Tiffani Thiessen tells Tom Papa she needs hip replacement at 52
The Saved by the Bell actor told Tom Papa she learned of her hip dysplasia during a second opinion and also has a torn labrum.
Actress Tiffani Thiessen, 52, said on the Nov. 10 episode of "Breaking Bread with Tom Papa" that she needs a hip replacement after a diagnosis of hip dysplasia.
Thiessen told host Tom Papa that she had a torn labrum and learned about the dysplasia during a second opinion.
"I have a torn labrum," Thiessen said. "That's one issue I have."
"And then I found out going to my second opinion that I'm basically a German shepherd," she said. "I have hip dysplasia."
With hip dysplasia, the Mayo Clinic says, the socket does not fully cover the upper thighbone's ball, causing a partial or complete dislocation of the hip. The Cleveland Clinic describes the condition as preventing the hip bones from fitting properly in their joints.
"I was a dancer when I was younger, which was a good thing," Thiessen said. She believes her childhood flexibility, useful for dancing, may have contributed to her hip problems.
The condition has interrupted her pickleball games. Thiessen said her hip had prevented her from playing for the past couple of weeks.
She plays with her son Holt, 11, who began playing less than a year ago.
"He's actually starting to beat me now," she said. "But I do have a bad hip."
Thiessen said her doctor did not attribute her condition to pickleball, although "it probably hasn't helped."
"I hear that hip replacements aren't as bad as knee and shoulder," she said of the operation.
Thiessen joked about the health issues age can bring. "This is what happens," she said. "Just wait. You guys just wait."
Thiessen worked as a child model and appeared in commercials before winning Miss Junior America in 1987. She was 15 when she landed the role of cheerleader Kelly Kapowski on "Saved by the Bell" in 1989.
She joined "Beverly Hills, 90210" as Valerie Malone in 1994. Her later credits include "White Collar" and "LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition," a 2024 animated special in which she voiced She-Hulk.
Thiessen now plays Miss Graves in "Coven Academy," where her character runs a supernatural boarding school.
On the podcast, Thiessen said her main career goal is to continue getting opportunities to work. "As we get older, that starts to get smaller," she said. "And, so, the fact that I get to still do what I love is really what is most important to me."
She said younger actors help keep her young.
"Like, you know, four o'clock in the morning, the mom is like, 'Oh my God, how many more scenes?'" Thiessen said. "And these kids are over there doing TikToks."
Thiessen has said she no longer receives residuals for "Saved by the Bell." During a Sept. 24 interview on Page Six Radio, she said "it probably costs more to print the check," USA Today reported.
In the same September 2026 interview, Thiessen said the cast lacked leverage on the show. "We made nothing, and we just did our job," she said.
