Bianca Montgomery
Encyclopedia
Bianca Christine Montgomery is a fictional character
from the American
daytime drama All My Children
. In June 2010, Christina Bennett Lind replaced Eden Riegel
, who portrayed the role from July 2000 to January 2010. Until Riegel assumed the role, the character was portrayed solely by child actresses
: Lacey Chabert
, Nathalie Paulding
, Gina Gallagher, and Caroline Wilde. Jessica Leigh Falborn portrayed infant Bianca. In early January 2010, Riegel decided to permanently exit the role, and plans to recast were confirmed.
The character is scripted as the daughter of Erica Kane
and the late Travis Montgomery
, born onscreen on February 8, 1988. Her birthday was revised to February 9, 1984 on January 31, 2002 by the show's producers, and her age was stated as 16 in 2000. The middle name given to the character is Christine, after her paternal aunt, Christine Montgomery, and she is portrayed as sweet-natured and well-loved in the fictional community of Pine Valley
. Shown to suffer from Reye's syndrome
in infancy, as well as Anorexia nervosa
later in life, she overcomes both with the significant aid of her family.
Outside of fiction, Bianca has emerged as a gay icon
within the LGBT
community. Newspapers such as The New York Times
cite her as the first lead character on a major daytime drama to be a lesbian
, and The Advocate
calls her "the
most famous gay soap role of all time". She has been the subject and study of various academic works, said to have inspired soap opera writers to begin with the scripting of sexual identities of tortured teen characters, and is a show heroine. Under Riegel's portrayal, her popularity has been cited as groundbreaking.
, Eden Riegel
nearly gave up on her pursuit of a successful acting career. She stated that she had seen a "number of talented people" who were struggling, and that she started to doubt whether she would ever have the success that she wanted. She decided that it was time to major in social
and political theory, go to law school
, and become a lawyer
. This changed while she attended Harvard. While there, she received "a call from a casting director who thought that the five-foot-six beauty should audition to become Erica Kane’s daughter". Later, the character would eventually be revealed to be a lesbian
. Producers did not tell Riegel she would be portraying a lesbian until after she won the role. "I was surprised," she said.
All My Children creator Agnes Nixon
cites that scripting Bianca as a lesbian was in part inspired by Chastity Bono
's memoir Family Outing. Nixon explained the feelings she wanted expressed with the character's mother, Erica
. She wanted to showcase the thought process and actions "most parents" have upon finding out that their child is gay
: "I think the right word for Erica's reaction is denial," said Nixon. "I read Family Outing by Chastity Bono. Cher
had loads of friends who were gay, but she wasn't able to deal with [Chastity's being gay]. In this prejudicial society in which we live, the first reaction from a parent usually is, 'What did I do wrong?'"
Nixon, well-known for her socially relevant storylines, said that the makings for the Bianca story began in 1947; a college housemate "came out
" to Nixon when Nixon was the same age Riegel had been in 2000. Nixon acknowledged that their original lesbian story in 1983, which lasted two months, did not work out as well as she had hoped and she felt it needed perfecting. "Now, in a soap, if you want to do a story about a social issue seriously, the character has to be really well integrated. Bianca's story is the result of that — with growth and maturity," she stated.
Riegel discussed Bianca's storyline with her sister, Tatiana
. Tatiana, who is a lesbian and eighteen years Riegel's senior, became one of the primary people Riegel wanted to impress with the storyline. With Tatiana living in Los Angeles
, where she works as a film editor and Riegel having lived on the East Coast
most of her early life, the sisters did not grow up together but maintained a close relationship. Riegel took the role as an opportunity to bond with Tatiana over a character project, and said Tatiana was one of the people she was most concerned about in portraying Bianca's story.
At the time of Bianca's character development upon Riegel taking over the role, there were strict instructions from the show's writers and producers not to reveal Bianca as gay to anyone outside the show (as the storyline had not played out on television screens yet). Despite this, Riegel informed Tatiana two months before the storyline finally began. The revelation was easily envisioned by the sisters as a storyline from a soap opera due to Riegel having told Tatiana Bianca's secret on the day of their father's third wedding. Tatiana said that Riegel was "very excited" about informing her of Bianca's sexual orientation and that she was happy for her sister. "I just thought it was a kick that she would be playing a lesbian — specifically, Erica Kane's daughter!" said Tatiana.
Tatiana did have her concerns about the storyline. She did not want the show to do a gay stereotype
. Riegel voiced the same concerns earlier on about the character; she clarified that she asked the show's writers and producers to make the character three-dimensional and not "so heavily centered" on the character's sexual orientation. Having grown up close to an out lesbian sister, who "came out" in her early 20s, Riegel was familiar with how Bianca should be if stereotypes were to be avoided. At the time of Tatiana's "coming-out" process, Riegel and brother Sam
were children. Tatiana relayed that being gay was not an issue and that she could not remember having had a conversation with them about it at that age. By the time Riegel and Sam were old enough to know what being gay meant, they had grown to love Tatiana's girlfriend and the family was closer than before. Riegel having acquired the role of Bianca led her and Tatiana to discuss certain specifics of the character. Riegel's mindset was centered on what it must have been like for Tatiana to grow up as gay. She said that she had never heard Tatiana's whole coming-out story before and that it was nice to talk about.
A year and a half after Bianca's "coming out" as a lesbian, Riegel and Tatiana felt that the show had done "a great job" in telling the story of a gay woman and her struggles.
magazine interview, Julie Hanan Carruthers
, executive producer
of the show, spoke of Bianca's character development. She gave insight into the "heart" of the story. "It was so successful," she said. "We did not tell a story about a lesbian. We told a story about a young girl coming out and her life around it. That was a big lesson to all of us here. It's really all about the story. If you can make people care on a human level, it's not sexual preference. It's about the human experience."
The writers characterized Bianca's personality as kind-hearted but intolerant of nonsense. These traits were given to reflect the personalities of her parents and her late grandmother (Mona). Additionally, other characters in Bianca's family have been written as protective.
Megan McTavish
, the show's head writer
at the time, said she was "most astonished that fans elevated Bianca into one of the serial's 'tent poles' — soap parlance for characters who hold enormous sway with viewers". McTavish explained that if a character is nice to Bianca, the audience tends to like that character, and if he is mean to Bianca, the audience knows he is a bad guy. "It's stunning," she cited. "The lesbian girl became the moral tent pole of our show."
