Many have debated the best Beverly Hills 90210 characters. Circa 98 has decided to take this issue seriously by compiling a list of the top 98 characters in Beverly Hills 90210. We’ve ranked the characters from #1 to #98. It’s only human nature that some will disagree with the rankings. Others will say, “hey, circa 98, you did a great job.” The important thing is that people can take a trip down memory lane and rediscover characters they had forgotten.
1) Dylan McKay
Many will agree that Dylan is the best character in Beverly Hills 90210 history. He is a soulful and intellectual bad boy who most women want to be with and most men want to be like. But Dylan’s greatest characteristics are his intelligence, empathy, and complexity.
Brenda and Kelly infamously spar over Dylan McKay, forming the most intense love triangle in television history. While most women covet Dylan for his aforementioned presence, men also gravitate to him, including Brandon and David. Of course, he also threatens some men who are jealous of his personality, like Steve Sanders, for example.
Dylan is not without his faults, however, as he battles alcoholism and drug abuse for his entire life while pushing away those who love him most. He often behaves selfishly and hurts others with words and actions. Still, despite being born rich, Dylan represents the antithesis of the rich-boy persona that typifies 90210.
Dylan McKay appears in seasons 1-6 before leaving after his wife’s murder and later returning for the final two seasons (9 and 10).
2) Brandon Walsh
Though not the best 90210 character, Brandon Walsh is the most important. Despite modern critics of the series criticizing Brandon for his holier-than-thou persona, it is indisputable that Mr. Brandon Walsh carried the show for a large portion of the series.
As the show’s main character until his departure during Season 9, Brandon served as the central hub through which all other characters connected, including his sister Brenda, his best friends Dylan and Steve, and any other character that appeared throughout the first eight seasons.
Brandon represented midwestern morals and values in a world infused with materialism and excess. Despite his moralist ideals, Brandon’s persona could come across as pompous and judgemental, particularly in retrospect. Despite his, at times, annoying lectures and perspectives, Brandon ultimately provided the series’ moral compass.
Brandon appears as the lead character until season nine, when he leaves California for a reporting job with the New York Chronicle, Washington Bureau.
3) Brenda Walsh
Despite leaving the series after Season 4, Brenda’s legacy remains firmly intact as one of the best and most important Beverly Hills 90210 characters. The Walsh’s daughter contrasts her brother Brandon by consistently challenging rules and norms, sometimes to her own detriment.
Brenda’s romance with Dylan remains iconic, as does the subsequent fallout and betrayal of her best friend, Kelly Taylor. While a lesser person would appear as the loser in the infamous love triangle, Brenda Walsh manages to maintain her dignity and even flourish in her post-Dylan lifestyle.
Like the other characters, Brenda comes with her faults. For example, Brenda enrolls at The University of Minnesota only to drop out less than 2 weeks into her first semester. Despite her difficult behavior, Brenda’s convictions give her extra appeal as someone who honors her intuition, no matter the consequences.
It is her relationship with Dylan that defines the early seasons of 90210. While there are many other good characters in the series, none could match Dylan’s intrigue, like Brenda. Brenda leaves the series after Season 4 to study theatre abroad in England.
4) Kelly Taylor
Though first appearing as the rich blonde archetype, we quickly learn of Kelly’s depth and complexity stemming from her disturbing childhood and negative self-image. Much like Brandon, Kelly carried several seasons of the series though she sometimes annoyed viewers in the process.
In the early seasons, Kelly’s most infamous storyline involves stealing her best friend’s boyfriend while Brenda travels abroad to Europe. Though Kelly can easily appear as conniving for targeting Dylan while her best friend was out of the country, there are many more layers to a situation that was far from black and white.
Some criticize Kelly for being stuck-up and obnoxious during many episodes, but she also faced countless personal trials. Ms. Taylor was burned, raped, shot, and cheated on, along with falling victim to several toxic lovers, most notably the cocaine addict Colin Robbins. Her most memorable storyline occurs when she gets stuck in the basement of a burning house.
Kelly Taylor is one of just four characters (along with David, Donna, and Steve) who appeared in all ten seasons.
5) Valarie Malone
Replacing Brenda Walsh, one of the show’s most iconic characters, was no small task for Valarie Malone. Though her initial plot was unrealistic, her presence was on-point. In contrast to Brenda, Valarie was a bad girl from Buffalo. She was a liar, cheater, and hypocrite. We later find out she also killed her father after he molested her for years.
There’s no question that Ms. Malone introduced a certain edge to the Beverly Hills 90210 cast, which had previously portrayed an overly wholesome presentation. Still, some of her storylines were over-the-top, like when she traveled to Mexico to assist Dylan in retrieving his stolen fortunes. Something like that resembles no semblance of reality.
Maintaining likability while doing so many immoral things takes skill, which Valarie amply possessed. The number of crazy things Valarie did is almost infinite. But some of her most memorable escapades include sleeping with her mother’s fiancé and offering her boyfriend David up for prostitution. Let’s not forget when she faked a pregnancy to extort Kenny Bannerman.
Valarie appeared in seasons 5-9 before leaving right before Dylan returned. Though she created conflict with most of the characters, most notably Kelly Taylor, Valarie left on a more friendly note by thanking everyone for letting her join the group. Her last scene is with her ex-boyfriend David, who walks her to her cab.
6) David Silver
First appearing as a geek or nerd along with his best friend Scott, David Silver develops into an attractive and appealing character throughout the remainder of the series. The younger version of David carried a video camera everywhere and came across as a pseudo-stalker, albeit one with harmless intentions.
After Scott’s untimely death, David starts to transition into the cool friend group while drawing more interest from the opposite sex. By Season 3, David becomes more popular by producing and performing synth pop and hip hop music and doing the school radio show. In addition, he starts dating Donna, who calls him the best dancer at West Beverly High.
