Then there was Nomi Malone.
“Just like Nomi, she won ‘her’ in the end.
This is a look at the amazing transformation of Elizabeth Berkley, from child star to icon and beyond.
She added, “It wasn’t recreational.
It was my heart and soul, really.”
Berkley was also raised Jewish, a fact that she says often surprises people.
As Berkley’s career in entertainment began to take off, she would indeed come across some such worlds.
I could not have done it without them.
It’s not like we had any Hollywood connections.
I was doing 17 dance lessons a week, going to school, working.”
Berkley initially auditioned to play Kelly Kapowski on the iconic school-set sitcom.
Instead, producers created an entirely new part for her: Jessie Spano.
Along came a part in what Berkley thought would be the film to launch her career.
“I wasn’t looking for shock value.
That wasn’t my intention,” Berkley later toldPeople.
“When I first read about the role, it was a visceral moment.
I thought, ‘That’s mine.'”
“Every girl in Hollywood had fought for this role,” Berkley said.
(It’s true; evenJennifer Lopez auditioned.)
“It was not a strange thing to ask.”
Unfortunately, that’s not what happened.
The film received an NC-17 rating, and it wound up being a legendary box-office bomb.
Berkley’s life would never be the same.
“There was so much cruelty around it,” she told People.
“I was bullied.
And I didn’t understand why I was being blamed.
The job as an actor is to fulfill the vision of the director.”
I was left out in the cold."
Director Paul Verhoeven later told theNew York Daily Newsthat he’s the one who should’ve taken the blame.
“My work has always been my salvation,” she said.
“Like in ballet we say, ‘Go back to the barre.’
I just went back to the barre.
I went back to acting class, back to my dance classes, back to the things I love.
I wasn’t going to let the naysayers stop me.”
There she met Greg Lauren, nephew of famed designer Ralph Lauren.
Three years later, the two got married in an elaborate ceremony, dressed by who else?
There was an outdoor screening of “Casablanca,” yoga classes, and salsa lessons.
“Some people wore tuxedos with colored flip flops.
It was very cool,” Greg Lauren revealed.
Berkley told InStyle that their unique celebration was exactly the point.
“Our joy came from making it personal,” she said.
“By the end it truly felt like we were all family.”
It was one of those moments when you find out what you’re made of.
It was a leap of faith where I had to trust my years of training and just jump."
Each week, Berkley hosted a judging panel that assessed competitors on a new genre of dance.
“One week it’s Latin.
One week it’s burlesque.
One week it’s Broadway.
“You get invested in the dancers because you get to know them personally as well.”
“It’s about the artistry,” she said.
There’s nothing greater.”
Unfortunately, audiences didn’t seem to agree.
“I wanted to be of service.”
Her husband suggested an advice column, and “Ask Elizabeth” was born.
In 2011, Berkley released a book of her best advice, also called “Ask Elizabeth.”
This was not about their own glory; it was 100% to show the goodness in the world.
They wanted to help girls around the world that they would never meet."
While she was pregnant, Berkley focused on remaining fit, dabbling inPilates and yoga.
“The thing that’s been great is that I’ve kept up my workouts.
I’m going to keep it up while I can,” she said.
“I’m a dancer so it’s part of my life anyway.”
Just days before her 40th birthday, Berkley welcomed a son.
We are over the moon and grateful to start this amazing adventure together as a family."
In 2013, Berkley competed on “Dancing with the Stars.”
She toldVarietythat it was an emotional experience, especially considering how she’d been treated after “Showgirls.”
“Showgirls” wasn’t the only past role that “Dancing with the Stars” let Berkley reclaim.
“From the beginning, fans were asking us to dance to that song,” Berkley told Variety.
She even acted a bit, a “DWTS” first.
Berkley was eventually kicked off in a shocking pre-finale elimination, despite having perfect scores from the judges.
She told “Today” that it was a surprise.
“I felt a little … sucker punched,” she reflected.
It wasn’t all bad, though.
She added, “The love affair I have with dance has returned.”
We were children when we did the show, truly."
Berkley was also a producer on the show, and her involvement was instrumental in putting the reboot together.
“I was at every session and watched every link.
I was with people for their chemistry reads,” she told Collider.
“That was really exciting.”
Thankfully, the movie’s reputation has trended more positive in later years.
“[The film has been] not misunderstood, but truly embraced,” shesaid.
Berkley’s voice cracked with emotion, and she waited out a long standing ovation before continuing.
“You always believed, as did I,” she said.
“And for that, I’m eternally grateful.”
