VITAL STATISTICS
Birthdate: Jan. 1
Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
Star Sign: Capricorn
Years On Show: 2000-'05, 2006-2007 (as Bianca Montgomery)
Former Soap Roles: AS THE WORLD TURNS (Heather, 1998)
Awards: Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Female Newcomer (2001); GLAAD Media Awards Favorite OUT Image of the Year Award (2004); Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Younger Lead Actress (2005); Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress (2005).

THE 411
Born in Washington, D.C., and raised in a Virginia suburb, Eden Riegel began acting at the tender age of 7, joining a 26-city tour of Les Misérables, playing Young Cosette. After the tour, Riegel took on the same role on Broadway.

After many years in Manhattan filled with commercials, TV and a few movies, she applied to college. She joined the student body at Harvard, but not before filming a small role for the movie American Pie (1999). At Harvard, Riegel developed a love of politics, which led her to an internship at the White House under President Clinton at the end of her sophomore year. That same summer, she landed the role of Bianca on AMC. She took a break from Harvard (although she does want to finish her degree someday), and packed her bags for Pine Valley.

This role gave Riegel not only the daunting task of acting as the daughter of megastar Susan Lucci (Erica), but also the responsibility of portraying the first gay contract character on an American soap. Riegel is personally attached to this storyline, as her older sister Tatiana is a lesbian. Receiving letters from gay fans who have found strength in Bianca's story is heartwarming, says Riegel. "I'm very touched by it," she notes. "It's amazing to me that we can actually reach out to people in that way."

In 2005, after Bianca was reunited with her daughter, Miranda, Riegel left AMC to move to Los Angeles and pursue other acting ventures. After three brief returns to AMC that May and December and May 2006, Riegel returned as a contract player in October 2006.

Riegel's Bianca embarked on a new journey, befriending Zarf/Zoe, AMC's transgender character — thereby entering yet another groundbreaking storyline. Bianca and Zoe left Pine Valley together in the spring of 2007. Even though she was taping in New York, Riegel split her time by also living in Los Angeles.

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