David Silver completely transforms in Season 4 when he encounters various obstacles, including drug addiction. Luckily, Dylan saves David from a drug bust by convincing him to dispose of all of his drugs and paraphernalia, which he’d been holding for his dealer, right before the cops bust into his beach apartment. Afterward, David begins to heal by getting back into his music.
Like Steve, Donna, and Kelly, David appears in all ten seasons.
7) Andrea Zuckerman
Andrea was an essential character because she represented the book-smart, politically active young woman often overlooked by men. She had a major crush on Brandon, but he resisted her subtle advances in favor of less sophisticated women. Andrea was an over-achiever who came from a less desirable background than her classmates.
Being Jewish was a significant part of Andrea’s identity, and she drew on it for political activism throughout the series. At first, Andrea dates a Jewish R.A. in her college dorm but soon dumps him because of his views on non-Jewish students. Andrea marries a Catholic man, Jessie, during her freshman year of college after getting pregnant with her daughter Hannah.
Jessie studies at law school in pursuit of becoming a judge which prompts the couple to move away from Los Angeles during Season 5. We learn later that Andrea divorces Jesse, which was unsurprising since both committed adultery within their first year of marriage. Andrea’s legacy on the 90210 series is everlasting as an original and memorable character.
Andrea Zuckerman appears in Seasons 1-5 and returns for several cameos in the later seasons.
8) Steve Sanders
Steve represents the rich-boy persona that Brandon contrasts when moving to Beverly Hills. Steve is the son of actress Samantha Sanders and business mogul Rush Sanders who divorced in his younger years. Despite his rich-boy antics, Steve maintains a good heart which redeems his character.
Unlike Brandon, Dylan, and David, Steve fails to maintain meaningful relationships in 90210 until he marries Janet in the later seasons. In the earlier seasons, Steve gets dumped by Kelly, Valarie, and Clare, who covet other male characters more than him. Still, his struggles don’t stop him from relentlessly pursuing women throughout the series.
Steve’s friendship with Brandon is integral to the series. Steve gets Brandon to take risks he would never otherwise take, including getting wasted at Palm Springs and prank calling urologists for fun. Unfortunately, some of Steve’s antics also get Brandon in hot water, like when Steve plagiarizes Brandon’s term paper and hands it in as his own.
Despite his ignorance and arrogance, Steve is a sensitive person at his core. We learn that he was adopted (though Rush is his birth father). Like Kelly, David, and Donna, Steve Sanders appears in every season of Beverly Hills 9010.
9) Clare Arnold
Clare is first introduced to 90210 as a mischievous troublemaker who tries to lure Brandon into kinky sexual encounters. Much to her dismay, Brandon resists every time, and Clare finally relents. The characters meet through Clare’s father, who is California University’s Chancellor.
After her initial persona gradually shifts into a more complex character, Clare becomes an integral cast member. Ms. Arnold moves into the beach house with Kelly and Donna and enters relationships with David and, later, Steve.
Clare is known for her sharp wit, intelligence, and competitiveness. However, while many see her as one of the most underrated and underappreciated characters, she could also be overbearing and moody. For example, she flips out when Kelly’s friend Tara borrows some orange juice from the beach house refrigerator.
Clare appears in Seasons 4 through 6. She leaves the show after Season 6, after dumping Steve for good.
10) Donna Martin
While initially appearing as Kelly’s dumb friend, Donna reveals herself as a sweetheart with intelligence, humor, and honesty. Perhaps most famously, Donna preserves her virginity until the later seasons, which contrasts with everyone else on the show. Unfortunately, her choice frustrates her boyfriends, especially David and Ray, who end up cheating on her with other women.
Other characters could always count on Donna to provide empathy and friendship, no matter their past mistakes. Donna is the most forgiving character and tries to give second chances to people who don’t deserve it. Unfortunately, as a result, some viewers see Donna as too nice for her own good.
Donna Martin’s relationships often introduced new characters to the show, including Ray Pruit, Joe Bradley, and Noah Hunter. However, Donna primarily represented the good-girl archetype as the series progressed, excluding the prom night incident where she passed out drunk, violating the school’s conduct policy.
The school’s punishment incited a protest led by Brandon Walsh, who organized the students to walk out of finals. Their demonstration against a warranted suspension of a wealthy Beverly Hills girl did not look good in retrospect, considering the more challenging problems in society.
Like Kelly, David, and Steve, Donna was another character who appeared in all ten seasons.
11) Henry Thomas
Henry runs the Beverly Hills Beach Club, the location of many of the series’ most infamous moments. Brandon works for Henry during his High School summers, including bringing food to the members and cleaning up.
Henry was known to watch the soap opera The Young & The Restless and didn’t like to be bothered while it was on. He becomes close friends with Brandon but is never again heard from when Brandon leaves for College.
12) Lucinda Nicholson
Lucinda was a sexy 27-year-old teacher’s assistant and anthropologist at California University. She was married to one of Brandon’s professors (Cory Randal) but still pursued the younger man, despite it. Though charming and exciting, Lucinda was a very manipulative person.
She hosted seminars that included somewhat controversial subjects and was known to offend conservative students. The topics often revolved around a radically feminist perspective. Lucinda indicated disapproval of monogamy and insinuated its origin was unnatural.
Her attempted seduction of Dylan aggravated Kelly, one of her seminar students, who was Dylan’s girlfriend at the time. Dylan believed the attempt was merely a money grab to fund a film she’d been working on, though Lucinda adamantly denied any financial motivation.
13) Jim Walsh
Jim Walsh is a pretty epic character in 90210. He is the father of Brandon and Brenda, the husband of Cindy, and the accountant of Dylan McKay. Jim Walsh is a successful accountant who moved from Minnesota to Beverly Hills with his family.
He provides moral direction for his children though it leads to serious animosity between himself, Brenda, and Dylan. He forbids Brenda to see Dylan, and she, of course, refuses. Jim moves to Hong Kong after Season 5 but makes a cameo in a later season.
