Soap Opera Veteran Eden Riegel Celebrates Her Birthday

She’s been celebrated the world over as a gay icon thanks to her landmark portrayal of Bianca Montgomery on All My Children, and now actress Eden Riegel is recognizing a very special milestone.

Happy Birthday, Eden Riegel

And that’s because she was born on January 1, 1981, in Washington, D.C., which means that this much-beloved star is turning 41 years old today! Though she won the role of Cosette in a production of Les Misérables and appeared in a number of other theatrical works in her youth, Riegel didn’t intend to become an actress.

Even after making her film debut with a cameo in the comedy Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, appearing in series such as New York Undercover (1995; 1997), Law & Order (1997), and As the World Turns (1998), and voicing animated characters like Young Miriam in The Prince of Egypt (1998), Riegel still dreamed of becoming a lawyer.

However, she retired that ambition when she was offered the chance to assume the role of Bianca Montgomery on the ABC soap opera All My Children. During her initial tenure, Riegel’s character would make TV history by coming out as a lesbian and living her life as a proud gay woman.

Bianca would again enter the history books when she kissed her then-girlfriend, Lena Kundera (Olga Sonsnovska). Afterward, Bianca would pledge her troth to Reese Williams (Tamara Braun) in daytime’s first same-sex wedding.

In total, Riegel would spend 11 years at AMC, including its run as a online exclusive series. And for her work, she would receive four Daytime Emmy Award nominations and snag one win.

Riegel’s other acting credits include guest stints on American Dreams (2004), Castle (2010), NCIS (2012), Hawaii Five-O (2014), and AP Bio (2018), and starring roles in the web series Imaginary Bitches (2008), and The Young and the Restless where she played Heather Stevens (2010-2011).

Riegel has been married to Andrew Miller, a fellow actor (plus writer and director) since September 30, 2007. Together, the couple has welcomed two sons: Jack Oscar (May 21, 2011) and Henry Isaac (born December 20, 2013).

Soap Hub would like to wish Eden Riegel a very happy birthday, and you can too by clicking on the Twitter link below.