Thrives on taking life’s hard knocks on 90210

The Vancouver native has seen her character Adrianna on CW’s “90210” (Tuesday night at 8 on WLVI [website], Ch. 56) through a drug addiction, an HIV scare and now an unexpected pregnancy. She has a horrific mom and a boyfriend who is unhappy she’s carrying another man’s child.

“Adrianna is constantly searching for that happy ending and it’s nowhere in sight. It’s emotionally draining because my eyes are puffy every day of my life, but it’s so rewarding. When I see the finished product, I’m very proud of it,” Lowndes said.
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Tuesday night, Adrianna tells Ty (Adam Gregory) that she’s pregnant with his baby.

“My character is going to go through with the pregnancy, and it’s a real strengthening of responsibility for her. And even though she did have a drug habit and did a lot of horrible things, she is a really responsible character. I think she will be able to do this.”

When Lowndes was signed to appear on the show, all she knew about her character was that she was going to be the girl singing in the school musical.

“I didn’t know about a drug habit. I didn’t know about any of it. I was so surprised when I kept getting a script and I was in it. I was just thrilled and excited. To be given such amazing material that they deal with in such a real and honest way, I felt really fortunate.”

The 20-year-old, who was promoted to series regular midway through the season, was shopping with her mom in Vancouver and spontaneously decided to go into an open audition for a movie. She didn’t get a part, but she landed an agent and that soon led to a move to Los Angeles and a guest role on “Greek.”

Now she can’t go to a mall without being recognized.

“Some girls come up to me and say, ‘I can totally relate to what you go through with your mother on this show,’ ” she said. “It’s really hard, but I’m at least there for them and they can relate to my character and not feel so alone in their situation, and that’s the best thing I can do. It’s kind of fun and amazing because I love that I’m able to affect people.”

She’s had many scenes with Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth, who reprise their characters from the original series.

“I pinch myself every time I’m in a scene with them. They’re the reason for ‘90210’ and for the original fan base. Shannen is such a giving actress, and when she’s not on camera, she’s still crying, she’s still in that scene. She’s giving you as much as possible, and that’s the best gift an actor can give you.”