Birthday:
1 January 1981, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Height:
5' 6" (1.68 m)
Biography
Eden Sonja Jane Riegel was born on January 1, 1981 in
Washington D.C. Her parents are Kurt and Lenore and her older siblings
are Tatiana S. Riegel and Sam Riegel. She grew up outside of the
Washington D.C. area in a Virginia suburb. As a child, she first got the
urge to perform while watching her brother perform dinner theater.
Bitten by the performing bug, Eden soon got her chance to perform when
she also started performing in dinner theater for $10 a week. Her big
break to perform on stage came when she landed the part of "Cosette" in
"Les Miserables". This led to other Broadway and off-Broadway roles in
The Will Rogers Follies, etc. Eden also had movie roles in American Pie
(1999), The Prince of Egypt (1998) and Henry Hill (1999). She has
guest-starred in many television series. As well as being an actress,
she is also an accomplished vocalist who was a member of the popular and
well known Broadway Kids. She also sang back up vocals for Jewel
Kilcher, Michael Jackson and performed on some soundtracks, etc.
Eden
is also very intelligent, studious, and cared about her schooling. She
attended the New York's Professional Children's School, then prestigious
Harvard University and was going to become a lawyer. However, she took a
leave of absence for an exciting role. Her biggest break came when she
was cast as "Bianca Christine Montgomery" on "All My Children" (1970).
The role was a break out role because not only is Bianca "Erica Kane"'s
daughter, but she is also a lesbian. Bianca Montgomery is the first main
character on an American soap who is openly gay. Her earnest, poignant,
sparkling, heartfelt, and charismatic portrayal of Bianca helped make
the character become one of "All My Children" (1970)'s most beloved
heroines in its history. Eden left the role of Bianca Montgomery in
February of 2005. She has moved to Los Angeles and wants to explore
other avenues in her career such as prime time, movies, etc
Born to Kurt and Lenore Riegel in Washington, D.C., 1981, Riegel was raised in a Virginia suburb and became interested in acting while watching her brother, Sam, perform dinner theater, which she later joined in for $10 a week.[5] Her big break came when she won the role of Cosette in Les Misérables, leading to other roles on and off-Broadway. She graduated from the Professional Children's School and attended Harvard University, with ambitions to become a lawyer, but later left the institution.[5] In 2000, she served as an intern at the White House for the summer.[3][6]
Career
All My Children
From July 2000 to February 2005, Riegel portrayed the role of Bianca Montgomery on the American ABC soap opera All My Children. During the 2004-2005 baby switch storyline, when Bianca's daughter is kidnapped and switched with the son of Babe Carey Chandler (Alexa Havins), Riegel also portrayed Bianca on fellow ABC soap opera One Life to Live. In December 2000, Riegel's character "comes out" to her mother, Erica Kane (Susan Lucci), becoming the only lesbian on a daytime soap opera at that time.[7] In 2003, the kiss between Bianca and character Lena Kundera (Olga Sosnovska) made history when it became the first lesbian kiss to appear on American daytime television.[8][9] In 2005, with Lena out of the picture, Bianca shares a kiss with close friend and confidante Maggie Stone (Elizabeth Hendrickson), making TV Guide's list of best same-sex kisses on television.[10] Riegel's character was awarded the first Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation award for "Favorite OUT Image of the Year" in 2004.[11]
Lesbianation.com, self-proclaimed as the leading online community for
lesbians, voted Eden Riegel as Number 7 on their top ten list of Women We Love: The Ladies of June '06, stating, "We were swamped with requests to add All My Children hottie Eden Riegel to our list this month — and here she is!"[12]
Riegel was nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series (2001, 2002, 2004) before finally winning the award in 2005.[3] She won two Soap Opera Digest Awards in 2001 for Outstanding Female Newcomer, and in 2005 for Outstanding Younger Lead Actress.[3] Later that year, Riegel, along with best friend and co-star Elizabeth Hendrickson, exited All My Children, with their last show airing on February 24, 2005. Riegel then moved to Los Angeles, California
to pursue other acting ventures. She made a brief return to the soap
opera when her television mother (Erica) marries in May 2005, and
returned for an extended stay from December 16, 2005 to January 10,
2006. Bianca's daughter, Miranda,
was aged accordingly. Riegel returned again for a short visit from May
24, 2006 until mid-June, in a storyline connected with Bianca's sister Kendall's (Alicia Minshew) pregnancy and coma. In August 2006, Riegel's return to All My Children
as a contract player was announced. The actress taped her first scenes
on September 12, which first aired on October 11. Riegel commuted back
and forth between her home and family in Los Angeles and New York, where
All My Children tapes. In 2007, she parted ways with the show
once again, but reappeared in the episode dated August 14, 2007, when
Bianca phones in to check on Kendall from Paris, and in December for a Christmas visit.