14) Antonia Marchette
Though she only appears in one Season (Season 6), Antonia “Toni” Marchette is one of the most memorable characters in the series history. She marries Dylan after he devises a plan to kill her father.
When Dylan learns Jack’s killer is a mob-affiliated businessman named Tony Marchette, he tries to get to him through his daughter Antonia. Since she’s a student at CU, Dylan easily tracks her down.
However, instead of continuing with the revenge plan, he falls in love with Antonia. The two end up married despite her father’s strong disapproval. The story ends in great tragedy when Tony has his daughter killed in a mob hit intended for Dylan.
15) Noah Hunter
Noah first appears in Season 7 when he meets the main characters in Mexico. Donna is running a fashion shoot for her employer on location and brings along her friends to help with the shoot and vacation at a beautiful resort.
Noah is working on a boat when he runs into the crew and becomes friendly with them. After the vacation, Noah decides to return to L.A. The boat dweller initially takes a liking to Valarie but soon shifts his attention to Kelly and then Donna.
He dates Donna throughout most of Seasons 7 and 8, but she dumps him because of his ongoing personal problems, including public drunkenness. His most memorable incident occurred when he made a drunken toast at Donna’s parent’s anniversary party by yelling “Hickory Dickory Dock” before others cut him off in horror.
16) Emily Valentine
Fans often remember Emily as Brandon’s true love. Even though Brandon later thinks of Kelly as his life partner, he ends up calling off their wedding before moving away. It’s hard to dispute that Emily’s lasting impact gave him second thoughts.
Emily was with Brandon while Kelly burned in the house party fire that Kelly resents for the series’s remainder. Emily is last seen in Season 5 as she has a layover at the airport.
17) Cindy Walsh
Cindy Walsh was a stereotypical Midwestern mother who cared deeply for her children and their friends. She regularly provided maternal support to Brenda, Brandon, and their friends, including Dylan, Kelly, and Steve.
Like her husband Jim, Mrs. Walsh moves to Hong Kong after Season 5, though the housewife later appears in Season 6 when returning to the Walsh house for Christmas without her husband. She tells Brandon they are on the verge of divorce but quickly changes her mind when Jim sends an apologetic card.
18) Colin Robbins
Colin is a cocaine-addicted painter from New York City. He meets Kelly before Season 6 when she travels to N.Y. for a modeling gig. Colin decides to return to L.A. with her and start a relationship. The two get along great initially, as Colin begins blossoming as an artist with a little help from his snow-white friend (cocaine).
He even paints a mural titled Kelly’s New York at the Peach Pit After Dark. Later in Season 6, a significant art investor named Sterling Penn buys two of Colin’s paintings, which the artist painted high. Unfortunately, Colin gets arrested after an O.J. Simpson-style police chase, during which he possessed cocaine. Kelly is not involved with the arrest since she was in drug rehab at the time.
19) Mrs. Yvonne Teasley
Mrs. Teasley was the superintendent at West Beverly High and appeared predominately during the first three seasons. She does make multiple cameos in later seasons, including when the gang goes back to their old high school for Andrea’s going away party in Season 5.
She is beloved by her former students, although she could be very demanding during their high school years. Steve was particularly fond of her despite their many run-ins in which Steve screwed up.
20) Jack McKay
Jack is Dylan’s father and a ruthless and incredibly wealthy businessman. The mob-affiliated white-collar criminal is presumed dead in Season 4 when Jack’s car explodes in an alleged mob hit. Dylan sees him enter the vehicle before it explodes.
However, we learn in a later season that Jack is still alive and had faked his death to join witness protection. The revelation makes Antonio Marchette’s death even more deranged and serves as one of the most nonsensical storylines.
21) Morton Muntz
Known only as “Muntz,” Morton Muntz is a Keg man and one of Steve’s best friends. Although he didn’t have a large role in the series, he was always present for party episodes, including an infamous Season 5 episode in Palm Springs. Muntz brought light-hearted comedy to the mix, which contrasted the uptight demeanor of some other characters.
In the aforementioned “Palm Springs” episode, Muntz cuts Brandon off from drinking after the self-proclaimed “boy scout” lets himself go for the day. Other classic Muntz party scenes include the Season 6 premiere, which showcases the main characters trashing the Walsh House with the misbelief that the homebuyer will demolish it for land development.
22) Sherice Ashe
Sherice Ashe was a beautiful and mature high schooler who moved with her family to Beverly Hills though she was inexplicably never seen again. She contrasted the main characters with her age (she was a Senior while they were Sophomores). Additionally, her primary boyfriend lived in her hometown within driving distance, where he worked at a restaurant.
She dates Brandon once, evoking commentary from others. Her brother was a photographer for the school newspaper, and her family was independently wealthy from a Popcorn brand. Aaron Spelling screwed the four actors by several accounts, allegedly promising them more extensive roles that never came.
23) Dr. John Martin
John Martin is a successful heart surgeon, the father of Donna, and the husband of Felice. We later learn he is also the father of Gina Kincaid (Donna’s presumed cousin), whom he conceived by impregnating Felice’s sister and Donna’s aunt.
It was an odd revelation since Dr. Martin seemed like a dedicated husband and father and very far removed from the free-wheeling swinger we discovered him to be. In a twist of irony, he dies after a personal training session with his alleged niece and actual daughter, Gina.
24) Iris McKay
Iris is Dylan’s mother and Jack’s ex-wife. The former Mrs. McKay evokes skepticism from many (including her son) because of her excessive spiritual bent. Iris frequently lectures Dylan’s girlfriends about horoscopes, stones, and crystals. Brenda connects with her intuitively, leading Iris to favor Brenda over Kelly.
Though she visits her son in L.A. on occasion, Iris spends most of her time living in Hawaii.
25) Scott Scanlon
Scott is an original Beverly Hills 90210 character who dies tragically in Season 3, after a self-induced shooting accident. During the first three seasons, Scott is best friends with David Silver as both shared the challenges of being an awkward underclassman at West Beverly Hills High School.