In a 2007 interview with TV Guide
, former head writers of the series, James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten
, stated that since Riegel's portrayal, the character is simply too iconic to ever recast. However, in 2010, Riegel decided to permanently exit the role, and plans to recast were subsequently confirmed. TV Guides Nelson Branco said, "Recasting a superstar is a very risky move, but [All My Children] is clearly determined to test fate." In a March 30, 2010 interview with Soap Opera Digest
, Riegel explained why she decided to move on from the character:
On May 13, 2010, it was reported that All My Children had found a recast for the character, after a "long and careful" search. Actress Christina Bennett Lind, cited as having an "astonishing" resemblance to Riegel, was cast. "[Lind] oozes goodness and we really needed that for Bianca. [Lind] brought an integrity and honest innocence to the role that was very tough to match," stated Carruthers. "We turned the earth [upside down] going through the candidates. When [Lind] came in to read for the part, she was Bianca. I think it’ll be a very easy transition for the audience."
Although Riegel said it would be "very painful" to watch someone else portray Bianca, and that she would not want to watch, she later tweeted
, "[All My Children] gets a new Bianca and she's super pretty! And, of course, by that I mean she looks like me. I wish her the very best of luck, of course, and will be cheering her on along with the rest of the [All My Children] fans." Lind regarded this as a compliment, and was appreciative of the support.
Lind said of assuming the role, "The audition for Bianca felt like an amusement park ride. It was such a thrill to go to an audition by plane rather than subway! I can only hope I do half of what [Riegel] did with the part. She played it with amazing grace and dignity. Now I need to breathe my own life into it." Regarding Bianca being the "moral center of Pine Valley" and the pressure of being a recast, Lind said she did feel pressure in the beginning. "I did look at some of [Riegel's] footage online to prep for it. She, for obvious reasons, was so beautiful, real, and honest in her portrayal of Bianca." Lind stated that it ultimately came down to her not wanting to mimic Riegel:
Lind said there was no trepidation in taking on a gay role, and that she is "really proud" to portray Bianca. "I am surprised that the gay community is still struggling and fighting so many years later," she said. "They are still fighting for basic human rights. I am excited to be a part of that fight." Regarding most of Pine Valley being okay with Bianca being gay, Lind stated that she is "a little curious" to see some "sort of real-life conflict arrive and see that some people in her small town do not accept her sexuality". Lind clarified, " In a sense, that is pretty relevant and controversial and true. Because Pine Valley is the exception, it’s a beautiful utopia right now. I wouldn’t mind attacking those issues that are happening in small towns right now."
and Travis Montgomery
. Erica and Travis later wed, but the marriage soon collapses after Travis helps stage a fake kidnapping of Bianca in order to prevent Adam Chandler
from taking over his company. Two years later, as Bianca is recovering from Reye's Syndrome
, Erica and Travis remarry for their daughter's sake. However, by that time Erica is having a secret affair with Travis' brother Jackson, and as soon as Bianca catches them kissing, she sets her "Uncle Jack" doll on fire and ends up burning the house down. After that incident, Travis divorces Erica, wins full custody of Bianca, moves to Seattle, and remarries his ex-wife, Barbara
.
Although Bianca is living with her father, she visits her mother from time to time. When Kendall Hart
first comes into town in 1993, Bianca becomes a target of her older half-sister's jealousy. Kendall is the product of a traumatizing rape by movie actor Richard Fields on the night of Erica's 14th birthday, and therefore was given up for adoption, while Bianca (in Kendall's view) holds the privileged life of a celebrity's child. Kendall locks Bianca in the Wildwind
crypt, and later endangers her younger sister when she leaves Bianca alone with Richard Fields (although Bianca is eventually saved from being molested by Kendall's birth father).
In 1994, Bianca comes to Pine Valley again following the death of Mona Kane Tyler, so overwhelmed by her loss and furious that she did not get to spend much time with her grandmother. Later, Bianca is kidnapped by Dr. Jonathan Kinder and held her for ransom. Kinder is Erica's doctor and has her hooked on painkillers. In self defense, Bianca pushes Kinder down his stairs. Erica thinks he is dead, and so, with help from Janet Green and Skye Chandler, they bury Kinder but Kinder is very much alive.
After Erica is arrested in 1997 for kidnapping Madelyn Grey, the daughter of Edmund Grey
and Maria Grey, Bianca runs away from Travis and Barbara to be with her mother. Travis and Barbara then arrive to take Bianca home, but after Travis tells them that Erica would never see Bianca again, Bianca faints and is rushed to the hospital. Bianca is diagnosed with anorexia nervosa
and by 1998 ends up hospitalized with a feeding tube. She then goes to a New England
rehabilitation center to recover.
Sixteen-year-old Bianca (her birth date now revised by the series) returns home in 2000, stunning her mother, Erica, by confessing that she is in a lesbian relationship with a girl named Sarah. Erica is unable to accept this, but Bianca does find support from Leo du Pres
, who often counsels her on life matters. This earns her some jealousy from Greenlee Smythe
, who tauntingly calls her LesBianca, but she and Bianca later become friends. This stemmed from Greenlee taking Bianca to see her daughter's supposed memorial, and she gave her a necklace that Leo had given her, and she passed on to her.
Sarah's family also disapproves, and to appease them she gets engaged to a man, despite still loving Bianca. Bianca's second girlfriend, Frankie Stone
, comes to Pine Valley as part of her aunt Vanessa Cortlandt's ploy to distract Bianca. Frankie develops true feelings for Bianca, but is then murdered by one of Vanessa's henchmen. Soon after, Frankie's identical twin sister, Maggie
, arrives and becomes friends with Bianca, often defending her when she is bullied by homophobic
classmates. Despite Maggie professing to being heterosexual, she shows a romantic interest in Bianca, which is reciprocated; however, their relationship does not progress past friendship and Bianca begins dating another woman, Polish
-born Lena Kundera. Bianca works with Lena at Erica's company, Enchantment Cosmetics. They fall in love, and share a chaste kiss in 2003 while at an airport. Though the relationship is tested when Bianca discovers Michael Cambias
, owner of a rival cosmetics firm, has employed Lena to spy on Enchantment Cosmetics, they remain together.
