Eden Riegel

Eden Sonja Jane Riegel (born January 1, 1981) is an American actress and dialogue director. She portrayed Bianca Montgomery in the daytime drama All My Children, and propelled the character into a gay icon, as well as a popular figure within the medium.[1][2] Nominated previously on multiple occasions, she received a Daytime Emmy Award for the role in 2005.[3]

Eden Riegel
Riegel at the 2010 Daytime Emmy Awards.
Born	(1981-01-01) January 1, 1981 Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation	Actress, voice artist, voice director
Years active	1992–present
Spouse(s)	Andrew Miller ​ ( m. 2007)
Children	2
Family	Tatiana Riegel (older half sister) Sam Riegel (older brother)

In addition to her work on All My Children, Riegel has guest starred in several prime time shows, as well as film, and starred as character "Eden" in the web series Imaginary Bitches. She assumed the role of Heather Stevens on The Young and the Restless from April 2010 to November 2011.[4]

She is the voice director for Disney's animated TV series Amphibia and The Owl House.

Early life

Born to Kurt and Lenore Riegel on New Year's Day 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 voicework for animated TV shows like Stitch! and Bleach. 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]

Eden and her brother, Sam Riegel, both voiced characters in the 2012 Vita port of Persona 4 Golden, voicing the characters of Marie and Teddie, respectively.

In 2008, Riegel starred 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 Eden'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

Eden's older brother, Sam, is a voice actor and voice director 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. Eden 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 actor Andrew Miller, who had been a high school classmate of Cameron Mathison's (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 on Twitter that she was expecting her second child, a boy.[30][31] Her second son, Henry Isaac Miller, was born on December 20, 2013.

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

Films

List of live-action acting performances in films

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
1992	Home Alone 2: Lost in New York	Choir Member	Uncredited role
1996	Duo	Joan
1999	American Pie	Sarah
2009	Year One	Lilith

List of voice performances in films

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
1993	Peppermint Rose	Unknown	Voice role Special
	Richard Scarry's Best Busy People Video Ever!	Unknown	Voice role Released straight-to-video
	Richard Scarry's Best Learning Songs Video Ever!	Unknown	Voice role Released straight-to-video
1994	Richard Scarry's Best Silly Stories and Songs Video Ever	Unknown	Voice role Released straight-to-video
	Richard Scarry's Best Sing Along Mother Goose Video Ever	Unknown	Voice role Released straight-to-video
1998	The Prince of Egypt	Young Miriam	Voice role	[33]
2003	Azumi	Azumi	Voice role English dub
2006	Azumi 2: Death or Love	Azumi	Voice role English dub
2013	Naruto Shippuden the Movie: The Lost Tower	Queen Sara, Sara's Daughter	Voice role English dub
2015	Tiger & Bunny: The Rising	Kaede Kaburagi	Voice role English dub	[34]
	The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar	Kiara	Voice role Television film
2017	The Lion Guard: The Rise of Scar	Kiara	Voice role Television film
2018	Sailor Moon S: The Movie	Himeko Nayotake	Voice role English dub

Television

List of live-action acting performances on television and related media

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
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: July 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 - July 15, 2013)
2004	American Dreams	Protestor	Episode: Shoot the Moon
2004–05	One Life to Live	Bianca Montgomery	3 episodes
2008	Imaginary Bitches	Eden	Web series 13 episodes
2010	Castle	Rachel Goldstein	Episode: Punked
2010–11	The Young and the Restless	Heather Stevens	April 20, 2010 – November 4, 2011
2012	NCIS	Meredith Bilson	Episode: The Good Son
2014	Hawaii Five-0	FBI Analyst Katie Halinan	Episode: Pe'epe'e Kanaka
	Criminal Minds	Shelley Hicks	Episode: A Thousand Suns
2015	Rizzoli & Isles	Florence Reynolds	Episode: In Plain View
2016	NCIS: Los Angeles	Dr. Iris Miller	Episode: Crazy Train
2017	One Day at a Time	Lucy	Episode: Quinces
2018	A.P. Bio	Katie	Episode: Dating Toledoans

