Some bodies keep the record of the lives they have lived, and for Tiffani Thiessen that record is written in her hips. The actress, now 52, has told a podcast audience that a torn labrum and hip dysplasia have brought her to the threshold of a replacement, and she traces the trouble back to the flexible, demanding years of childhood dance. Her pickleball games, and the easy rhythm of playing with a son who is quickly becoming the better player, have been put on hold while she waits for what comes next. Even so, she speaks of the future less as a limit than as a stretch of work she still wants
Tiffani Thiessen Says She Needs Hip Replacement at 52, Joking She's 'Basically a German Shepherd'
The main thing is just getting to still do it.
Mark
Why does a podcast joke about a German shepherd deserve attention?
Mimi
Because it carries a real diagnosis. She named a torn labrum and hip dysplasia, and said she needs a hip replacement. She just delivered it with humor.
Mark
She ties it to dancing as a kid. Is that the cause?
Mimi
That's her own theory. She said her childhood flexibility, which helped her dance, might have caused the hip issues.
Luke
And that's worth keeping in perspective. It's her explanation, not a medical finding reported here. The same goes for pickleball. She said her doctor didn't call it a cause.
Mark
So what do we actually know about the surgery?
Mimi
Only that she says she has to have one. She said she's heard hip replacements are easier than knee or shoulder ones.
Luke
Right, and that's hearsay she's relaying, not a prognosis. We also have no date for the procedure and no named doctor, and everything comes from her podcast appearance.
Mark
What struck you beyond the health news?
Mimi
Her answer about work. She said the goal now is just to keep getting to do it, because opportunities shrink as you age.
Luke
Fair, though that's a sentiment, not a schedule. What's confirmed is the Coven Academy role and the 2024 She-Hulk voice work.
Mimi
And her son is beating her at pickleball, which she blames on the hip.
Il Polso
- A second opinion turned a familiar ache into a fuller diagnosis: a torn labrum and hip dysplasia, with a hip replacement now on the horizon.
- Weeks of silence on the pickleball court have disrupted a favorite routine she shares with her son, who is starting to beat her.
- She is weighing a sobering truth, that childhood flexibility and years of dance may have set the stage for today's damage, and that her sport likely made it worse.
- Her doctor has not blamed pickleball, and she describes the surgery itself with composure, saying hip replacements are easier than knee or shoulder ones.
- No surgery date has been set, so the timeline for her operation and her return to the court remains open, even as she keeps working on Coven Academy.
Some bodies keep the record of the lives they have lived, and for Tiffani Thiessen that record is written in her hips. The actress, now 52, has told a podcast audience that a torn labrum and hip dysplasia have brought her to the threshold of a replacement, and she traces the trouble back to the flexible, demanding years of childhood dance. Her pickleball games, and the easy rhythm of playing with a son who is quickly becoming the better player, have been put on hold while she waits for what comes next. Even so, she speaks of the future less as a limit than as a stretch of work she still wants to do.
Tiffani Thiessen has been sitting out pickleball for a couple of weeks, and the reason is her hip. The 52-year-old actress revealed on the podcast "Breaking Bread with Tom Papa" that she has a torn labrum and, after a second opinion, hip dysplasia. She joked that the diagnosis made her "basically a German shepherd."
She looks back to her childhood dancing as a possible source of the trouble. The flexibility that served her well on the dance floor may have contributed to the wear she feels now, a gift that has a hidden cost. She teased that others would see the same thing happen to them: "Just wait." She has heard hip replacements are less daunting than knee or shoulder ones, and she sounded fairly calm about the prospect.
Pickleball is the sport she has had to set aside. Her doctor did not name it as the culprit, but she admits it probably has not helped. Her son, who took up the game less than a year ago, is starting to beat her, though she is quick to point out that she is playing on a bad hip.
None of this has slowed her career. She has been working since she was a child, from her Miss Junior America win to Kelly Kapowski on "Saved by the Bell" and the scheming Valerie Malone on "Beverly Hills, 90210." Her goal now is simple: keep doing the work, because opportunities shrink as people age. She currently stars as Miss Graves in "Coven Academy," and she enjoys the younger co-stars who keep her energized. No surgery date has been announced, so the timing of her operation and her return to the court remains to be seen.
Tiffani Thiessen has not been able to play pickleball for the past couple of weeks. The reason, she said, is her hip, which has gotten bad enough that she is now facing a replacement.
The 52-year-old actress shared the news during an appearance on the podcast "Breaking Bread with Tom Papa." She said she has a torn labrum, which she described as one of her issues. A second opinion turned up another: hip dysplasia. She joked that the finding made her "basically a German shepherd."
Thiessen pointed to her past as a possible cause. She danced when she was younger, and she suggested the flexibility that helped her in dance as a child may have contributed to the problems in her hips. She framed the dancing as both a gift and, in hindsight, a possible source of trouble, and she teased listeners that they would see the same thing happen to them: "Just wait."
On the surgery itself, she sounded fairly composed. She said she has heard hip replacements are not as bad as knee or shoulder replacements.
Pickleball is the activity she has had to set aside. Thiessen said her doctor did not name the sport as a culprit, but she acknowledged it probably has not helped. She often plays with her son, who took up the game less than a year ago. By her account he is starting to beat her, though she noted, with a hint of defensiveness, that she is playing on a bad hip.
The diagnosis comes as she shows no interest in stepping back from work. Thiessen began modeling and appearing in commercials as a child and won the Miss Junior America title in 1987. In 1989 she was cast as Kelly Kapowski on "Saved by the Bell," a character who became a fan favorite and made her a teen idol. In 1994 she joined "Beverly Hills, 90210" as the scheming Valerie Malone, a role that showed she could move beyond wholesome teenage parts.
Asked about her goals now, she said they are less about specific awards, films or collaborators, though she allowed she has plenty of those. The main thing, she said, is simply still getting to do the work. As people get older, she noted, those opportunities shrink, so being able to keep doing what she loves matters most to her.
She credited luck for much of her run, saying most of her projects have either been successful or great to make. She also said she enjoys working with younger actors, and that they keep her young. She described a four o'clock morning on set when she, the mom, wonders how many scenes remain while the kids are off doing TikToks.
Thiessen currently stars as Miss Graves, head of a supernatural boarding school for young witches and warlocks, in "Coven Academy." In 2024 she voiced She-Hulk in the animated special "LEGO Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition." No surgery date was given in her remarks, so the timing of the replacement, and of her return to the pickleball court, remains to be announced.
Citazioni salienti
I found out going to my second opinion that I'm basically a German shepherd. I have hip dysplasia.— Tiffani Thiessen, on "Breaking Bread with Tom Papa"
The fact that I get to still do what I love is really what is most important to me.— Tiffani Thiessen
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