Later in 2003, Bianca is rape
d by Michael. She internalizes her rage and only tells Maggie, but eventually the entire town of Pine Valley learns the truth, which brings Bianca and her estranged mother closer. When Bianca discovers she is pregnant as a result of rape, she opts to keep the baby and is supported by her older sister, Kendall (herself the product of rape), who, until then, had always scorned her. Michael is charged with rape but, to the town's outrage, he is acquitted. Amidst the furor, Kendall announces she has married her sister's rapist, and is pregnant with his baby — a ruse she and Dr. David Hayward
planned to stop Erica discovering Bianca is carrying her own rapist's child. The truth eventually comes out in the wake of Michael's murder, and despite Kendall being prime-suspect, Bianca is revealed as the killer; she shot him in self-defense
, but the trauma of her rape led to her repressing the memory. After hearing Bianca's confession, the judge presiding over the case leans hard on the prosecution not to file any charges against her.
Bianca gives birth to a daughter named Miranda
in 2004, during a staged helicopter crash. Babe Carey
gives birth to a son. During the commotion, Paul Cramer
secretly kidnaps Babe's son and gives her Miranda instead, whilst claiming to Bianca that her daughter perished in the crash. Miranda is renamed Bess. Bianca grieves for her lost child, and even tries to kidnap Bess, not realizing she is her actual daughter. When Bianca discovers the truth, she attempts to reclaim her daughter, but falls from a balcony during a scuffle with Miranda's acting father, JR Chandler, and ends up coma
tose. Miranda is later returned to Bianca, causing her to awake from her coma. Bianca never remembers how she fell, whether or not JR pushed her, but she holds him responsible for her fall. In addition, Bianca cannot forgive Babe, who had previously discovered Miranda/Bess's true maternity, but could not part with the child.
Bianca's relationship with Lena ends when Lena returns to Poland, and her relationship with Maggie subsequently becomes an issue again, as Bianca realizes that she is still in love with her. Maggie, however, is romantically involved with Jonathan Lavery
. After Bianca helps free Maggie from this abusive relationship, they begin to bond again. Though the nature of Bianca and Maggie's relationship is not specified, they, along with Miranda, relocate to Paris in 2005. While there, Bianca heads up the international division of Cambias Industries, which Enchantment now owns. Bianca and Maggie become lovers and are happy together, but in 2007, Bianca returns to Pine Valley alone. She states Maggie has cheated on her with another woman. Maggie follows her, hoping for reconciliation, but despite loving her, Bianca declines.
Family problems resurface due to Bianca's sexuality, but this time from her former stepmother Barbara, who denounces her lifestyle, but eventually sees the error of her ways. Bianca rebuilds her friendship with Babe upon finding out that Babe, who was pronounced dead as a result of a serial killer
's killing spree, is alive. She then reciprocates the romantic feelings Zarf
(later known as Zoe), a transgender
lesbian
rock star, has for her. Zoe later tells her that at this point in her transition process, a romantic relationship between them would not be best; Zoe is not ready for it, and instead moves to London
. Bianca decides to move to Paris to be closer to Zoe, but returns on December 26, 2007 for a brief visit, cheering her family up following their recent traumas. Bianca reveals that she and Zoe drifted apart, but she is determined to provide a stable family unit for Miranda. After bidding farewell, she departs again on December 28, 2007.
On October 17, 2008, Zach Slater
is in the process of looking for wife Kendall buried under rubble due to a tornado
having just struck Pine Valley. He finds Bianca instead, and is surprised to see that she is pregnant. He later finds an unconscious Kendall. As an ambulance arrives for her, it is stated that there is not enough room for Bianca and Zach to ride along to the hospital. There is, however, enough room for Zach and Kendall's children to ride in the front seat of the ambulance. Zach and Bianca stay behind and discuss Kendall's fate. They also discuss Bianca's secret that she is pregnant with Zach's child via sperm donation
, and Bianca's new lover named Reese. Zach had agreed to father Bianca's child for the couple, but did not know that she had gone through with the procedure of artificial insemination
, until now. The two wonder how Kendall, who is unaware of this pregnancy, will react to the news when they tell her. As Zach and Bianca continue to talk, Bianca goes into labor. Zach helps deliver the new child into the world. Sometime later at the hospital, she is horrified to discover that Babe has perished in the disaster's aftermath. Reese Williams comes to Pine Valley not long after the tornado with Miranda. She proposes marriage to Bianca and she accepts. Reese and Bianca have their share of obstacles to overcome as a couple, mainly Bianca's suspicions of Reese's sexuality and friendship with Zach, but they exchange wedding vows on February 13, 2009.
Reese and Bianca's marriage does not last long when Bianca discovers that Reese engaged in a passionate kiss with Zach the day before their wedding. She later sends Reese annulment
papers, and returns to Paris with Miranda and Gabrielle. However, she comes back to Pine Valley on April 24, 2009 after having discussed with Zach the reasons she left. After later talking over her and Reese's relationship problems with Zach and Kendall, the couple reconcile and hope that they can work their relationship out. They return to Paris together with their children, and later remarry.
Bianca returns to Pine Valley to help search for Erica in June 2010, and eventually decides to stay. After Erica is found by Jackson Montgomery, Jack has Miranda and Gabrielle flown to Pine Valley. Currently, Miranda, Gabrielle, and Bianca are living at Wildwind with Caleb Cooney. After Reese decides that she is not coming back to Pine Valley, Bianca reluctantly decides to get a divorce, hiring Marissa Chandler
for this end.
Marissa warns Bianca that Reese may fight to gain custody of her kids and things may get ugly, but Bianca dismisses her concerns, convinced that she and Reese can end things civilly and that Marissa is merely letting her experience with JR get in the way. However, when Reese sends her lawyer and nanny to Pine Valley in her place with tickets for Miranda and Gabrielle to come back for spring break, Bianca realizes that Marissa's fears may not be completely unfounded. However, Marissa manages to get Jack and Erica to come to Bianca's aid, where Jack forces them to back off and leave. Bianca thanks Marissa and apologizes for doubting her. Bianca is subjected to even further turmoil when she discovers that Reese is indeed trying to obtain full custody of both Miranda and Gabby.
