Ian Ziering

Ian Ziering (pronounced “EYE-AN” and rhymes with Brian) was born on March 30, 1964, and was raised in West Orange, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City. By the mid-1970s, young Ian was landing spots in national commercials at the age of 12, which led to roles in various soap operas and stage plays, most notably Guiding Light, the Broadway production of I Remember Mama and the national touring production of Peter Pan. In 1981 he made his feature film debut in Endless Love (as Brooke Shields’ little brother) - a film that also marked the big-screen debuts of Tom Cruise and James Spader.

However, in 1990, Ziering landed the role that would change his life: Steve Sanders on the teen drama, Beverly Hills 90210. The show brought instant worldwide fame to the cast. Ian was suddenly an international heartthrob and played the role for the show's entire ten-year run. During his years on 90210, Ziering was also featured in various films and television shows, including Russell Crowe's No Way Back, What I Like About You and Melrose Place, to name a few.

Since 90210, Ziering has appeared on numerous television shows including CSI: NY, JAG and Fran Drescher’s Happily Divorced. In addition he has continued to be one of the most in-demand voice actors for various animated films and television shows including Spider-Man, Mighty Ducks, Batman Beyond and Biker Mice from Mars.

In 2005, Ziering appeared as himself (well, sort of) in Tony Scott's thriller, Domino, with Keira Knightley. Other film credits include National Lampoon’s The Legend of Awesomest Maximus, That’s My Boy with Adam Sandler, An American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars with Nia Vardalos, and Snake and Mongoose.

In 2007, Ziering showed the world that he was a true triple threat when he signed on to the fourth season of the hit ABC series, Dancing With the Stars. A fan and judge favorite with his partner, two-time Mirror Ball Champion Cheryl Burke, the pair eventually danced their way into the show’s semifinals. In addition to his ongoing acting roles and voiceover work, Ian is a much sought-after television host and, was most recently seen hosting HGTV’s A-List Pets.

2013 proved to be a major year for Ziering both professionally and personally. In June, at 49 years old, Ian became a Las Vegas headliner when he starred as the special celebrity guest host of the award-winning production of Chippendales at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. Taking on this new role, the actor hit the gym and dropped 30 pounds, transforming himself into a fit and muscled man, thrilling the sold-out audiences. His Chippendales engagement brought him a new wave of fans and international acclaim, thrusting him once again into the limelight. The engagement was such a huge success, establishing Ian as a major Las Vegas box-office draw, he was asked to return to the show in Summer 2014 for another sold-out run at the Rio with the world-famous brand.

However, it was during his final week with the Chippendales in 2013 that Sharknado aired on Syfy and instantly became a social media and worldwide phenomenon. Garnering more than 5,000 tweets per minute during its initial broadcast – more than any other television show to date – Sharknado became an instant cult classic and even received a theatrical release in movie theaters around the world due to its popularity with fans.

The franchise exploded so much that in July 2014 Ian reprised his role as Fin Shepard in Sharknado 2: The Second One, which went on to devour the world and become an even bigger pop culture phenomenon than the first. The record-setting sequel had nearly four million viewers in its first broadcast and went on to claim the title as the "most social movie on TV ever" by garnering one billion (that is NOT a typo) Twitter impressions. At one point, Sharknado 2 held all top 10 trending topics in the United States with more mentions on Twitter than #MileyCyrus on the day of MTV's 2013 VMAs and #kimye on Kim and Kanye’s wedding day.

You can follow Ian on Twitter. @IanZiering