If you had hips, it was a situation," Davis tells PEOPLE Kristin Davis is looking back on her Melrose Place days. In the latest PEOPLE cover story, the Sex and the City alum, 59, reflects on her storied career in television and gets candid about the entertainment industry's unrealistic beauty standards when she was a young actress.

Davis played Brooke Armstrong from 1995 to 1996. When Kristin Davis was on Melrose Place in the ’90s, she was told directly that she shouldn't gain weight, Davis told PEOPLE in a story published Wednesday.

Kristin, I'm so happy to see you here! I just wanna tell you, you know, I think you look great,’ and I'm like: ‘Oh, thank you. What are you talking about?’”