On May 26, Bianca discovers that Ricky Torres, a seemingly-friendly reverend, is in fact a criminal and the murderer of Zach. Realizing that she is on to him, Ricky assaults her. In the midst of the assault, Bianca remembers getting raped by Michael Cambias and suffers a panic attack
. When Marissa comes along and sees Ricky carrying an unconscious Bianca, Ricky knocks her out, ties them up, and locks them in the closet. Upon regaining consciousness, Bianca reveals Ricky's true nature to Marissa, and they manage to escape. Bianca subsequently realizes that she is developing romantic feelings for Marissa.
Bianca has been popular with critics and fans. Her romantic pairing with Lena Kundera resulted in American daytime's first lesbian kiss, which received substantial media attention. The following year, in 2004, Riegel appeared on the cover of Girlfriends, North America
’s only lesbian monthly magazine; the content within the piece discussed Riegel's titled breakthrough lesbian role.
Riegel's portrayal of the character incited mania, admiration, and viewers displaying overprotectiveness for the character. Riegel additionally won praise from leading gay groups for her "complex portrayal" of Bianca.
by soap opera and gay/lesbian media, and is credited as the first long-term lesbian character on an American soap opera. AfterElton.com
, a website that focuses on the portrayal of gay men in the media, addressed Bianca's impact on viewers. They noted All My Children creator Agnes Nixon
having told The Advocate
in 2000 that out-lesbian Chastity Bono
's memoir was the inspiration for the Bianca storyline, and that she hoped that outing an already-established character as gay would make for a more integrated storyline. AfterElton.com said the representation of gay and lesbian characters in the media is important when taking into account that the viewing audience for soap operas "is enormous". Cited was The Museum of Broadcast Communications
' assertion that soap opera is "the most effective and enduring broadcast advertising vehicle ever devised. It is also the most popular genre of television drama in the world today and probably in the history of world broadcasting..." The museum states that "no other form of television fiction has attracted more viewers in more countries over a longer period of time." Author C. Lee Harrington, in her book Homosexuality on All My Children: Transforming the Daytime Landscape, stated that when "resident villainess" Greenlee Smythe
uttered "Bianca is gay" during Bianca's coming-out storyline, it transformed the daytime landscape and ABC
's All My Children entered "uncharted territory" for daytime television by revealing a core character as a lesbian.
Jeffrey Epstein, at the time a staff writer for Soap Opera News, was criticized by AfterElton.com for his statement in 1998, where he discouraged the idea that there would be more gay or lesbian representation to come on daytime television due to soap operas being mostly viewed by women and that gay or lesbian romances do not truly enrich most heterosexual women's fantasies. AfterElton.com relayed that the viewing demographic for soap operas continues to grow and diversify, further clarifying, "The popularity of the Bianca storyline on All My Children was proof that audiences were more than ready for a lesbian relationship, and his assessment of women's romantic fantasies in regards to gay male characters may prove to be equally outdated."
In 2001, Riegel was voted one of Soaps' Hottest Newcomers by Soap Opera Digest and the following year as one of Soaps' Hottest Teens by the same magazine. Riegel modestly accepted, "What does that mean, 'hot?' Does that mean I'm hot, like sexy? I feel pretty damn hot. I wish I knew what it meant. No, that's very flattering." In 2003, Bianca was the winner of the first GLAAD Media Award
as Favorite OUT Image. With her win, GLAAD released a statement:
Lesbianation.com, self-proclaimed as the leading online community for lesbians, voted Riegel #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!"
Bianca's popularity extended to her romances, as well as to other perceived possibilities; this was evident through the character's relationships with Maggie Stone
, Lena Kundera and Babe Carey
. The relationship with Babe Carey was not romantic, as Babe (now deceased within the series) was characterized as heterosexual; however, but fans speculated that Bianca was secretly in love with Babe. This speculation was mainly due to Bianca's nonchalant and forgiving attitude regarding most of Babe's misdeeds. AfterEllen.com took notice and acknowledged that there were viewers hoping for a Bianca and Babe romance.
of the child. Angered by these events, viewers longed for Bianca to discover the truth. The amount of mail sent to the ABC studios requesting and demanding that Bianca's baby be returned to her was cited as astounding for a fictional character, especially one of daytime — and who is also gay: "Bianca's sexuality did not seem to matter to the thousands of fans who wrote letters, e-mail messages and blog entries insisting that the only safe place for the baby was back in the arms of Pine Valley's one known lesbian." This was achieved after significant campaign from viewers; the story shifts so that Bianca is eventually reunited with her baby on December 7, 2004. Described as "Babe's long-overdue confessional" and beginning of redemption, she confesses to Bianca the truth about their children. The culmination of this storyline combined with everything Bianca faces up to this point "transform[s] Bianca into a courageous soap heroine who ha[s] fans rooting for her". Viewers became even more invested in her trials and tribulations and hopeful for the character finding romance. Brian Frons
, president of ABC Daytime
, stated:
Havins and Riegel described what went into taping the moment Bianca discovers that her child is alive and Babe's deception. "It was crazy!" said Riegel of the "grueling" day. "It was insane, in fact. [Havins] and I were on the set from 9 a.m. to like 7:30 at night, just the two of us." Havins agreed and relayed, "It was so intense to tape. It was a long, long day, a 12-hour tape day." Havins and Riegel were warned by All My Children executives that the episode would be "especially" demanding. "They made a big deal of it," said Riegel. "I don't think they've ever handed that much material to just two actresses before, so they wanted us to be prepared." Havins added:
Riegel laughed and said, "Unfortunately, we only got the script like three days ahead of time! But hey! We're old pros." When asked if they were intimidated by the challenge of the reveal scenes, Riegel shrugged, "Actually, I wasn't scared at all." She clarified that it "was a good challenge" and "one of those things where it's like, 'This is what I do. This is what I love.'" She said, "To have all that material and to be there in the moment ... I didn't want to be in any other place. It was really exciting." Riegel had been waiting for the moment "for a long time" and felt that it was "a big pay-off" for them. She further stated:
Havins agreed with Riegel that the reveal scenes were exciting. "I'm always up for a challenge and I work best under pressure," she said. "My competitive side kicks in. So the thought that I maybe couldn't do it made me be like, 'Oh, yeah, I'm doin' it!' We put so much preparation into it." Justin Bruening
(Jamie Martin) and Jacob Young
(JR) were the only other cast members in the episode. "...I worked with a private coach, we worked on it together.... We put a lot of time into this episode," Havins stated. "We usually don't have that luxury, but this time we did; this took priority. And shooting it, too, we knew it was a big deal."