The pair often latched on to Steve Sanders in attempts to gain entrance to upperclassman parties. As the series progresses, the team grows apart, with David focusing on music and DJing while Scott gains interest in guns and country-western tropes.
26) Mel Silver
Mel is David’s father and the on-again, off-again husband of Jackie Taylor (Kelly’s mother). The couple has a daughter named Erin, which makes her a sister to both David and Kelly. Besides being a dentist, Mr. Silver earns a reputation as a womanizer after sleeping with his younger dental hygienist (while still married to Jackie).
Having already been divorced from David’s mother, Shelia, his infidelities don’t surprise David. Despite his flaws, Mel shows unconditional support for his children, including step-kids inherited through marriage, like Kelly.
27) Jordan Bonner
Jordan is the newspaper editor for a neighboring high school to West Beverly. Brandon collaborates with him when a football game is canceled because of threats of gang violence. Since Jordan goes to a predominately black high school, he understands that most of the decisions made by the school board are fundamentally racist and implores Brandon to acknowledge this fact. He also briefly dates Andrea before going to Yale for college.
28) Sophie Burns
Sophie Burns comes to L.A. with dreams of being famous. Her first plan is to manipulate everyone and everything she comes across. She likes to do a bill trick where she shows the cashier a $50-bill but only gives a $10.
She tries this on David at the PPAD, but he catches her. Sophie meets Steve and leads him on when she’s really interested in David. She and David are caught making out on the Beverly Beat webcam. Eventually, she leaves for Paris with a wealthy industrialist.
29) Nikki Witt
Nikki Witt is introduced to viewers during the original summer beach episodes. She meets David as he’s playing George Micheal on his stereo. She ends up showing interest in David because they both like music, but finds out that he’s dating Donna.
Later, she starts a relationship with Brandon, who has to beat up her abusive ex. Nikki moves away from Beverly Hills during Season 3.
30) D’Shawn Hardell
D’Shawn is a star basketball player for CU who forms a friendship with his “tutor,” Brandon Walsh. At first, Hardell asks Brandon to take tests for him since he knows the university favors student-athletes.
The moralist Brandon refuses, and that actually makes D’Shawn end up respecting him more. Aside from Brandon, D’Shawn also forms a friendship with Donna Martin.
31) Jesse Vasquez
Jesse is Andrea’s husband in Seasons 5 and 6. They meet at Jim and Cindy’s anniversary party at the Walsh house. Jesse is tending bar as a side gig and runs into Andrea, who had been seeing a fellow Jewish student/teacher’s assistant. Jesse is Catholic and Hispanic, which causes her current fling to take offense to the relationship.
The two get married in Season 5 and have a daughter named Hannah. Problems arise in the marriage because of inter-faith conflicts, and the two end up fighting, committing infidelity, and eventually divorcing.
32) Samantha Sanders
Steve’s mother, Samantha, adopted him when he was a newborn. Her husband at the time, Rush, was actually Steve’s real father which made things pretty awkward. She was also famous for starring in the 80s sitcom The Hartley House, in which she had a young son named Chucky. Samantha later comes out as gay, only to have her career threatened because of homophobia.
33) Joe Bradley
Joe Bradley was the CU’s starting Quarterback during Season 6 and closely resembled the archetype of Tim Tebow. He was very religious and chose to save himself for marriage. This philosophy led him to get involved with Donna, who shared the same values.
Unfortunately, Joe finds out he has a heart condition and ends up moving back home to Pennsylvania to coach high school football.
34) Rush Sanders
Rush Sanders is a ruthless businessman who often mocks and criticizes his son Steve. Although Steve assumed he was adopted because Samantha Sanders is not his birth mother, he later learns that he was adopted by his real biological father: Rush.
Basically, Rush impregnated a young waitress and bought his own baby. He loves Steve but also hates him.
35) Carly Reynolds
Carly is a single mother who meets Steve Sanders during Season 8 while he’s babysitting a family friend. Carly’s son Zach plays on a co-ed soccer team with Erin Taylor (Kelly and David’s young sister), and the two end up talking a lot at the practices.
Carly initially resists Steve’s advances but later relents after realizing he’s great with kids. She ends up moving away after Season 8.
36) Susan Keats
Susan was the editor for the Condor during Season 6 and also Brandon’s girlfriend. She was known for being a vocal feminist which often annoyed some men on campus, including Brandon, at times. Her family life was complicated because her sister died in a hit-and-run accident.
Her mother was strict and had trouble getting over her eldest daughter’s death. Susan ends up leaving California for a job after Season 6, much to the dismay of Brandon, who expected more loyalty.
37) Erin Silver
Erin is Jackie and Mel’s daughter, making her the sister of both Kelly and David. Her birth was surrounded by skepticism because of Mel’s propensity for infidelity and Jackie’s history of drug abuse and modeling.
Erin has several dramatic moments, including when she almost drowns in the bathtub as Kelly and Colin argue in the kitchen. She also wanders off when David falls asleep in a drug-induced stupor. Luckily, each time she makes it out safe and sound.
38) Tracy Gaylian
Tracy was the lead news anchor at CU when Brandon was a news director during his Senior year. The two ended up in a serious relationship though Brandon never truly cared for her the way she did for him.
Brandon was still stuck on Kelly, who had been dating Colin and then Mark. At the end of Season 7, Brandon dumps Tracy to get back with Kelly. Tracy is understandably upset.
39) Gil Meyers
Gil is the “cool” but suspicious teacher who is accused of inappropriate flirtation with female students. He also tries to flirt with Andrea on several occasions, and the interest appears mutual. Andrea prefers older men, and Gil is her type.
When Gil is found innocent of violating Scott Scanlon’s younger sister, he remains a teacher at West Beverly High School indefinitely.
