At a Glance
- Gabrielle Carteris refused to wear a bathing suit during her entire Beverly Hills, 90210 run
- She chose shorts and tank tops for beach scenes to avoid being objectified
- Executive producer Aaron Spelling warned female cast members about summer swimwear episodes
- Why it matters: The actress’s stand highlights early resistance to sexualized wardrobe expectations on teen dramas
Gabrielle Carteris has disclosed that she never appeared in a bathing suit on Beverly Hills, 90210, explaining that the choice was a deliberate stance against being objectified during the show’s original early-1990s run.
Speaking on Jennie Garth’s I Choose Me podcast, Carteris, 65, recalled executive producer Aaron Spelling’s pre-summer episode warning to the female cast: “All right, ladies, we’re going to be wearing bathing suits in the summer, so you might want to know that.”
“I was like, ‘What does that mean?'” she told Garth. “I refused to wear a bathing suit. I don’t know if you ever saw, I never wore a bathing suit.”
Modest Wardrobe Choice
Instead of swimwear, the actress opted for shorts, leotards, overalls and tank tops whenever scripts called for beach scenes.
“I wore shorts, or I had my leotard and my shorts,” Carteris said. “I wore my overalls and my tank top, but I refused to wear [a swimsuit], because it infuriated me.”
The decision, she emphasized, was rooted in personal principle rather than body-image concerns.
“I mean, I had a cute little body at the time, I think, but it enraged me that that was the conversation,” she explained.
No Pushback From Producers
Carteris stressed that the show’s creative team never contested her wardrobe preference.
“They never challenged me on it at 90210,” she said. “I’m sure it made it so certain things they chose for me not to do in the show, because I just wouldn’t do that. I don’t want to be seen that way.”
Her character, Andrea Zuckerman, served as the studious, socially awkward editor of West Beverly High’s newspaper and remained a primary lead for the series’ first five seasons. Andrea’s conservative style contrasted sharply with the more fashion-forward looks of peers such as Kelly Taylor and Brenda Walsh.
Departure and Return
Carteris previously told News Of Los Angeles that she exited the series when writers struggled to find storylines for Andrea after the character married and had a child. Still, she returned for occasional guest appearances in later seasons.
Outside the show, Carteris celebrated her 33rd wedding anniversary with husband Charles Isaacs in May 2025. The couple share two daughters: Kelsey, 30, and Mollie, 26.
Key Takeaways
- Carteris’s refusal to don a bathing suit underscores early pushback against sexualized wardrobe mandates on teen dramas
- The actress’s stand did not result in on-set conflict, indicating a willingness by producers to accommodate her boundary
- Andrea Zuckerman’s modest wardrobe became an integral part of the character’s identity throughout the series’ formative seasons
