Jennie Garth on Reinvention, Confidence & ‘I Choose Me’

On this episode of Entertain Me, Jennie Garth opens up about her empowering new book, I Choose Me and the deeply personal journey behind it. She shares what it really means to prioritize yourself—especially in an industry that rarely encourages it, and how reinvention can happen at any stage of life.

We also preview her upcoming live event, I Choose ME, happening April 25th in Burbank at the iHeartRadio Theater, presented with iHeart Podcasts and IT Cosmetics. The event brings together a powerhouse lineup, including Amanda Kloots, Bozoma Saint John, Jeannie Mai, Sarah Shahi, and Dr. Daniel Amen, to explore why self-care isn’t selfish; it’s essential.

It’s a candid, inspiring conversation about confidence, boundaries, and finally putting yourself first.

Don't forget to subscribe to Entertain Me and follow Heather on Instagram @theheatherbrooker.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome back to entertain Me. I'm Heather Brooker. This is
a show where we cover all things entertainment, from socau
to the silver screen. This week I had the pleasure
of talking to an icon, a legend for those of
you who grew up watching Beverly Hills nine oh two
and zero, you know instantly Jenny Garth, an actress, a mom,

(00:22):
and now an author. And she joins me to talk
about her new book where she really opens up about motherhood,
about the challenges of working in the industry at such
a young age. And we also talk about a very
special event that she has coming up. It is I
Choose Me and it is happening April twenty fifth at

(00:43):
the iHeartMedia Theater and it is open to the public.
And I'm going to talk to her more about that
event and some of the huge stars that will be there,
Amanda Klutz, Cameron Mathinson, Jeanie Myi. It looks like it's
going to be an incredible event, a day of of
learning about yourself, learning how to choose yourself. And you

(01:04):
know what, instead of me telling you all about it,
I'm gonna let her tell you about it. So here
is my interview with Jenny Garth. She's a pop culture
icon who grew up in front of America, and now
Jenny Garth is sharing what it really took to find
herself behind the spotlight. Her new memoir, I Choose Me,
Chasing joy, finding purpose, and embracing reinvention dives into aging

(01:27):
identity and reclaiming your power, and she is bringing that
message to a live iHeartRadio event in Burbank that's focused
on self love and reinvention. Hi, Jenny, how are you hi?

Speaker 2 (01:38):
Other? I'm good, Happy Sunday.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
Happy Sundays. So glad. I know you're busy. You're out
there on your book tour, and I'm so glad you
were able to find some time for us today. I
have a lot of questions for you. I really want
to talk about your book. It's titled I Choose Me.
And if anybody was a nine o two one oh fan,
you know that epic moment, that iconic Kelly Taylor moment
where you said I Choose Me. How has that meaning

(02:02):
evolved for you personally over the years.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Oh my goodness. When I said that in nineteen ninety five,
I didn't really understand it fully, But now, as a
grown woman, you know, you sort of reach a place
in your life where you kind of assess where you know,
where you've been and kind of what you've been through.
And in doing that, I really kind of thought that
moment in television history needs to be amplified because we

(02:27):
are all still struggling to choose ourselves in this day
and age. Everything's going a million miles an hour, and
we need to remember to take care of ourselves now.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
In the book, you open up about navigating Hollywood's just
unbelievably unrealistic beauty standards. What was the toughest moment for
you and how did that sort of reshape your confidence?

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Well, I think early on I fell prey to really
putting my worth in other people's hands, being judged and
wanting to be, you know, what everyone else expected me
to be, wanted me to be, And it took me
a long time to find my own security in just
who I am naturally and really coming to the you know,
decision that that I'm good enough just so as I am.

(03:10):
And I think, you know, being in Hollywood, there's a
lot of pressure and that kind of carried over into
my real life. So I was just happy to, you know,
do a lot of work kind of find the space
where my confidence can shine. And I don't you know,
you reach a point also an age when you just
don't care as much what everybody else thinks.

Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yeah, I think I'm amazing. Yeah it is. I think
I'm at that point now in my life where I'm like,
I don't care. Yeah, I've made it. One of the
things I love too is this book really leans into reinvention.
Was there a specific turning point where you realized you
needed to redefine your life?

Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yeah? I mean I raised three young girls and spent
devoted my whole life to that as an adult, and
I just, you know, as they got older and they
started to fly the coop and need me less, you know,
that was when I was like, Wow, what am I
going to do with myself now? So I just had
to really sit down and kind of reflect and define

(04:12):
areas of my life that had meaning and purpose and
then sort of bring that forward and kind of think
about like what I want to do next. And that's
the luxury of adult children, and you know, you get
to kind of sit down and assess what where am
I going to put my precious energy for the days
I have on this Earth Love. So that was like

(04:33):
around fifty for me when I really got solid on that.

Speaker 1 (04:36):
That's so interesting because I am almost fifty myself, and
I'm just outing myself here on Live Los Angeles Radio.
I'm going to be fifty this year, and my daughter
just turned thirteen. So these are a lot of the
thoughts and feelings that I'm experiencing right now in terms
of wat career and focus and who was I before mom?
Because I know in three years she's going to be

(04:57):
driving and then a few years after that going to
call and then what am I going to do?

Speaker 2 (05:03):
I say, start prepping yourself now, Like she's at that
age where she's going to start to differentiate naturally and
want more time alone in her room and want to
be with her friends more. And if you start working
on yourself right now too, it'll be so much easier
for you to both sort of like make this trans
decision in life.

Speaker 1 (05:21):
Yeah, she's already asking to go to the movies with
her friends, and I'm like, whoa hold on, we go
to the movies together. I'm not ready.

Speaker 2 (05:29):
You know.

Speaker 1 (05:30):
I love that you talked about that motherhood and personal growth.
That is such an important topic to you. Know for
women and honestly parents in general. I want to talk
about this big upcoming iHeartRadio event that you have going on.
The focus is on self, love and balance. Tell me
about the event and who's going to be there.

Speaker 2 (05:51):
Yes, well, this is our second event. We did one
last year. It was a huge success, so we're so
excited to be doing it again. We have a great
lineup of guests Ozama Saint James. We have doctor Daniel Aman,
who I am so excited to come share some incredible
information on brain health and just some great tips on
living our fullest life. We have oh my gosh, Bethany

(06:13):
Joy Lenz, Jeanie My Cameron Mathison, I can't even name
them all. Gabriellekarkterra's going to be joining us, who is
an old friend from nine o two one zero, And
we're going to be really just focusing on, you know,
what choices we have made and sharing our journeys with
the audience. It's going to be like a one on
one day where we're all just kind of, you know,

(06:34):
sharing our journeys in hopes that it inspires others. And
that's what I love. That's how I love to spend
my day. So it's going to be a Saturday of inspiration.

Speaker 1 (06:43):
And Karamo is going to be there too, right, Yes,
I think.

Speaker 2 (06:46):
He had to fall out because he has something. Yeah,
so I'm not sure at this moment, but I don't
think he's going to actually be able to make it. Well.

Speaker 1 (06:53):
I saw the list of all the people and of
course the people you just mentioned as well, and it
sounds like it's going to be just such a wonderful
day of connecting and inspiration. And I love this idea
of people choosing themselves, especially in a time when so
much of the world is seemingly overwhelming and you feel
like you're putting out fires in everybody else's life and

(07:16):
dealing with other situations. So this is a really lovely
way to put yourself first. I want to mention everybody
where they can get tickets at veeps dot com.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
Is that right, that's correct, Yes, And it's coming up.
It's next Saturday, and we're going to have a great
lunch and just cocktails and shopping. It's going to be
so fun. So I say, put yourself this Saturday and
let's hang out.

Speaker 1 (07:39):
Yes, put yourself first. Everybody, go out and see Jenny
Garth and the amazing lineup there at that's going to
be at the iHeartRadio Theater here in Burbank, right where
we are at iHeartRadio.

Speaker 2 (07:51):
Yeah, you can always go to my Instagram too and
check out get some details there if you need them.

Speaker 1 (07:56):
Amazing, Jenny, thank you so much for making time for
us today. We reallyppreciate it.

Speaker 2 (08:00):
Thank you, Heather, good luck with your daughter. Thank you.

Speaker 1 (08:03):
I'll take it once again. The event is Ichoose Me,
hosted by Jenny Garth and iHeart Podcasts, and it's April
twenty fifth. That's on Saturday in the iHeart Theater. Starts
at eleven o'clock. It does include lunch. You can get
your tickets at veeps dot com, v E E p
s dot com. Thanks so much for Jenny Garth for

(08:24):
taking the time to talk with me, and thank you
as always for listening to entertainment. Make sure you subscribe
to the show, maybe share it with some friends and
help spread the word. We'll see you next time, don't forget.
You can listen anywhere anytime on the iHeart Radio app.