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"She'll be in university next year. He'll still be in high school, like me."
Tessa Campanelli explains her plan to Spike

Tessa Campanelli was portrayed by Kirsten Bourne. She is one of Degrassi's most developed characters, starting off as a childish, immature, hyperactive grade 7 who was only taller than Scooter Webster by an inch, but evolves into a beautiful, mature and promiscuous young woman. She was best friends with Dorothy.


Tessa Campanelli[]

Starts as: Grade 7 (in season 3 - she was Grade 6 at the time of seasons 1/2)

Tessa Campanelli was a student at Degrassi. She was often seen hanging out with Dorothy, Scooter and Bart.

Degrassi Season 3 (Junior High Years)[]

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Tessa and Scooter at the dance before the fire

Tessa was a student new to Degrassi in season 3. She is often seen running around in the halls, bumping into the upperclassmen. Tessa helps Bart and Scooter for their research project in advertising. It seems that even though she was a grade 7, she was gifted which is why she is also seen in grade 8 classes. Tessa and Scooter make sure Degrassi Junior High is evacuated when they smell smoke in the basement and see fire. They tell Mr. Raditch and he gets everyone out of the school before the flammable containers explode, thus burning Degrassi Junior High down. If it wasn't for Tessa and Scooter, the students would probably still be in the school when the containers exploded. And while Tessa did help save lives, valuable time was squandered by two incorrect decisions: opening a hot door, and then leaving itā€”a door capable of slowing the fire's advanceā€”open.

Degrassi Season 4 and 5 (High School years)[]

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Tessa and Dorothy reading her secret admirer letter

Tessa became a bit more of an important character in her high school years. She started out still very young and immature, but quickly matures, especially in Season 5. Scooter develops a crush on Tessa in season 4, but it does not go anywhere. Tessa and Scooter only go to a dance together and then remain friends. Tessa helps out with the school car wash, a fundraiser for the school, as well. She has a crush on Joey, but she and Alex soon start a relationship and get together, in A Tangled Web, thanks to "secret admirer" letters, they are happy for a while, but she soon starts to develop feelings for Yick Yu, which ends their relationship badly. Tessa is seen dancing at the prom with Yick.

Degrassi Movie: School's Out![]

Tessa works in a store with Spike Nelson. She breaks up with her new boyfriend at a party, and she starts to develop feelings for Joey Jeremiah. She convinces him to take her out on a date, while he is still seeing Caitlin Ryan. They have sex, and she gets pregnant. She has an abortion without telling Joey. Their relationship ends that summer as well. Joey mentions that he no longer is in contact with her in the last scene of the movie.

Degrassi: The Next Generation[]

Season 3[]

Tessa is mentioned in the Season 3 episode Holiday (2) when Joey tells his stepson Craig Manning about his previous affair with her.

Season 4[]

Her name was also mentioned when Craig called Joey's ex-girlfriend Sydney in Time Stands Still (1). Joey says that when he comes home he doesn't want to find Tessa on his doorstep.

Her name was mentioned in the Season 4 finale Goin' Down the Road (2) when Caitlin is on the phone with Snake.

Appearances[]

Degrassi Junior High (Season 3)

Degrassi High (Season 1)

Degrassi High (Season 2)

School's Out!

Trivia[]

  • Tessa is the third female of ten to go through teen pregnancy. The others were Spike, Erica, Manny, Liberty, Mia, Jenna, Vanessa, Clare, and Lola.
  • Tessa is the second character to have an abortion. The first was Erica, the third was Manny and the fourth was Lola.
  • She was a fan of James Dean.
  • She did not remain friends with either Alex or Joey after they broke up.
  • Her relationship with Alex lasted three months.
  • Tessa shares a lot of similarities with future character Manny Santos.
  • She never told Joey she was pregnant nor did she tell him about the abortion.
  • Tessa claims she's a good cook but she ends up burning the garlic bread and knocking the pasta on the ground.

Relationships[]

Main article: Alex-Tessa Relationship


Tessa and Yick

Main article: Yick-Tessa Relationship

  • Todd
    • Start Up: Before School's Out! (TV Movie)
    • Break Up: School's Out! (TV Movie)
      • Reason: Tessa and Todd argue about his marijuana use, she storms off and is not shown interacting with him again.
Main article: Joey-Tessa Relationship

Interaction[]

Friendships Relationships Conflicts Attractions Love Triangles
v - e - d

Degrassi High Main Characters

Alex ā€¢ Alexa ā€¢ Allison ā€¢ Amy ā€¢ Archie ā€¢ Arthur ā€¢ B.L.T. ā€¢ Bartholomew ā€¢ Bronco ā€¢ Caitlin ā€¢ Christine ā€¢ Claude ā€¢ Diana ā€¢ Dwayne ā€¢ Erica ā€¢ Heather ā€¢ Joey ā€¢ Karen ā€¢ Kathleen ā€¢ L.D. ā€¢ Liz ā€¢ Lucy ā€¢ Maya ā€¢ Melanie ā€¢ Michelle ā€¢ Raditch ā€¢ Scooter ā€¢ Simon ā€¢ Tessa ā€¢ Wheels ā€¢ Yick

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