Interview 1: NW Magazine

"Going home with Jennie Garth"
NW Magazine (Australia)

Summer, 1999

By Veronica Rowe

Could life be any more perfect for 90210 star Jennie Garth? She has a stunning home, a gorgeous man and an even more beautiful baby.

Looking at these photos, it's hard not to be jealous of Beverly Hills 90210 actress Jennie Garth. She's beautiful, is in a loving relationship with actor Peter Facinelli and is mother to 18-month-old daughter Luca Bella, who's so gorgeous she defies words.

Its only fitting, then, that her home, situated just outside of Los Angeles, be a picture of family bliss. This is the first time Jennie and Peter have opened up their four-bedroom home to the media since Luca Bella was born. It's an unusual step for the actress, who tries to maintain as much of a low profile in her personal life as possible.

This unassuming four-bedroom house is the perfect family home for Jennie.

Like her 90210 character Kelly Taylor, the 26-year-old has experienced her share of ups and downs. Married to rock musician, Dan Clark in 1994, their relationship soon began to crumble.

Jennie filed for divorce two years later, but found new love again soon after while shooting on the set of the television movie An Unfinished Affair when she met and fell in love with her co-star Peter.

"Peter was very interesting and sort of intellectually stimulating," says Jennie. "It was sort of fate."

Jennie admits that even with fate on her side, her romance with 24-year old Peter was a complex affair at first. "I was legally married, but no longer living with my husband," she says. "I was trying to get a divorce, which wasn't an easy thing to do."

Then Jennie discovered she was pregnant with Peter's child.

"Luca Bella was a big surprise," she admits. "But after much talking and trying to figure things out, I just finally said this is the greatest thing that could have happened."

"I was very excited, I had always wanted children and at so many points in my life that weren't appropriate I'd said I wanted to have a baby."

"When I fell pregnant I wasn't at one of those points in my life where I wanted to have a kid. But it happened, and I couldn't imagine life being any other way now."

Since Luca Bella was born, Jennie and Peter have worked hard to create a caring and loving environment. However Jennie's refreshingly candid about adjusting to life with a new child.

"Things are totally different now," she says. "Peter and I make an effort to have one night a week out now with just us. It's very important especially with two people who are both still as young and our relationship isn't very old either. We have to keep nurturing it."

"It is getting easier now Luca Bella's getting a little bit older, but in the beginning it was really hard because it was always all about the baby."

And while she says she's in no hurry to walk down the aisle, Jennie admits that it would be a dream come true.

"I have everything I could want. To marry Peter would only be the icing on the cake. He has left it open to ask me whenever he thinks it is appropriate. I trust his judgement."

nw05.jpg (173275 bytes)

Jennie's judgements and decisions about her daughter preserve. An ethical vegetarian for several years, Jennie's raising Luca Bella meat-free.

"I feed her tofu hot dogs and tofu bologna," says Jennie. "She eats beans and pastas and rice. She's never been on dairy products - she started on soy formula and now she's on soy milk."

"Knock wood she has never been sick. Luca Bella hasn't had a cold or anything yet and I attribute that to her diet."

Although not quite a vegetarian, Luca Bella's father believes a healthy lifestyle is important. Peter, 24, is a native New Yorker and aspiring actor, and stared in the recent film Can't Hardly Wait.

Named after one of Peter's uncles, Luca Bella is certainly a combination of her parents.

"She is so independent," says proud mum Jennie. "I think she gets that from both myself and Peter. There's also an ornery streak in both of us and she has both of them combined."

"But the one thing I love about her is that she's so Luca Bella. She's unlike any other kid I have ever experienced. She already has her total identity and her own personality. She isn't like a lazy, hanging out kinda baby. She's always on the go, and very ambitious."

"What I have noticed about having her at work with me everyday is the joy that she brings out other peoples lives. The amazing part about Luca Bella is that everyone who encounters her leaves happier somehow."

Jennie's personal happiness and budding maturity are reflected in her unruffled lifestyle and earthy four-bedroom home.

Built on over an acre of wooded land situated about 20 minutes out of Los Angeles, the patio and backyard are linked together by a rustic planked bridge that arches above a twisted creek.

The living room fireplace is the nucleus for a home bathed in warmth, while elegant stone-carved angels adorn the granite hearth enclosure.

"All the furniture is the same stuff from our old house that I picked out. We just moved it all here, " Jennie says throwing her legs across her velvet green ottoman. The country cottage style interiors are accented in neutral shades and hues, creating an ambiance of comfort, ease and balance. When the couple want to get away from the rigors of suburban life, Jennie and Peter take Luca Bella to the couple's ranch in northern California. "My Mom and Dad have moved to our ranch that's about 2 hours away from here," she says.

A lover of animals, the ranch not only provides a retreat for her and her family. It's a haven for her furry creatures, big and small. " Sasha, one of her poodles, is her at the house, but my other four dogs are up at the ranch."

Her homes offer the perfect getaway for the busy actress, who's enthusiasm for 90210 hasn't wanes over the years. "It's fun," she says, "I enjoy the people I work with very much. You would think I would be tired of it by now and there are days that are trying - but there's always something around the corner to look forward to."

"I'll be directing my first episode soon and I'm really looking forward to it. I don't know the name of the episode or what it's about, but I know the cast and the setting, " she laughs. "So there's always something to keep you going." Apart from her family that is.