Jennie Garth on Her Hip Replacement at 48: ‘I Felt Like the Bionic Woman’

When Jennie Garth announced she’d had not one but two hip replacements—the first at age 48 and the second in 2024 at 52—the general response could be summed up as follows: Isn’t she too young for that? In fact, Garth herself opened up about feeling scared to talk about her hip replacement surgery due to the stigma around the procedure.

“Sharing this moment with you all feels both scary and liberating,” the actress wrote in a September 2024 Instagram post. “I wanted to share this story in the hopes of inspiring both women and men to prioritize their health, listen to their bodies and challenge the misconceptions that aging and joint replacement are only for older people.”

The truth is, hip replacement surgery to address issues like pain, low mobility and instability is becoming more common, especially among younger adults. Currently, about 28 percent of hip replacement surgeries take place in those under age 55, experts at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) report. By 2030, experts predict that over half of hip replacements will take place in those under age 65, found a report in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.

Here we take a look at Garth’s journey to a full recovery and explore why women as young as 40 are considering hip replacement surgery.

Why Jennie Garth needed hip replacement surgery

The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum told Selflast year that her chronic hip pain had become debilitating, which is what prompted her to seek help. “I’ve lived with hip pain for a very long time; they’ve always made a ‘click’sound whenever I’d lift my legs,” she said. “It became so painful at one point that I couldn’t even go on a walk with my dogs.”

The actress, who has a family history of arthritis, thought the condition might be to blame. Tests later confirmed her suspicions. “I was only in my mid-40s at the time. I remember feeling old and confused by the diagnosis, but I wanted to stay active and just push through it,” she continued.

But by age 48, Garth said she felt like she couldn’t keep up with her family and visited her doctor for hip replacement surgery. “I had so much life ahead of me and didn’t want to slow down, so I asked my doctor for the earliest opening possible,” she told Self. “I wanted it taken care of right then.”

How Garth felt after her hip replacement

During the recovery process, the mom of three said she had tried to keep off her feet but found she couldn’t sit still. “Within three days of the surgery, I ditched the walker and replaced it with a vacuum,” she had said. “Looking back, I didn’t take it slow enough after the operation to give my body enough time to heal. Though that caused some things to loosen up a little and slow my progress down, the recovery was fairly easy and quick.”

The actress had resumed her normal activities within two months—an anomaly, doctors told her—saying she “felt like the Bionic Woman” in the years following her first surgery. In 2024, Garth underwent hip replacement surgery on her other hip, though it took longer to heal. “I came out sorer and more laid up than the first time,” she noted.

This time, she said she took her recovery slowly and is grateful for the procedures. “These two operations have helped me learn to appreciate my body and physical abilities so much more,” she told Self.

Why younger women are getting hip replacement surgery

Traditionally, hip replacement surgery wasn’t something most people thought about until well into their 60s or beyond. But today, more and more women are considering the surgical procedure at a younger age.

“Most hip replacements are done for wear and tear arthritis,” says Mitchell McDowell, DO, board-certified, fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon and President at M Bone and Joint. He notes the surgery can also be performed for hip dysplasia—where the ball and socket in the hip joint are not formed correctly—as well as femoral neck fractures, a type of hip fracture.

However, “the number one reason I do hip replacements on patients as young as 40 is actually because of a condition called osteonecrosis,” Dr. McDowell explains. This happens when the blood supply to the head of the femur (the “ball” portion of your ball and socket joint) dies and starts to collapse, he notes.

The condition is most common in adults in their 30s and 40s, and can be caused by injury as well as corticosteroid use or heavy alcohol use. The result: severe hip pain and stiffness that can affect your range of motion.

“People are staying active longer and are less willing to live with pain,” adds Nakul Karkare, MD, a hip and knee replacement surgeon based in New York. “If hip pain is limiting quality of life, younger patients are opting for surgery rather than waiting for decades.”

What to expect during hip replacement surgery

There are two main types of hip replacement surgery: total and partial. If your doctor recommends total hip replacement surgery, also known as total hip arthroplasty, he or she will remove the damaged areas of the hips (the ball and socket joints) and replace them with artificial joints.

During a partial hip replacement surgery, only the head of the femur is removed and replaced with artificial parts. Regardless of which procedure you have, recovery typically takes a few months, though pain relief is often immediate. (You can learn more about how to feel better during your hip replacement recovery here.)

“Most patients with severe arthritis or osteonecrosis can expect to do really well after a hip replacement,” Dr. McDowell says. “They’re up walking within a few hours, and generally their pain is already significantly improved even before the rehab process.”

Will you need another hip replacement in the future?

While doctors previously worried that getting a hip replacement at a young age, like Garth did, might increase a person’s chances of needing revision surgery down the line, that’s not always the case. Improvements in the type of plastic used in hip prosthetics mean that just one percent of those who got a hip replacement before age 65 needed a revision within the next eight years, AAOS researchers found.

“The outcomes out to even 30 years with hip replacements are very good,” says Elizabeth Gausden, MD, a hip and knee replacement surgeon with the Hospital for Special Surgery.

“Historically, we’ve tried to get patients to wait until their 60s for a hip replacement,” Dr. McDowell adds. “However, with modern materials, the longevity of the implants appear to be outperforming older models.”

That said, Dr. McDowell cautions his patients who are in their 40s that they might need another hip surgery at some point in their lives. But he still recommends it for those suffering from severe hip pain or limited mobility. “By and large, hip replacement is a great procedure when done on the correct patient for the correct reason,” he notes.

Copyright 2025 A360 Media

This story was originally published February 26, 2025 at 4:30 PM.