In 2008, Riegel agreed to return to All My Children with Tamara Braun.
Braun came on as Reese Williams, Bianca's new lover/girlfriend and
later wife. Bianca first aired on October 17, 2008. Reese followed on
October 30, 2008. Riegel's return was partly to minimize the effect of
Alicia Minshew's absence on the show while Minshew took a two-month
hiatus to get married. Reese and Bianca's union made history when it
resulted in the first legal same-sex marriage in American daytime television.[13][14] Riegel left the show again in February 2009, but also confirmed in an interview with Soap Opera Digest that she would be returning in spring 2009 to conclude the Reese and Bianca story.[15][16][17]
In 2010, Riegel returned for a short-term stint for All My Children's 40th anniversary.[18] The character had been cited as too iconic to recast,[19] but, in 2010, Riegel decided to permanently exit the role, and plans to recast were subsequently confirmed.[20][21] However, on February 22, 2013, it was announced that Riegel will be reprising her role as Bianca in guest-arc on the Prospect Park's continuation of All My Children.[22]
Other projects
Prior to joining All My Children, Riegel had a small role on the daytime drama As the World Turns as an AIDS patient, appeared in Law & Order and portrayed a minor character in the feature film American Pie.[3][6] She sang and did voice acting work in the film The Prince of Egypt. She has also done some voice acting for animated TV shows like Stitch! and Bleach.[citation needed] While portraying Bianca, she remained active in other acting avenues, doing a small guest role on American Dreams and appearing in the New York play The Sex Lives of Superheroes.
In 2008, Riegel joined the cast of Year One, a Harold Ramis film that stars Jack Black and Michael Cera. The film is a comedy about two men wandering through civilization during Biblical times, and was released in June 2009.[23]
Riegel is currently starring in the web series Imaginary Bitches,
portraying the role of "Eden", a single girl who deals with the lonely
reality that her best friends are all in serious relationships by
creating some imaginary friends...who turn out to be total bitches. The
show is edited by Riegel's half-sister Tatiana S. Riegel, written by brother Sam Riegel, and was created by Andrew Miller.[24] In 2010, Riegel took over the role of Heather Stevens on The Young and the Restless.[25] She also guest-starred on ABC's Castle, portraying the distraught sister of a man who is killed in the episode.[26]
Personal life
Riegel's older brother, Sam, is a voice actor in various animated shows and video games, and her half-sister, Tatiana
(known as "Tanya" to friends and family), is an Oscar-nominated film
editor for various television shows and films. Riegel discussed the
portrayal of Bianca with Tatiana, who is a lesbian, and with the
producers of All My Children, in order to ensure that the character was not a stereotype.[27]
In March 2007, Riegel became engaged to Andrew Miller, who had been a high school classmate of Cameron Mathison (Ryan Lavery on All My Children).[28] Miller and Riegel married on September 30, 2007 and their first son, Jack Oscar Miller, was born on May 21, 2011.[29] In June 2013, Riegel announced through Twitter that she is expecting her second child, a boy.[30][31]
Riegel is a fan of the NHL team the Toronto Maple Leafs, and is a close friend of actresses Rebecca Budig, Alicia Minshew and Elizabeth Hendrickson.[32]
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
| 1992 | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | Choir Member | Uncredited Role |
| 1993 | Richard Scarry's Best Learning Songs Video Ever! | Voice Role Released Straight-to-Video |
