Tiffani Thiessen Says She's ‘Happy’ with Her Wrinkles Ahead of Turning 50: ‘I’ve Earned Them’

"They’re from all the tears and laughter — both!" the cookbook author and actress said during a visit to 'The Jennifer Hudson Show' Wednesday

Tiffani Thiessen is embracing every part of herself as she enters into another decade of her life.

The cookbook author and actress opened up about her mindset around turning 50 during an appearance on Wednesday's episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show, admitting that she's learned to "be happy" with every part of herself — including "the wrinkles that I've earned."

"I say earned because I think I’ve earned them," Thiessen told talk show host Jennifer Hudson. "They’re from all the tears and laughter — both! And I’m happy about that."

Thiessen's birthday is Jan. 23. "I can’t believe it. I actually really cannot believe it. I cannot believe I’m going to be turning 50 very soon," she said of the impending milestone. "I feel great. I actually feel more settled than I did in my 40s. Turning 40 was a bigger deal. I’m like, 'Ooh, I’m going to be 50!' I still can’t believe it."

Related: Tiffani Thiessen, 49 Says the Key to Looking Good at Her Age Is ‘Self-Love’ and 'Not Giving a S---'

Asked what she was focusing on for this next chapter, the mother of two — who shares son Holt Fisher, 3, and daughter Harper, 13, with husband Brady Smith — said it's all about "being the best 50-year-old I [can] be."

She explained: "Right now I’m really trying to be good [about my health] — not that I haven’t been in the past, because health has always been very important (and I mean body health and mental health). But I think in my 40s, my time was really for my children. We give so much to our kids, my child was giving so much to my child, you know, that kind of stuff. And now since they’re kids are older, they don’t need me so much as when they were little, it’s a little more me time. It’s about me."

"You know, I’m just trying to be very healthy about approaching 50 with a good mindset," she added. "I’ve taken my health very seriously."

Related: 'Saved by the Bell' Cast: Where Are They Now?

Thiessen's second cookbook, Here We Go Again, was published in September. The book focuses on how to avoid food waste and “get our food to last,” which Thiessen says she learned from her mother. “This book is…a love letter to my childhood,” she noted during a visit to dietitian Shira Barlow's podcast Good Instincts that month.

The conversation then turned to her teen roles as Kelly on Saved by the Bell, and Valerie on Beverly Hills, 90210. “That age group…that’s a big chunk of changing,” said Thiessen, who was 15 when she began filming Saved by the Bell. “To do that in front of the camera is kind of crazy.”

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She went on to admit to feeling the “added pressure of what people were saying” about her appearance back then. But now as she ages, “I think people will say things, you know, and maybe expect me to look a certain way, yes, but I mean, it’s just not realistic. I can only age the way I’m going to age, right?”

“I’m the best I can be and I’m taking care of myself and doing things that I know will benefit the outside exterior of myself that people are seeing," said Thiessen. "But yeah, those people don’t know what’s happening on the inside, right? Because that’s what actually helps the outside.”

The Jennifer Hudson Show airs weekdays in syndication (check local listings).

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