40) Willie
Willie is Nat’s right-hand man at the Peach Pit and the lead cook. He appears in multiple Seasons and even has some storylines involving him and his family. During Season 5, his nephew starts working at the Peach Pit and meets David at the After Dark Club.
The two decide to do a hip-hop night at the club. Willie also invites the gang to help him build his new house.
41) Nat Buccigio
The owner of the Peach Pit (a local diner hangout for the main characters) is Nat Buccigio, and he appears in all 10 seasons of the show. Nat is reliable for his consistency and relationship with the main characters despite the major age difference.
After Jim and Cindy moved to Hong Kong, Nat becomes the only parental role model for the rest of the characters. In addition to being a mentor to Brandon, he is also a business partner of Dylan, Steve, Valarie, and David throughout parts of the series.
42) Herbert Little
Herbert is a freshman at West Beverly and an apprentice of sorts to Steve Sanders (Steve is his “senior buddy.”). He is a very smart kid and great with computers which is why Steven enlists him to hack into the computer system to change his grades.
Ms. Teasely finds out what’s going on and punishes Steve, though he ends up weaseling his way out of the worst-case scenario.
43) Jackie Taylor
Jackie is Kelly and Erin’s mother and David’s stepmother. She is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who Kelly had to take care of as a teenager. Once she gets well, she marries David’s father, Mel Silver, only to be cheated on by him and his dental hygienist.
The two split up but end up back together eventually. Her ex-husband Bill Taylor is a blue-collar criminal and drug addict. She appears in every season of the series, albeit for only a few episodes in each.
44) Terri Spar
Terri is hired as an administrative assistant for The Beverly Beat but leaves after eloping suddenly. The whole storyline was strange because we never see her say goodbye or that she was leaving.
It’s as if the writers called an audible on her character, which is pretty disturbing to think about it. She was a great character and should’ve stayed around, but was replaced by Janet Sosna.
45) Matt Durning
Matt Durning is a small-time lawyer who moves into the office building that shares Donna’s boutique. Although he shows initial interest in Donna, he later gets together with Kelly. Matt represented the good guy archetype that Kelly went for with Brandon, but upon Dylan’s return, he learns that he’ll never match the connection those two inherently possess. He accepts his fate at the end of season 10.
46) Jake Hanson
Jake Hanson is an old friend of Dylan’s hired by Jackie Taylor for some construction work. Her daughter Kelly Taylor takes an immediate interest in him since he’s older (mid-20s), attractive, and shares some of the bad-boy qualities she likes in Dylan. Jake represented the less wealthy Californian, which contrasted with the rich-boy image of Beverly Hills.
He infamously lives in Melrose Place, a run-down apartment complex that spawned its exclusive TV series within the 90210 universe. Kelly, David, Donna, and Steve all appear on at least one episode of the spinoff.
47) Tom Miller
Tom Miller is one of Valerie’s old flames from Buffalo. He comes to visit her in Beverly Hills and makes quite a name for himself. He starts working at the PPAD, which upsets a lot of the other characters. Eventually, he makes good with some of them.
He becomes friendly with David and even accompanies him to threaten Garrett Slan: the guy who tried to rape Donna. He also goes on a couple of dates with Kelly until Valerie tells him to go home because he reminds her of bad times.
48) Erica McKay
Erica is Dylan’s half-sister and the daughter of Jack McKay and Suzanne (the woman who stole Dylan’s money). She is a sweet person when she first meets Dylan, but obviously changes after her parents force her to move to Mexico.
Dylan rescues her and has her move to Hawaii with his mother Iris. However, years later, Brandon and Kelly find her working in L.A. as a drugged hooker.
49) Stuart Carson
Stuart is a rich kid from a wealthy family. He meets Brenda after she splits from Dylan, and the two end up engaged shortly after. Dylan is a bit upset by this, not just because he still likes Brenda but because Stuart has some sort of history with nightclubs and, presumably drugs.
Brenda is impulsive, and so even though she agrees to marry him, they never go through with it.
50) Shelia Silver
Shelia is David’s mother and Mel’s ex-wife. She suffers from severe mental illness, which is highlighted during a Season 6 episode. David, Donna, and Mel find her in an alley, having used street drugs like heroin.
She is admitted to a mental health facility where the doctors want to use ECT treatment. David resists at first but eventually determines it’s the only rational option.
51) Mark Reese
Mark joins the show in Season 7 but doesn’t even make it through his first season. He works with Brandon at the CU News Station and lives in his father’s party house with David Silver.
They host a major pool party with their beautiful neighbors, but it gets cut short because of a forest fire. Mark ends up leaving CU when he loses some internship to Brandon and disrespects Kelly.
52) Kenny Bannerman
Kenny is a former colleague of Jim Walsh who gets involved in an affair with Valarie Malone during Season 7, despite being married and the father of a young child. Valarie fakes a pregnancy when she finds him stalling on his promised divorce.
She also extorts him for $10,000 with an agreement to have an abortion (which, unbeknownst to him, wouldn’t be possible). Brandon makes her give the money back when he finds out what happened.
53) Abby Malone
Abby is Valerie’s mother and someone with plenty of issues. She allowed her first husband to abuse her daughter until the point where Valerie killed him in self-defense (ruled a suicide at the time). She went on to get engaged two more times in the series, neither of which lasted more than a month.
The first time, she agrees to marry Bill Taylor, who predictably backs out at the last minute. Next, she marries a younger cop who cheats on her with Valarie and then leaves her.
54) Jasper McQuade
Jasper is the founder of Jasper’s Law — the band that would briefly make David Silver a star. David joins up with Jasper to play the keyboard after the former player goes on a drug-induced rampage.
David double-crosses Jasper when he accepts money from a record company under the condition that Jasper is removed from his own band. It ends up working out for nobody.
55) Dean Whitmore
Dean Whitmore is the Dean at CU and someone who forms a good relationship with Brandon Walsh. He is the person Brandon goes to when an issue arises on campus, such as a controversial speaker being voted to attend a seminar.