Havins said the producers and director were patient with them. "And if we felt we didn't like where a take went," stated Havins, "usually they're like, 'No, it's fine, let's move on,' but this time they were like, 'Let's do it again. We loved that take, girls, but let's try something else,' and we'd go in a totally different direction." "They took the time and they were as invested in this episode as [Riegel] and I were, so that was a really good feeling. We were all there, we were all in it together, and hopefully, the finished product shows it."
In 2005, Riegel won an Emmy
for the role. When she decided to leave the show that same year, to pursue other acting ventures, it was concluded the gay community would be losing a viable voice.
ary character Erica as having a gay daughter initially upset a significant portion of the audience. "Viewers were deeply attached to the character as the 16-year-old daughter of [the leading soap opera diva]. ABC
held a series of focus groups to gauge audience reaction." Female viewers in Boston
and some in Atlanta found the storyline "refreshing and reflective" of what they called the "real world and its diversity". The Atlanta group, however, had a good portion who were concerned about morality and did not want a major character "saddled with a lifelong problem". Boston viewers felt Bianca's problem was being in the closet; Atlantans voiced her problem was her sexual preference itself. In addition, there was opposition to the increased love for the character. Critics of gay marriage complained about a sympathetic gay heroine, saying Bianca made daytime television even more licentious.
.
When GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) was asked by Metro Weekly
why GLAAD sent out an action alert
voicing their concern over the rape storyline of Bianca, but two days later sent out another release which seemed to support how the storyline was told, Joan M. Garry, executive director of the organization, responded that they had "some concerns" about [the storyline] and "that the broader context of the [daytime television] genre kind of needs to be taken into account". Metro Weekly felt that this did not answer their question. They wanted to know why there was a sudden reversal in GLAAD's statement, specifically citing that GLAAD's second press release spoke of rape experience for lesbians and how men who rape lesbians not only engage in gender based acts of violence, but in acts of hate violence, and that this release was supportive of how Bianca's rape storyline was told, as opposed to GLAAD's first press release on the matter. Garry said she felt that their first press release concerning Bianca's rape was premature. Metro Weekly countered by asking what is the "actual process" GLAAD uses to select what to criticize, what raises their organization's red flags. "There's a whole host of input we receive about things as we hear about them, as we see them in script form, as we see them in pilots," Garry relayed. "We have a strong team of program folks who represent different regions around the country, different communities. We get an awful lot of stuff that comes across the transom via our website raising concerns. And we did get quite a number of concerns coming over email, particularly about All My Children." Garry continued, "So it's basically community feedback, as well as some of our own observations and perceptions. Combine that with conversations that we have with folks that are actually producing the images and we really try to work our way through those different opinions and shape a position we think makes sense."
In an interview with Soap Opera Digest
, Riegel detailed what it was like preparing for her character's rape scenes. She explained that it was grueling and that there were only four people in the episode. She found it to be "very work-intensive", emotionally haunting, and voiced that she had trouble sleeping. She elaborated that "these" type of scenes really stay with a person.
Riegel and co-star William deVry
(Michael Cambias
) rehearsed the scenes on their own, which normally would not have been the case. Riegel commented that it definitely required more work than an ordinary episode. Asked if she was frightened of deVry during Bianca's rape scenes, she admitted that she was and that it was a testament to deVry's acting skills. Riegel was further queried about the uneasiness of the scenes and whether she was frightened or intimidated by "the gravity" of the storyline. "Absolutely, I was," she stated. "To be honest, I didn't know if I could handle it. But I knew it was a very important thing to do and that the show was serious about handling it well. I knew we could reach people, and that it was powerful stuff. I could feel the power of it. And I knew I should put myself through this because ultimately it might help somebody, touch somebody, make people talk about it. And rape is something people should talk about."
was met with criticism from the gay and lesbian community, and fans in general. They asserted that, as a lesbian, it is illogical for Bianca to be intensely, romantically attracted to a transgender woman who is still of the male form, and that even more stressing was that the show tried to convey the story as soul-love (the belief that sexual orientation can be negated if you simply love that person's soul). Viewers titled the couple "Barf" (for Bianca and Zarf), and TV Guide
, which reported the nickname, named the storyline one of the worst of 2007.
The San Francisco Bay Area Reporter, Inc.
, a free weekly newspaper serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
ed (LGBT) communities in their area, were one of the first to comment on their discontent with the matter:
The Wow Report delivered a scathing remark when they referred to Zarf as a drag queen
and commented on their disbelief that All My Children was winning GLAAD awards.
es striking fictional town Pine Valley, Bianca was reported to be pregnant with her second child. Fans immediately began speculating on who the sperm donor was, which caught the attention of soap opera press, LGBT
press, and other media outlets. TV Guide
reported that "nobody knows [Bianca's] in town until her brother-in-law finds her under the rubble". SOAPnet.com
stated, "The physical affects [sic] of the tornado are miniscule [sic] compared to the ripples Bianca’s presence creates." Another soap opera website sensationalized the story by stating, "When Bianca returns to town this time, she will have a brand new ‘someone special’ in her life and a big surprise — Bianca is pregnant! And wait until everyone finds out who the 'father' is."
Fans, aware that Miranda Montgomery
, Bianca's first child, was the result of rapist Michael Cambias
, speculated Zach Slater
as the child's biological father. Zach was Michael's older brother. Fans theorized that Bianca wanted a baby closely related to Miranda and asked Zach to father the child. If Bianca were already pregnant when she got to Pine Valley, then Zach could have "donated" last time Bianca was in town, even though the timing within the series was off.
Another theory concluded Bianca’s former love Zarf/Zoe as the father; the argument arose over a website putting "father" in quotations. The "father" is really a "mother" trapped in a "father’s" body, went the theory.
