing a women’s event, I feel like I’m diving into the pool even deeper. It’s a really great time in my life to be learning new things. Putting together an event like this has been a huge learning curve. I learn every day about how we can do it better, and it’s going to be a great gathering of like-minded, inspiring women coming together to share their stories.
We’re going to really center it around the art of choosing oneself and different ways we can get that message across, through other people’s stories and trials and triumphs. We’re going to have some great panels and we’re all going to learn some things. We’re going to have different vendors from female-owned businesses. It’s a really exciting tip of the iceberg. This is the inaugural event, so my intention is to take it to other cities across the country and bring this moment to women everywhere.
FFW: On the event page, you say it will explore the idea that “self-care is not selfish.” What does this concept mean to you?
JG: We all need it right now. We need to hear this from other people, and it makes it okay for us to say, “Hey, I need to take better care of myself.” I think that sometimes the message gets taken the wrong way. When you say, “I choose myself,” you’re not abandoning all your responsibilities and other things that you need to choose in life. It’s a moment for us to acknowledge that, as women, we spend so much time and energy taking care of other people, so it’s really hard for a lot of us to feel okay about choosing ourselves, because we don’t want to come across as selfish. But honestly, at the end of the day, we need to be a little selfish sometimes.
FFW: You’ve been working with your daughters, Lola [age 27] and Luca [age 22], on your recent projects. What has their involvement been like?
JG: My daughter Lola and I are basically partners on my fashion line. We design together and do pretty much everything together, and we’re having so much fun. As a mom, it’s really cool to see your daughter grow into this creative businesswoman that she’s evolved into in the last six months. I’m excited for whatever her future brings outside of the brand. I’m afraid of the day when she’s like, “Mom, I’m moving on,” but I’m also so excited for that day for her.
My other daughter, Luca, is going to be involved in the Women’s Summit. She works for amfAR and does their event coordinating for their big gala, so this is right up her alley, and she’s a great asset to me in helping to put all of this together. It’s so great having these young adult women who are finding their passions in life and seeing how we intersect and we can support one another on our journeys now. I’ve supported them all these years as their mom, and now they’re backing me up as my daughters. It’s just the coolest feeling.
FFW: What’s some of the advice you’ve given your daughters over the years?
JG: Giving them the message that they can choose themselves is everything. Knowing that they’re worthy of their own love and attention has made them stronger. I’ve always instilled in each of them that they hold the strength, courage and wisdom to handle anything, and that’s a message that I’ve been giving them since they were little girls.
I’m not shy about sharing lessons that I’ve learned or mistakes that I’ve made in my life. I love using those as examples for the girls so they don’t go through life thinking, “Oh, my mom’s so amazing. How does she do it?” I want them to know that I’ve struggled and that I’ve found ways to cope and get through difficult times, and I’ve had moments of failure and come back from them.
FFW: What has your experience of aging in the public eye been like?
JG: Being around other women who are in similar situations has been really eye-opening for me. It’s really made me get introspective about some things that I was hiding from, having grown up in a society and a profession that put my physical appearance first for all my life. As a woman, I feel like I spent a lot of time worrying about the wrong things or having my priorities in the wrong order, so it’s been interesting to have found this world where I can shuffle things around and look at them differently.
As an actress, I never had any choice. I was in longstanding relationships with a couple of people where I didn’t have a voice. I didn’t get to say, “You know what? I feel good about myself at this moment. I’m going to trust my own instincts and I’m going to say what I need to say.” That message alone has been so liberating, and it’s the backbone of what I’m working on now. I have such a desire within to share the importance of that message because it was such an important thing for me to learn.
FFW: How do you see your evolution going from actress to businesswoman?
JG: I’m so excited because it feels like around every corner there’s a new adventure with this whole I Choose Me movement and the world that we’re creating. We always read so much about purpose and people finding their passion. For so many years, I was like, “Wow. I think that’s for other people. I’ll never know what I’m supposed to do here.”
At a certain point, the pieces of me not knowing and the pieces of me learning little things about what feels good all developed into this newfound passion and purpose that I feel at this stage in my life. It’s a really cool evolution that’s happened to me personally, and I’m really excited to be able to share it with my friends and people that follow me.