The two consult with the chancellor about different kinds of issues facing CU.
56) Milton “Chancellor” Arnold
Milton Arnold is the CU chancellor and the father of Clare Arnold. He is perhaps best known for his relationship with Brandon Walsh, which led to Walsh becoming known as the Chancellor’s lackey while serving as student body president.
He first tried to fix his daughter up with Brandon, but he ended up rejecting Clare’s kinky advances. Milton briefly dates Steve’s mother Samantha.
57) Leslie Sumner
Leslie wore several hats during her time on 90210. Her first appearance was as the head of a sorority — which she discouraged Andrea from joining if she was going to show pride in Judaism.
Leslie was also Jewish but made it a point to not talk about it at the sorority. Andrea finds this highly offensive. Leslie is later seen as the organizer of The Tournament of Roses.
58) Zach Reynolds
Zach is the daughter of Carly and forms a close relationship with Steve. Because his own father was absent, Zach views Steve as a father figure. He plays on a co-ed soccer team with Kelly’s younger sister Erin, which is how he first meets Steve, who was babysitting Erin.
Like his mother, Carly, Zach moves away after Season 8 and is never seen or heard from again in 90210.
59) Ryan Sanders
Ryan is one of Steve’s younger brothers and the twin of Steve’s other younger brother: Austin. The twins are actually half-brothers to Steve since Rush adopted Steve after impregnating a waitress in a one-night stand.
We don’t know for sure if Samantha is their mother, but we do know that Ryan is the more mature of the twin brothers, even after almost dying from alcohol poisoning.
60) Tony Marchette
Tony is Antonia’s father, a mob-affiliated executive, and the alleged killer of Jack McKay. We know that he killed his own daughter in a hit-went-wrong that was meant for Dylan. While at first Dylan targets Antonia to get to Tony, he later falls and love with her and marries her.
Unfortunately, she is killed soon after the wedding. We learn later that Tony couldn’t have actually killed Jack McKay because he’s still alive and in the witness protection program.
61) Sue Scanlon
Sue was Scott’s sister who goes dark after his death. She starts dressing in punk rock clothes and hanging around the wrong crowd. She gets herself into some trouble when she has a crush on her teacher Gil Meyers.
Sue accuses him of sexual harassment but later admits that he didn’t actually do anything. Instead, it was her uncle Henry who had been abusing her for years.
62) Joan Diamond
Joan is Nat’s old flame who returns to meet him at the Peach Pit when Steve does a retro movie night. Apparently, Nat and Joan had been lovers during the 70s but lost touch soon after.
When the two are reunited, they end up getting married and having a young son. She inexplicably disappears from the series after Season 7, and Nat only references her or his son on occasion.
63) Corey Randal
Corey Randal is a hot-shot professor at CU and one who Brandon finds intriguing at first. He references a baseball phrase known as the Mendoza Line when talking about his infamous pop quizzes. Brandon later learns that his wife, Lucinda Nicholson is the woman he’s been having an affair with.
He also learns that Randal gives special treatment to student-athletes. Randal eventually contends that Brandon shared his papers and tests with Steve Sanders but is found by the CU Board of Trustees to have doctored the evidence.
64) Josh Richland
When first introduced to Brandon, Josh is the editor of CU’s Newspaper, The Condor. He has a reputation as a stickler and was known to be unpopular with writers. After their initially contentious relationship, the two end up getting into student politics as part of the independent party.
Unfortunately, Josh dies in a car accident shortly before being elected student president.
65) Celeste Lundy
Celeste meets Steve on some dating game show on which Brandon also appears. She dates Steve for a while until she learns that he has a crush on an old babysitter (who Brandon eventually pursues) after she comes to the beach house.
Celeste is later referenced as having married a Marine, much to the dismay of Steve, who thinks all women are out to get him in some way.
66) Charlie Rollins
Charlie is a recovering drug addict who meets Dylan in rehab. At first, he hates Dylan for sporting a Rolling Stones hat (which was gifted to him by Brandon). Charlie angrily demands that Dylan remove it, to which he refuses. However, the two end up becoming good friends and staying in touch after rehab.
Charlie allows Dylan to help write his screenplay On Borrowed Time, and they even pitch it to movie executives. When a production company shows interest, the two go visit but learn that it’s a bunch of mob men who threaten Dylan’s life.
67) Lisa Dixon
Lisa is a Rose Queen finalist, along with Donna. She asks Donna to fill in her work shift at a convenience store. Donna’s boyfriend, Joe, initially questions the idea since it’s in a “bad neighborhood.”
Lisa is offended when Donna tries to get a kid from that neighborhood into a daycare program because his mother works double shifts. She later changes her mind a bit.
68) J. Jay Jones
“Jonesey,” as he is referred to by the characters, is a retired FBI agent who works independently. He meets Dylan, who’s trying to get his money back from Kevin and Suzanne. When Jonesey’s partner quits on the spot, they enlist Valerie to come in and do the job she was going to do.
He later uses Valerie again to catch a businessman cheating on his wife. He’s what you call “a character.”
69) Christine Pettit
Christine first meets Dylan in Season 4 when she’s dating his father, Jack McKay (who’s recently out of prison). Dylan later learns that she’s actually an FBI agent and the person responsible for protecting Jack.
He works with her on several projects, including getting his stolen money back from his faux stepparents. In the last season, she reveals that Jack is in witness protection.
70) Tara Marks
When Kelly enters drug rehab after her Colin-inspired coke-binge, Tara ends up as her roommate. She is much younger than Kelly and claims to have been abandoned by her parents.
Kelly takes a sisterly role to Tara and forces Donna and Clare to allow her to stay at the beach house after release. She soon learns that Tara is crazy and jealous. Tara eventually tries to kill Kelly through carbon monoxide poisoning.