Zach was eventually confirmed as the father of the child by magazine Soap Opera Digest
, and Bianca's reasons for asking Zach to be the donor and doing so without informing her sister and Zach's wife, Kendall Hart Slater, infuriated viewers. They reasoned that neither Bianca nor Zach would do this to Kendall.
The child is soon named Gabrielle Montgomery. The choice for Zach as the father makes Miranda and the new child not only half siblings but cousins as well, which some viewers found "icky".
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
daytime drama All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
. In June 2010, Christina Bennett Lind replaced Eden Riegel
Eden Riegel
Eden Sonja Jane Riegel is an American actress. She portrayed Bianca Montgomery on the daytime drama All My Children, and propelled the character into a gay icon, as well as a popular figure within the medium...
, who portrayed the role from July 2000 to January 2010. Until Riegel assumed the role, the character was portrayed solely by child actresses
Child actor
The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting in motion pictures or television, but also to an adult who began his or her acting career as a child; to avoid confusion, the latter is also called a former child actor...
: Lacey Chabert
Lacey Chabert
Lacey Nicole Chabert is an American actress and voice actress, known for her roles as Claudia Salinger in the television drama Party of Five and as Gretchen Wieners in the movie Mean Girls...
, Nathalie Paulding
Nathalie Paulding
Nathalie Nicole Paulding is an actress; she has performed in American theatre, film, and television.-Early life:Living in Hollywood, Florida, in 1994, Paulding was enrolled in the Little Flower Montessori School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at age 9.-Career:Paulding has made several appearances in...
, Gina Gallagher, and Caroline Wilde. Jessica Leigh Falborn portrayed infant Bianca. In early January 2010, Riegel decided to permanently exit the role, and plans to recast were confirmed.
The character is scripted as the daughter of Erica Kane
Erica Kane
Erica Kane is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children.The character has been portrayed by actress Susan Lucci since the show first aired in January 1970, until the last broadcast television episode aired in September 2011. Erica is considered to be the most popular...
and the late Travis Montgomery
Travis Montgomery
Travis Montgomery was a fictional character of the daytime drama All My Children. He is the father of Bianca, Molly, and Sean Montgomery...
, born onscreen on February 8, 1988. Her birthday was revised to February 9, 1984 on January 31, 2002 by the show's producers, and her age was stated as 16 in 2000. The middle name given to the character is Christine, after her paternal aunt, Christine Montgomery, and she is portrayed as sweet-natured and well-loved in the fictional community of Pine Valley
Pine Valley, Pennsylvania
Pine Valley, Pennsylvania is the fictional setting for the long-running American soap opera All My Children. It is a small suburb of Philadelphia...
. Shown to suffer from Reye's syndrome
Reye's syndrome
Reye's syndrome is a potentially fatal disease that causes numerous detrimental effects to many organs, especially the brain and liver, as well as causing a lower than usual level of blood sugar . The classic features are liver damage, aspirin use and a viral infection...
in infancy, as well as Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
later in life, she overcomes both with the significant aid of her family.
Outside of fiction, Bianca has emerged as a gay icon
Gay icon
A gay icon is a public figure who is embraced by many within :lesbian, :gay, :bisexual and :transgender communities...
within the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community. Newspapers such as The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
cite her as the first lead character on a major daytime drama to be a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, and The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
calls her "the
most famous gay soap role of all time". She has been the subject and study of various academic works, said to have inspired soap opera writers to begin with the scripting of sexual identities of tortured teen characters, and is a show heroine. Under Riegel's portrayal, her popularity has been cited as groundbreaking.
Casting and character creation
As a teenagerAdolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, Eden Riegel
Eden Riegel
Eden Sonja Jane Riegel is an American actress. She portrayed Bianca Montgomery on the daytime drama All My Children, and propelled the character into a gay icon, as well as a popular figure within the medium...
nearly gave up on her pursuit of a successful acting career. She stated that she had seen a "number of talented people" who were struggling, and that she started to doubt whether she would ever have the success that she wanted. She decided that it was time to major in social
Social
The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms...
and political theory, go to law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
, and become a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
. This changed while she attended Harvard. While there, she received "a call from a casting director who thought that the five-foot-six beauty should audition to become Erica Kane’s daughter". Later, the character would eventually be revealed to be a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
. Producers did not tell Riegel she would be portraying a lesbian until after she won the role. "I was surprised," she said.
All My Children creator Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon is an American writer and producer. She attended Northwestern University where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, and is best known as the creator of soap operas such as One Life to Live and All My Children...
cites that scripting Bianca as a lesbian was in part inspired by Chastity Bono
Chastity Bono
Chaz Salvatore Bono is an American transgender advocate, writer, actor, and musician. Bono is the only child of American entertainers Sonny and Cher, though each had children from other relationships...
's memoir Family Outing. Nixon explained the feelings she wanted expressed with the character's mother, Erica
Erica Kane
Erica Kane is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children.The character has been portrayed by actress Susan Lucci since the show first aired in January 1970, until the last broadcast television episode aired in September 2011. Erica is considered to be the most popular...
. She wanted to showcase the thought process and actions "most parents" have upon finding out that their child is gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
: "I think the right word for Erica's reaction is denial," said Nixon. "I read Family Outing by Chastity Bono. Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
had loads of friends who were gay, but she wasn't able to deal with [Chastity's being gay]. In this prejudicial society in which we live, the first reaction from a parent usually is, 'What did I do wrong?'"
Nixon, well-known for her socially relevant storylines, said that the makings for the Bianca story began in 1947; a college housemate "came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
" to Nixon when Nixon was the same age Riegel had been in 2000. Nixon acknowledged that their original lesbian story in 1983, which lasted two months, did not work out as well as she had hoped and she felt it needed perfecting. "Now, in a soap, if you want to do a story about a social issue seriously, the character has to be really well integrated. Bianca's story is the result of that — with growth and maturity," she stated.
Riegel discussed Bianca's storyline with her sister, Tatiana
Tatiana S. Riegel
Tatiana S. Riegel A.C.E., is an American film editor known for independent films such as Lars and the Real Girl and The Million Dollar Hotel...
