For many Millennials (or those with a love for popular ‘90s television), few actresses are as beloved as Tiffani Thiessen for both her role as the universally crushworthy Kelly Kapowski on Saved by the Bell and Valerie Malone on Beverly Hills, 90210. Thiessen is still keeping fans entertained, but these days a lot of that comes via cute social media videos with her family. Case in point: their Backstreet Boys holiday tribute, which they expertly followed up by meeting the actual band.
Bringing two fandoms together, Tiffani Thiessen posted a video to Instagram showing her, husband Brady Smith and their two children dressed in the signature all-white of the Backstreet Boys, hitting some classic boy band moves to the tune of “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”:
They certainly were rocking their bodies, and I’m absolutely dead over their son Holt twerking in a way that definitely did not happen in the ‘90s. The “Happy Holidays EVERYBODY” post caught the attention of Mario Lopez, one of Tiffani Thiessen’s Saved by the Bell co-stars, who she remains close to, as he commented:
🔥🔥🔥
The video also made its way back to the iconic boy band members, with AJ McLean showing appreciation for the artistry by writing:
Hell yeah. I’m honored. Happy holidays to you guys.
Well, apparently, this holiday greeting was just a preview of what was to come, because five days after that post, Tiffani Thiessen — who is set to star in Coven Academy when it premieres on the 2026 TV schedule — actually attended a Backstreet Boys concert with her family at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
Not only that, but she got to reunite with her fellow ‘90s heartthrobs, posting photos of her family with the boy-banders, with everyone (naturally) dressed in all white:
It’s honestly enough to make a Millennial’s brain explode!
Tiffani Thiessen had only glowing things to say, not just about the show itself but about how nice it was to see the band members and how wonderfully they treated her loved ones. She wrote:
We danced, we sang and I myself went down memory lane as I hadn’t connected with the guys for a long time. Thank you [AJ, Howie, Nick, Brian and Kevin] for being so kind to my family and friends. You truly made it so extremely special and I’m utterly grateful. What a night! 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
It’s not surprising that the Saved by the Bell actress has crossed paths with the boy band over the years. But I honestly can’t decide if the Backstreet Boys should be more honored to be pictured with Kelly Kapowski herself — because I just know they had to be fans of Zack Morris and the gang — or if it would be the other way around. Regardless, that’s a lot of star power in one photo!
Howie Dorough thanked Tiffani Thiessen for the kind words by adding two white heart emojis in the comments, and Kevin Richardson also acknowledged the post by adding:
🙏🏼 ✌🏼 ❤️
It’s a pretty special day when two pop culture giants come together like this, and I hope other Millennials like myself have enjoyed this truly “Larger Than Life” holiday gift.