71) Griffin Stone
Griffin is a Keg man whose mother is friends with Felice Martin. Because of this association, the mothers try to set up him and Donna. At first, Donna likes him until she realizes that he’s a jerk. She starts dating Ray while they are supposed to be together, and Griffin is horrified by this.
Griffin is also infamous for being responsible for the fire that burned Kelly at the house party. He turned up all the fuses despite being warned by the cook that it would start a fire.
72) Wally
Wally was the first dog character to appear on Beverly Hills 90210, and he made his mark. Brenda finds Wally going through The Walsh’s trash can out back and begs her parents to let him stay in the garage. Jim initially refuses, but Cindy talks her husband into the arrangement.
Unfortunately, Wally soon escapes from The Walsh house, and neither Brenda nor Brendan can locate the pup. Eventually, he shows up at the Little League fields while Brandon is helping Nat coach a team.
Brenda yells out to Wally, but he runs right past her to one of the young baseball players. We find out that his real name is Ruppert and that he belongs to the Little League player who thought that he got hit by a car.
73) Bruno
Bruno is Antonia Marchette’s personal bodyguard and chauffeur. He is appointed by the old man Tony to protect Antonia when he’s out of town. Bruno is a good man, unlike his boss Tony. When Antonia marries Dylan, he walks her down the aisle.
He even warns Brandon that Tony put a hit on Dylan. After Antonia dies, he’s never seen or heard from again, which is expected.
74) Dick Harrison
Dick briefly dates Clare, which aggravates Steve. The two later become business partners and friends, however. At first, it’s harmless when they invest in a french t-shirt during the super bowl week, hoping to mark up the profits.
They learn, however, that it’s actually a soccer shirt that nobody wants while thinking about NFL football. Dick later introduces Steve to smack but dies of an overdose the same night before Steve tries it.
75) Nadine
Nadine is one of the regular waitresses at the Peach Pit. She is one of the few workers (besides Nat and Willie) that actually interact with the characters on-screen. We never learn anything about her personal life, and she’ll go down simply as that nice waitress from the Peach Pit.
76) Janet Sosna
Janet joined the show as a co-worker of Steve and Brandon at The Beverly Beat. She later marries Steve and gives birth to their daughter. Because Janet’s parents are traditionalists, they initially disapprove of her marriage to Steve since he’s not of Japanese descent like she is.
Despite their differences, the couple manages to maintain their relative happiness throughout the late seasons.
77) Kevin Weaver
Kevin is Suzanne’s husband, who is really a scam artist and criminal. He steals all of Dylan’s money on a fake investment and moves to Mexico. He believes he’s some sort of Pirate. Dylan ruses him, along with Valarie and a former FBI agent, to get the money back.
Kevin appealed to Dylan’s love of the ocean by pretending to have started a program to reduce pollution and preserve the ocean.
78) Gina Kincaid
Gina is Donna’s cousin, who we later find out is actually her half-sister and cousin. Their father, Dr. John Martin, impregnated Gina’s mom, who is Felice’s sister. Growing up, Gina assumed her father was someone else to save everyone from embarrassment.
Unfortunately, she is very resentful because Donna grew up rich and she grew up struggling to make ends meet. Another fun fact about Gina is that she was an aspiring figure skater who trained rigorously as a child.
79) Laura Kingman
Laura gets set up with Steve because she wants to date a Keg man. At first, Steve doesn’t want to be set up but decides to go through with it anyway. She accuses Steve of raping her after they sleep together.
She later drops the accusations and becomes friendly with Steve. Laura is auditioning for a role in the drama department but loses out to Brenda. She tries to kill herself but is saved by Steve. Laura had mental health issues that were made worse by the surrounding people.
80) Tony Miller
Tony Miller is a football player at West Beverly High School and briefly dates Brenda. And when I say briefly, I mean one total date. He is also involved in some kind of steroid controversy when Brandon exposes the football team for taking performance-enhancing drugs. Tony appears in Seasons 3 and 4 but is never seen or heard from after that.
81) Austin Sanders
Austin is one of Steve’s half-brothers, who he is entrusted to look after when Rush is out of town. Austin is thought of as the less mature of the two brothers but, ironically, is not the one who almost dies of alcohol poisoning at the Walsh house bash.
It’s his brother Ryan who drinks too much, and it’s Austin who alerts Steve and the off-duty doctor that something is very wrong.
82) Lauren Durning
Matt’s wife suffered from schizophrenia and was institutionalized in New York. When doctors find medicine to cure her, she gets her normal life back. Matt hadn’t told anyone he was married, so everyone is shocked to learn he is.
Kelly is upset at first, but Dylan sees it through the lens of losing his own wife. Unfortunately, Lauren finds out the medication is literally killing her and must discontinue (forcing her to be institutionalized once again).
83) Jonathan Casten
Jonathan Casten is Susan’s ex-boyfriend and former editor of the CU Condor. We later learn that he got Susan pregnant prior to her having an abortion. Jonathan was pro-life, which made the decision very upsetting to him. Still, he pursues Susan when visiting L.A.
He also takes Brandon out flying since he received his pilot’s license. He tries to butter him up.
84) Dr. Gary Monahan
Dr. Monahan runs the clinic where Kelly works. At first, Kelly is in awe of his commitment to helping the less fortunate, especially children. However, she later is horrified to learn that he’s a predator who harasses his female colleagues, despite being married.
Kelly finds it difficult to come forward because he is so beloved in the community. She finally outs Monahan by setting him up while Brandon and a supervisor listen outside.
85) Emma Bennett
Emma is a freelance writer whose writing catches the eye of Kelly. After reading some of her articles, Kelly recommends her to Brandon. The Beat signs her on to do some freelance pieces, but Brandon soon learns that Emma is mostly interested in him. She flirts with him relentlessly, and the two end up having an affair.
As they cheat on Kelly, Emma writes about the experiences in the 3rd person in her columns. When Brandon puts a stop to it, Emma records him admitting to the affair. This creates a worst-case scenario for Brandon, who eventually must confess that he cheated on Kelly.
