Jennie Garth recalls being put in zoo cage with Luke Perry to escape 90210 fans

Actor shot to fame as Kelly Taylor in Nineties teen drama

Jennie Garth has recalled a surreal moment when she hid from fans after she shot to fame in Beverly Hills, 90210.

Garth played Kelly Taylor in all 10 seasons of 90210. She won a Young Artist Award and was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for her role in the drama about the lives of wealthy teens in California.

In a new episode of the People in the ‘90s podcast, the actor recounted being put in an animal cage with her late co-star Luke Perry to get away from the show’s zealous fans at a zoo in Fresno, California, on Earth Day in 1991.

“It sort of summed it up for me because I felt like a zoo animal,” Garth said.

“It was just weird. And then it got too crazy, and people were rushing the zoo cages. And we had to go out through one of the enclosures of the animals – I don’t remember, the monkeys or something – but I just remember them actually putting us in a cage at the zoo. And I was like, ‘This feels good.’”

She described it as “one of the pivotal moments” in realising the cast had become famous.

Luke Perry, who played heartthrob Dylan McKay in the series, died aged 52 in 2019 after suffering a stroke.

Last year, Garth and Tori Spelling denied Jessica Alba’s claims that during her stint on 90210 she was not allowed to make eye contact with cast members on set.