Actress Gabrielle Carteris lied about her age to land a role in hit teen soap Beverly Hills, 90210 - she was 29 when she auditioned to play 16-year-old Andrea Zuckerman on the show.

The TV icon even took legal advice to make sure she could sign contracts for the show without revealing her real age.

She says, "I actually talked to a lawyer about how could I sign these contracts and lie about my age and still be able to do the show: 'Is it OK?' 'Yes it is, as long as you just say you're over 21.'"

But Carteris explains her real age was uncovered "illegally" by a snooping reporter.

She tells news show Access Hollywood Live, "A magazine that I won't say did an interview on the show and they asked my age and I said, 'I don't talk about my age...' and they found it in the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) - illegally.

"I thought, 'This is it, I'm gonna lose the job...' By that time the show had been on long enough (and) I was OK."

Gabrielle turned 50 on January 2nd.