86) Camille Desmond
Camille is a very attractive woman who works at Donna’s boutique and briefly dates David Silver. When David dumps her to return to Donna, she is devastated, and Donna and she agree that working at the boutique would be too awkward going forward. It seems like an unreasonable thing to do to someone already suffering, but Donna still did it.
87) Prince Carl
Prince Carl is a childhood friend of Clare and visits her and Steve when they are older. Steve likes him a lot because he treats Steve like royalty. He doesn’t realize that Carl also still loves Clare and that Clare’s mother predicted the two would marry one day.
Carl eventually returns to England. As it turns out, Clare and Steve eventually break it off (not because of Prince Carl though).
88) LuAnn Pruit
LuAnn is best known for being Ray’s mother and a violent alcoholic. She was beaten by Ray’s father throughout most of her marriage and still suffers emotionally and psychologically from those days.
She lives with Ray in Reseda, which is considered a far cry from the Beverly Hills lifestyle. She first takes a liking to Donna, Ray’s girlfriend but turns on her after the domestic violence incidents.
89) Professor Patrick Finley
Pat Finley is a polarizing figure at CU. He teaches a controversial seminar known as The New Evolution. Though his field is psychology, he uses deranged methodologies that closely resemble a cult.
As a result, he develops a cult-like following, including Kelly. Because of her severe burns, Kelly finds comfort in his teachings but later comes to the realization that he’s a monster. He takes a donation from Dylan with the condition of urging Kelly to date him.
90) Suzanne Steele
Suzanne was one of Jack McKay’s former lovers and birthed Dylan’s sister: Erica McKay. She visits Dylan in Season 4 with Erica and later introduces him to her new husband Kevin Weaver.
The couple finesses Dylan into investing money into Kevin’s alleged startup to clean up the oceans. Since Dylan is an environmentalist, he agrees. He grows to trust them too much after finally having a sense of family, and they steal all of his money.
91) Roy Randolph
Roy is a renowned director from England who shows up at CU to direct the campus version of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Aside from having a reputation as a great director and playwright, he also has a reputation as a womanizer, especially when it comes to college-aged women.
Brenda is aware of this reputation and is warned by the people around her not to engage in it. Still, she visits Randolph at his home after blowing her audition.
He grants her a second chance, but most students assume she slept with him for the opportunity. It leads to major tension between Brenda and some of her friends, especially Steve. Brenda ends up moving to England to star in more of Randolph’s productions.
92) Dan Rubin
Dan Rubin is a CU student and Resident Advisor in Andrea Zuckerman’s dorm. He is also a teacher’s assistant (TA) in one of Andrea’s classes. The two develop a brief romantic relationship, but it goes south when Rubin tries to make Andrea reject all things non-Jewish.
After Andrea gets involved with a Catholic man, Dan Rubin becomes livid. He makes racist remarks about Jesse and moves out of the dorm. He is never heard from again.
93) Ray Pruit
Ray Pruit is a musician who lives with his mother in Reseda. He meets Donna in Season 5 as she’s doing a video documentary for a school project, and he’s working at a construction site on campus. When he finds out the video is intended to mock men, he takes a strong offense. Donna apologizes and ends up asking him to go out with her to the Peach Pit After Dark.
The two fall in love, and Ray’s musical career begins to blossom. Unfortunately, he becomes abusive towards Donna, culminating in an incident where he throws her down the stairs at Palm Springs.
94) Danny Five
Danny Five was a well-known drug dealer who sold cocaine to Colin and eventually Kelly. His house was a drug emporium where local addicts would congregate to score some pharmaceutical-grade coke. Needless to say, there were a good amount of shady characters who came in and out of the house.
He also got Colin arrested after asking him for a ride to a drug spot. The cops raid the scene, and Colin attempts to flee in his vehicle. An O.J. Simpson-style chase ensues before Mr. Robins is eventually apprehended.
95) Duke Weatherill
Duke was Nat’s bookie and took an interest in Brandon, who had a sports gambling habit. Brandon ends up getting in so deep that he assaults a high school classmate who owes him gambling debts.
Speaking of gambling debts, Branding owes some to Duke, who has some of his goons take care of it. Luckily for Brandon, Nat bails him out. Duke later returns to form a partnership with Valerie at the PPAD — that is, until the police realize what’s going on there.
96) Bill Taylor
Bill is Kelly’s father and Jackie’s ex-husband. He is a white-collar criminal and a professional liar. His drug-induced stupor contributed to Kelly’s miserable childhood, and his inability to commit to even his own daughter caused her further pain.
He elopes with Abby Malone only to no-show the wedding and solidify his reputation as the scum of this earth.
97) John Sears
John Sears was a Keg man (a term for members of CU’s Keg fraternity) and a typical frat boy archetype who exposed the worst of his community. He was known to get into arguments with Steve Sanders and engage in excessive hazing of freshmen pledges.
He once hit on Kelly for a period of weeks, but she ended up rejecting his advances. After Steve exposes Sears as a creepy womanizer, John tries to get Steve kicked out of college. He assigns Steve the pledge initiation of breaking into Professor Randal’s office and stealing his autographed Jackie Robinson baseball.
He places an anonymous phone call to campus security so that Steve is busted upon arrival. When Steve accuses Sears of placing the call, his Keg brothers decide to vote on which of them is kicked out of the Keg House. The members overwhelmingly vote against Sears and in favor of Sanders. He is gone after Season 4.
98) Felice Martin
Felice is the wife of Dr. John Martin and the mother of Donna. She is not a very likable person considering that she was overly strict and judgmental towards Donna and her boyfriends (especially if they lacked money). She also cheated on her husband with a co-worker while preaching to Donna about the sanctity of marriage.
Felice once tried to payoff Ray Pruit to stop him from seeing her daughter. She was a pretty miserable woman with emotional issues.