Brandon Walsh

Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota with twin sister Brenda (Shannen Doherty), Brandon was the eldest child of Jim & Cindy Walsh. As a result of Jim's job promotion, the family moved to Beverly Hills in 1990, where Brandon and Brenda enrolled at the local West Beverly Hills High School where in the pilot they met new friends Steve Sanders (Ian Ziering) and Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth). In episode two, "The Green Room," Brandon befriended loner Dylan McKay (Luke Perry). He befriends many others in his years spent in Beverly Hills. Brandon was known to have problems with gambling, which affected his relationship with his friends. He also had trouble resisting temptation when dating Kelly, shown with Emily Valentine and, coincidentally, a woman named Emma Bennett.

During the show's run, Brandon gained notoriety for having a high number of relationships with women, sometimes only for one episode, played largely by series guest stars. Among the most notable were the troubled Emily Valentine (Christine Elise), who tried to burn down the West Beverly High Homecoming float; the bigoted Brooke Alexander (Alexandra Wilson), who assumed Andrea Zuckerman was rich just because she was Jewish; and sophomore Nikki Witt (Dana Barron), a persistent girl who comically wore down Brandon's defenses during the episode "The Back Story."[7] In Season Four Brandon had an affair with university professor Lucinda Nicholson (Dina Meyer). Ultimately, his longest relationships were with Kelly, who attempted to win Brandon's heart twice throughout the series, succeeding the second time. Their relationship was strengthened after Kelly moved in with him once his parents and Brenda had moved away.

In between relationships with Kelly, Brandon became involved with two of his co-workers. As a junior, he had a passionate relationship with his editor at the California University newspaper, Susan Keats (Emma Caulfield). Brandon and Susan pledged to take a cross-country trip in the summer of 1996, but Susan ultimately accepted a position with the Clinton-Gore re-election campaign, leaving Brandon to instead take the trip with Steve.

During his senior year, Brandon slowly fell for the anchor at the CU television station, Tracy Gaylian (Jill Elizabeth Novick). Tracy one day found the engagement ring Brandon tried to give to Kelly in a dresser drawer, and assumed that it was for her. When Brandon explained that it wasn't, Tracy became distrusting of him. The two patched things up, and Brandon agreed to sell back his ring at the jewelry store, exchanging it for a bracelet. Once Brandon left, however, Kelly went to the store and bought the ring for herself. Brandon later took Tracy to Hong Kong to meet his father, but upon their return to the United States, Brandon realized his true feelings for Kelly and broke up with Tracy. Tracy and Brandon reunited in Hawaii in the season 8 opener, leaving Kelly perturbed, but her doubts were erased when she met Tracy's fiance.