. Tatiana, who is a lesbian and eighteen years Riegel's senior, became one of the primary people Riegel wanted to impress with the storyline. With Tatiana living in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, where she works as a film editor and Riegel having lived on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
most of her early life, the sisters did not grow up together but maintained a close relationship. Riegel took the role as an opportunity to bond with Tatiana over a character project, and said Tatiana was one of the people she was most concerned about in portraying Bianca's story.
At the time of Bianca's character development upon Riegel taking over the role, there were strict instructions from the show's writers and producers not to reveal Bianca as gay to anyone outside the show (as the storyline had not played out on television screens yet). Despite this, Riegel informed Tatiana two months before the storyline finally began. The revelation was easily envisioned by the sisters as a storyline from a soap opera due to Riegel having told Tatiana Bianca's secret on the day of their father's third wedding. Tatiana said that Riegel was "very excited" about informing her of Bianca's sexual orientation and that she was happy for her sister. "I just thought it was a kick that she would be playing a lesbian — specifically, Erica Kane's daughter!" said Tatiana.
LGBT stereotypes
Stereotypes about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are conventional, formulaic generalizations, opinions, or images about persons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Stereotypes and homophobia are a learned outlook, i.e...
. Riegel voiced the same concerns earlier on about the character; she clarified that she asked the show's writers and producers to make the character three-dimensional and not "so heavily centered" on the character's sexual orientation. Having grown up close to an out lesbian sister, who "came out" in her early 20s, Riegel was familiar with how Bianca should be if stereotypes were to be avoided. At the time of Tatiana's "coming-out" process, Riegel and brother Sam
Sam Riegel
Samuel Brent Oscar "Sam" Riegel is a voice actor, writer and director who appears in many television cartoons, anime, and video games. He began as a child actor in theater in Virginia, and moved to New York City to perform in Broadway and off-Broadway shows...
were children. Tatiana relayed that being gay was not an issue and that she could not remember having had a conversation with them about it at that age. By the time Riegel and Sam were old enough to know what being gay meant, they had grown to love Tatiana's girlfriend and the family was closer than before. Riegel having acquired the role of Bianca led her and Tatiana to discuss certain specifics of the character. Riegel's mindset was centered on what it must have been like for Tatiana to grow up as gay. She said that she had never heard Tatiana's whole coming-out story before and that it was nice to talk about.
A year and a half after Bianca's "coming out" as a lesbian, Riegel and Tatiana felt that the show had done "a great job" in telling the story of a gay woman and her struggles.
Characterization, story influence and recast
In a VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine interview, Julie Hanan Carruthers
Julie Hanan Carruthers
Julie Hanan Carruthers is an American soap opera producer.-Positions held:All My Children*Executive Producer General Hospital...
, executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
of the show, spoke of Bianca's character development. She gave insight into the "heart" of the story. "It was so successful," she said. "We did not tell a story about a lesbian. We told a story about a young girl coming out and her life around it. That was a big lesson to all of us here. It's really all about the story. If you can make people care on a human level, it's not sexual preference. It's about the human experience."
The writers characterized Bianca's personality as kind-hearted but intolerant of nonsense. These traits were given to reflect the personalities of her parents and her late grandmother (Mona). Additionally, other characters in Bianca's family have been written as protective.
Megan McTavish
Megan McTavish
Megan McTavish is an American television actress and soap opera writer. McTavish is best known for several head writing stints on All My Children.-Early career:...
, the show's head writer
Head writer
A head writer is a person who oversees the team of writers on a television or radio series. The title is common in the soap opera genre, as well as with sketch comedies and talk shows that feature monologues and comedy skits, but in prime time series this function is generally performed by an...
at the time, said she was "most astonished that fans elevated Bianca into one of the serial's 'tent poles' — soap parlance for characters who hold enormous sway with viewers". McTavish explained that if a character is nice to Bianca, the audience tends to like that character, and if he is mean to Bianca, the audience knows he is a bad guy. "It's stunning," she cited. "The lesbian girl became the moral tent pole of our show."
In a 2007 interview with TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, former head writers of the series, James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten
James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten
James Harmon Brown and Barbara Esensten are American television writers, primarily working on soap operas. The duo have worked together for over 20 years starting on the prime-time soap Dynasty...
, stated that since Riegel's portrayal, the character is simply too iconic to ever recast. However, in 2010, Riegel decided to permanently exit the role, and plans to recast were subsequently confirmed. TV Guides Nelson Branco said, "Recasting a superstar is a very risky move, but [All My Children] is clearly determined to test fate." In a March 30, 2010 interview with Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
, Riegel explained why she decided to move on from the character:
I had tried to make it work with All My Children. I don’t have a business head, so I don’t really make business decisions; every decision I make in my life is emotional and it was difficult to feel that the show wasn’t... that Bianca was getting lost. That who she was was getting lost. I went back several times and they were so lovely to let me come back and play a character I love with the people I love so many times. But I felt that the people making the show didn’t really understand what Bianca was about anymore... It troubled me. I got letters from people to whom Bianca meant a great deal essentially saying, "Please don’t come back. We can't take it anymore."
On May 13, 2010, it was reported that All My Children had found a recast for the character, after a "long and careful" search. Actress Christina Bennett Lind, cited as having an "astonishing" resemblance to Riegel, was cast. "[Lind] oozes goodness and we really needed that for Bianca. [Lind] brought an integrity and honest innocence to the role that was very tough to match," stated Carruthers. "We turned the earth [upside down] going through the candidates. When [Lind] came in to read for the part, she was Bianca. I think it’ll be a very easy transition for the audience."
Although Riegel said it would be "very painful" to watch someone else portray Bianca, and that she would not want to watch, she later tweeted
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, "[All My Children] gets a new Bianca and she's super pretty! And, of course, by that I mean she looks like me. I wish her the very best of luck, of course, and will be cheering her on along with the rest of the [All My Children] fans." Lind regarded this as a compliment, and was appreciative of the support.
