Gabrielle Carteris

Gabrielle Anne Carteris ( ; born January 2, 1961) is an American actress and trade union leader. Her best known acting role is as Andrea Zuckerman in Beverly Hills, 90210. In 2012, Carteris was elected executive vice president of SAG-AFTRA, a trade union representing over 100,000 actors and other professionals mainly in the United States. She assumed the position of acting president of the union following the death of the previous president, Ken Howard, on March 23, 2016. On April 9, 2016, Carteris was elected SAG-AFTRA president by national board to serve out the remainder of Howard's term. She was re-elected to the position in August 2017 and August 2019 by full membership vote. Early years Carteris was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, to Marlene, a realtor, and Ernest J. Carteris, a restaurant owner. She has a twin brother, James. Her father was of Greek ancestry whereas her mother is Jewish. Her parents separated six months after her birth. Carteris's mother moved with her children to San Francisco, California, where she set up a children's clothing store. While attending Redwood High School in Larkspur, California, she took an interest in the arts, studying ballet and performing as a mime on a European tour at 16 years old. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in liberal arts. Career After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College, Carteris's early television career found her typically cast as a teenager in such fare as ABC Afterschool Specials, CBS Schoolbreak Special, and the long-running soap opera Another World. This trend of playing significantly younger would continue when, in 1990, Carteris was cast in her best known role as studious school newspaper editor Andrea Zuckerman on Beverly Hills, 90210. At age 29, she was the oldest cast member to portray a 15-year-old, lying about her age to get the part. By 1993, while working for the show, her GABCO Productions company signed a deal with Rysher TPE.