List of voice performances in television and direct-to-video

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
2001	Shingu: Secret of the Stellar Wars	Harumi Mineo, Hikaru	English dub as Jane Lingo
2002	Samurai Deeper Kyo	Sakuya	English dub as Sonja Lingo/Eden Regal
2004	DearS	B-ko	English dub as Jane Lingo
2009–2013	Stitch!	Yuna	English dub
2010–11	Bleach	Rurichiyō Kasumiōji	English dub
2011	Marvel Anime: Iron Man	Nanami Ota	English dub
2012–13	Tiger & Bunny	Kaede Kaburagi	English dub	[35]
2015	Sailor Moon R	Kōan	English dub Viz dub; as Claudia Lenz	[36]
	Fresh Beat Band of Spies	Spooky Spooks	Episode: "Ghost of Rock" as Eden Riegel Miller	[37]
2016–present	The Lion Guard	Kiara	10 episodes	[38][39]
2016	Sailor Moon Crystal	Kōan	Episode: "Infiltration -Sailor Mars-" English dub as Claudia Lenz	[36]
2019–present	Amphibia	Additional voices	dialogue director
2020	The Owl House	Boscha	dialogue director

Video games

List of performances in video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Source
2008	Tales of Vesperia	Estellise Sidos Heurassein
2009	Star Ocean: Second Evolution	Rena Lanford	as Claudia Lenz
	Final Fantasy XIII	Additional Voices		[40]
	Dead or Alive Paradise	Hitomi[41]	Shared with Hynden Walch
	Naruto Shippuden: Dragon Blade Chronicles	Akari Tatsuhiro	English dub
2011	Dead or Alive: Dimensions	Hitomi
2012	Call of Duty: Black Ops II	Josefina Menendez, Jane McKnight
	Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City	Sherry Birkin
	Resident Evil 6	Sherry Birkin
	Persona 4 Golden	Marie		[33]
2013	Fire Emblem: Awakening	Sumia		[33]
	Shin Megami Tensei IV	Isabeau		[33]
	Dragon's Crown	Elf
	Saints Row IV	Jane Austen	Serves as narrator for the game
2014	Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Remaster	Chuami	Final Fantasy X -Will- Audio Drama
	Guilty Gear Xrd	May
2015	Saints Row: Gat out of Hell	Jane Austen, Demons
	Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven	Charlotte	as Claudia Lenz
	Xenoblade Chronicles X	Ryyz
2016	Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness	Miki Sauvester
	Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma	Diana
	Exist Archive: The Other Side of the Sky	Mayura Tsukishiro
	World of Final Fantasy	Hauynn, Masked Woman
	Final Fantasy XV	Iris Amicitia		[42]
	Persona 5	Hifumi Togo
2017	Nier: Automata	Devola / Popola	as Claudia Lenz
	The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II	Duvalie the Swift
	Fire Emblem Heroes	Genny, Kana (female)	as Claudia Lenz
2018	Monster Hunter: World	The Handler
2019	Fire Emblem: Three Houses	Fleche	Credited as Eden Miller	[33]
	Catherine	Anna Rosmont		[33]
	Monster Hunter: World - Iceborne	The Handler
	Persona 5 Royal	Hifumi Togo

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.[43] Andrew Miller received an Official Honoree Selection for Best Writing.[44] Riegel was announced on May 5, 2009 as the winner of the Best Individual Performance People's Voice Award.[45] Her acceptance speech, which was limited to five words, was: "I'm sleeping with the director."

See also

• Bianca Montgomery and Maggie Stone
• Lena Kundera and Bianca Montgomery
• Reese Williams and Bianca Montgomery
• Supercouple