|
| Richard Scarry's Best Busy People Video Ever! | Voice Role Released Straight-to-Video |
||
| 1994 | The Frog King | Princess | Sundance Film Festival selection |
| 1996 | Duo | Joan | |
| 1998 | The Prince of Egypt | Young Miriam | Voice Role |
| 1999 | American Pie | Sarah | |
| Henry Hill | Nicole Hill | ||
| 2001 | Semmelweis | Elisabeth | Short film |
| 2004 | Hi no Tori | Chihiro/Robita | Voice Role |
| 2009 | Year One | Lilith | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1995, 1997 | New York Undercover | Meghan Cooper | Episode: Digital Underground Episode: The Solomon Papers |
| 1997 | Law & Order | Natalie | Episode: Mad Dog |
| 2000–2010, 2013— | All My Children | Bianca Montgomery | (Role from: 2000 - February 2005; May 2005; December 2005 - January 2006; May 2006; October 2006 - April 2007; August 2007; December 2007; October 17, 2008 - February 24, 2009; April 24, 2009 - April 29, 2009; January 5, 2010; April 29, 2013—) |
| 2004 | American Dreams | Protestor | Episode: Shoot the Moon |
| 2004, 2005 | One Life to Live | Bianca Montgomery | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Imaginary Bitches | Eden | Web series 13 episodes |
| Cooking to Get Lucky | Host | Web series 5 episodes |
|
| 2010 | Stitch! | Yuna | Anime, English dub |
| Bleach | Rurichiyō Kasumiōji | Voice, English dub | |
| Castle | Rachel Goldstein | Episode: Punked | |
| 2010–2011 | The Young and the Restless | Heather Stevens | April 2010 – November 2011 |
| 2011 | Marvel Anime: Iron Man | Nanami Ota | Voice, English dub |
| 2012 | NCIS | Meredith Bilson | Episode: The Good Son |
| Video Games | |||
| Year | Game | Role | Notes |
| 2010 | Final Fantasy XIII | Additional Voices | English version |
| Dead or Alive Paradise | Hitomi [33] | English version, shared with Hynden Walch | |
| Naruto Shippuden: Dragon Blade Chronicles | Akari Tatsuhiro | English version | |
| 2011 | Dead or Alive: Dimensions | Hitomi | English version |
| 2012 | Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City | Sherry Birkin | English version |
| Dead or Alive 5 | Hitomi | English version | |
| Resident Evil 6 | Sherry Birkin | English version | |
| Persona 4 Golden | Marie | English version | |
| 2013 | Shin Megami Tensei IV | Isabeau | English version |
| Dragon's Crown | Elf | English Version | |
Awards and nominations
| Awards won | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Award | ||
| 2005 | Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series for All My Children[3] | ||
| 2005 | Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Younger Lead Actress for All My Children[3] | ||
| 2004 | GLAAD Media Award Favorite OUT Image of the Year Award for All My Children[11] | ||
| 2001 | Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Female Newcomer for All My Children[3] | ||
| Nominated | |||
| Year | Award | ||
| 2004 | Daytime Emmy Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series for All My Children[3] | ||
| 2002 | Daytime Emmy Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series for All My Children[3] | ||
| 2001 | Daytime Emmy Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series for All My Children[3] | ||
On April 14, 2009, the 13th Annual Webby Award Nominations were announced. Riegel was nominated for her work on Imaginary Bitches in the Best Individual Performance category.[34] Andrew Miller received an Official Honoree Selection for Best Writing.[35] Eden Riegel was announced on May 5, 2009 as the winner of the Best Individual Performance People's Voice Award.[36] Her acceptance speech, which was limited to five words, was: "I'm sleeping with the director."