References

1. Yimm, Lisa (April 2004). "Olga Sosnovska, AMC's Unlikely Lesbian Icon". AfterEllen.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved April 7, 2008.
2. Hudson, Zack (July 19, 2006). "All my gay children: Soap operas continue inclusive, if incidental use of gay characters". Washington Blade. Archived from the original on June 3, 2008. Retrieved November 21, 2007.
3. "About the Actors: Eden Riegel". soapcentral.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2007.
4. Archived December 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
5. "Here with Eden". theatermania.com. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2007.
6. "Eden Riegel. Bianca Montgomery on All My Children". wchstv.com. Archived from the original on June 17, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2007.
7. C. Lee Harrington (2003). Homosexuality on All My Children: transforming the daytime landscape. Blackwell Publishing.
8. Warn, Sarah. "All My Children: A Lesbian Kiss to Build a Dream On?". AfterEllen.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2007. Retrieved November 24, 2007.
9. "Soap Opera to Showcase First Lesbian Kiss". firstcoastnews.com. Archived from the original on July 30, 2012. Retrieved November 24, 2007.
10. "TV's 20 Best Same-Sex Kisses". TV Guide. February 14, 2005. Retrieved December 4, 2007.
11. "Julianne Moore, Cherry Jones, Sex and the City, People en Español, Honored at 15th Annual GLAAD Media Awards Presented by ABSOLUT VODKA in New York". glaad.org. April 13, 2004. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved July 2, 2007.
12. "Women We Love: The Ladies of June '06". Lesbianation.com. Archived from the original on December 31, 2007.
13. Warn, Sarah (February 27, 2009). ""All My Children" Lesbian Wedding Storyline Makes History — and Mistakes". AfterEllen.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
14. "Breaking News: Soap's first lesbian wedding". CNN. February 16, 2009. Retrieved February 16, 2009.
15. Murray, Jesse (September 18, 2008). ""All My Children" Welcomes Bianca and Tamara Braun!". SOAPnet.com. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved September 19, 2008.
16. "Eden Riegel returning to AMC". Soap Central. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
17. "Riegel prepares to flee Pine Valley - for now | All My Children @". Soapcentral.com. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
18. Weseman, Lisa. "More HUGE returns for All My Children's 40th - soapnet.com". Sn.soapnet.go.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
19. Branco, Nelson (August 23, 2007). "The plot to save 'All My Children': New headwriters Barbara Esensten and James Harmon Brown dish on recasting Babe, Dixie's death, and creating a diverse canvas". TV Guide. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2007.
20. Levinsky, Mara (March 30, 2010). "Wham, BAM!". Soap Opera Digest. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
21. Dan J Kroll & Liz Masters (March 5, 2010). "Riegel didn't want to play Bianca, recast coming". Soap Opera Central. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
22. "UPDATE: Eden Riegel Set For Guest Arc On 'All My Children's Online Revival, Julia Barr Joins Cast". Deadline Hollywood. The Deadline Team. February 22, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
23. "movieweb.com". movieweb.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
24. "Catching up with Andrew Miller, Creator of Hit-Series 'Imaginary Bitches'". Tubefilter News. July 31, 2008. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2007.
25. "Eden Riegel's new role". Soaps.com. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
26. "Young and the Restless' Eden Riegel Headed to Castle". TVGuide.com. Retrieved August 16, 2010.
27. Behrens, Web (January 22, 2002). "Sister act: All My Children's Eden Riegel got expert advice on playing a lesbian—from her out sister, Tatiana - Television - Brief Article". The Advocate. Archived from the original on January 19, 2005. Retrieved July 14, 2007.
28. "Eden Riegel Engaged". Soaps.com. Archived from the original on January 12, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
29. Schaffer, Jenny (May 22, 2010). "Eden Riegel Welcomes First Child: Jack Oscar!". Celebrity Baby Scoop. Archived from the original on May 25, 2011. Retrieved May 29, 2011.
30. Fairman, Michael (July 10, 2013). "All My Children's Eden Riegel Announces She Is Pregnant!". MichaelFairmanSoaps.com. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
31. "It'll Be (Another) Boy For AMC'S Eden Riegel". Soap Opera Digest. July 10, 2013.
32. Branco, Nelson (November 5, 2008). "Queen Elizabeth". TV Guide. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
33. "Eden Riegel (81 Character Images)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved April 8, 2020. A green check mark indicates that the role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of the title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its closing credits and/or other reliable sources of information.
34. "Tiger & Bunny The Movie: The Rising 'New Driver' English Dub Clip Streamed". February 22, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
35. "Tiger & Bunny English Dub Main Cast List". Facebook. August 15, 2012. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
36. "Viz Media Reveals More English Dub Cast for Sailor Moon R Anime". April 3, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
37. "Ghost of Rock". Fresh Beat Band of Spies. Season 1. Episode 17. October 19, 2015. Nickelodeon.
38. Petski, Denise (August 12, 2015). "Rob Lowe & Gabrielle Union Among Voice Cast For Disney Channel's 'The Lion Guard' Movie". Deadline.com.
39. Stanhope, Kate (August 12, 2015). "'Lion King' Sequel Series Taps Rob Lowe and Gabrielle Union for Voice Cast". The Hollywood Reporter.
40. Square Enix. Final Fantasy XIII. Scene: Closing credits, 2:15 minutes in, Cocoon Inhabitants, Additional Voices.
41. "Dead or Alive" (PDF). Deadoralivegame.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2013. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
42. Gamer's Little Playground (November 28, 2016). "Final Fantasy XV Full Credits + After Credits". Retrieved March 23, 2018 – via YouTube.
43. "Animation Awards". Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
44. "Best Writing Awards". Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
45. "Best Individual Performance". Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved January 4, 2014.

External links

• Eden Riegel on IMDb
• Eden Riegel at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Official website
• Soap Opera Central's article about Eden Riegel's return to All My Children in May