Lind said of assuming the role, "The audition for Bianca felt like an amusement park ride. It was such a thrill to go to an audition by plane rather than subway! I can only hope I do half of what [Riegel] did with the part. She played it with amazing grace and dignity. Now I need to breathe my own life into it." Regarding Bianca being the "moral center of Pine Valley" and the pressure of being a recast, Lind said she did feel pressure in the beginning. "I did look at some of [Riegel's] footage online to prep for it. She, for obvious reasons, was so beautiful, real, and honest in her portrayal of Bianca." Lind stated that it ultimately came down to her not wanting to mimic Riegel:
Part of me feels very strongly that [Riegel] created a character that was so well-written, detailed, and complicated, and the element of being gay was part of who she was, but it did not define her. I sort of wanted to take that and breathe my own life into it and do something else by using myself rather than using someone else’s interpretation. I understand these emotions and all humans do, of wanting to support your family and be equal and be in love. Ultimately, I said, "I can feel the pressure, but I am going to let it go." The role is so full and rich that I thought, Well, now I am just going to throw myself into it.
Lind said there was no trepidation in taking on a gay role, and that she is "really proud" to portray Bianca. "I am surprised that the gay community is still struggling and fighting so many years later," she said. "They are still fighting for basic human rights. I am excited to be a part of that fight." Regarding most of Pine Valley being okay with Bianca being gay, Lind stated that she is "a little curious" to see some "sort of real-life conflict arrive and see that some people in her small town do not accept her sexuality". Lind clarified, " In a sense, that is pretty relevant and controversial and true. Because Pine Valley is the exception, it’s a beautiful utopia right now. I wouldn’t mind attacking those issues that are happening in small towns right now."
Storyline
As a child, Bianca originally appears on a recurring basis on All My Children. She is born onscreen in 1988, the out-of-wedlock daughter of Erica KaneErica Kane
Erica Kane is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children.The character has been portrayed by actress Susan Lucci since the show first aired in January 1970, until the last broadcast television episode aired in September 2011. Erica is considered to be the most popular...
and Travis Montgomery
Travis Montgomery
Travis Montgomery was a fictional character of the daytime drama All My Children. He is the father of Bianca, Molly, and Sean Montgomery...
. Erica and Travis later wed, but the marriage soon collapses after Travis helps stage a fake kidnapping of Bianca in order to prevent Adam Chandler
Adam Chandler
Adam Chandler, Sr. is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children, portrayed by David Canary from December 1983 through his departure on April 23, 2010. Adam Chandler was one of the most devious and powerful individuals within the town of Pine Valley, Pennsylvania...
from taking over his company. Two years later, as Bianca is recovering from Reye's Syndrome
Reye's syndrome
Reye's syndrome is a potentially fatal disease that causes numerous detrimental effects to many organs, especially the brain and liver, as well as causing a lower than usual level of blood sugar . The classic features are liver damage, aspirin use and a viral infection...
, Erica and Travis remarry for their daughter's sake. However, by that time Erica is having a secret affair with Travis' brother Jackson, and as soon as Bianca catches them kissing, she sets her "Uncle Jack" doll on fire and ends up burning the house down. After that incident, Travis divorces Erica, wins full custody of Bianca, moves to Seattle, and remarries his ex-wife, Barbara
Barbara Montgomery
Barbara Montgomery is an American television and film actress. Montgomery is best known for her role as Cassietta Hetebrink on the sitcom, Amen, Montgomery played the role for four years, and left in 1990...
.
Although Bianca is living with her father, she visits her mother from time to time. When Kendall Hart
Kendall Hart
Kendall Hart Slater is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. The character was portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar from 1993 to 1995, and by Alicia Minshew from 2002 to 2011....
first comes into town in 1993, Bianca becomes a target of her older half-sister's jealousy. Kendall is the product of a traumatizing rape by movie actor Richard Fields on the night of Erica's 14th birthday, and therefore was given up for adoption, while Bianca (in Kendall's view) holds the privileged life of a celebrity's child. Kendall locks Bianca in the Wildwind
Wildwind
Wildwind is a mansion located in the fictional town of Pine Valley, Pennsylvania . Originally owned by the Maricks, a family of Hungarian nobility, the mansion has been home to a great many Pine Valley residents over the years....
crypt, and later endangers her younger sister when she leaves Bianca alone with Richard Fields (although Bianca is eventually saved from being molested by Kendall's birth father).
In 1994, Bianca comes to Pine Valley again following the death of Mona Kane Tyler, so overwhelmed by her loss and furious that she did not get to spend much time with her grandmother. Later, Bianca is kidnapped by Dr. Jonathan Kinder and held her for ransom. Kinder is Erica's doctor and has her hooked on painkillers. In self defense, Bianca pushes Kinder down his stairs. Erica thinks he is dead, and so, with help from Janet Green and Skye Chandler, they bury Kinder but Kinder is very much alive.
After Erica is arrested in 1997 for kidnapping Madelyn Grey, the daughter of Edmund Grey
Edmund Grey
Edmund Grey is a fictional character on the ABC daytime drama All My Children. John Callahan portrayed Edmund from April 1992 to March 2005.-Character history :...
and Maria Grey, Bianca runs away from Travis and Barbara to be with her mother. Travis and Barbara then arrive to take Bianca home, but after Travis tells them that Erica would never see Bianca again, Bianca faints and is rushed to the hospital. Bianca is diagnosed with anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
and by 1998 ends up hospitalized with a feeding tube. She then goes to a New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
rehabilitation center to recover.
Sixteen-year-old Bianca (her birth date now revised by the series) returns home in 2000, stunning her mother, Erica, by confessing that she is in a lesbian relationship with a girl named Sarah. Erica is unable to accept this, but Bianca does find support from Leo du Pres
Leo du Pres
Leonardo "Leo" du Pres is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. The role was portrayed and originated by actor Josh Duhamel, from 1999 to 2002 and for two episodes in August 2011...
, who often counsels her on life matters. This earns her some jealousy from Greenlee Smythe
Greenlee Smythe
Greenlee Smythe is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Rebecca Budig from August 11, 1999 to November 30, 2005, and was portrayed by actress Sabine Singh from April 20, 2007 to January 15, 2008...
, who tauntingly calls her LesBianca, but she and Bianca later become friends. This stemmed from Greenlee taking Bianca to see her daughter's supposed memorial, and she gave her a necklace that Leo had given her, and she passed on to her.
Sarah's family also disapproves, and to appease them she gets engaged to a man, despite still loving Bianca. Bianca's second girlfriend, Frankie Stone
Frankie Stone
Mary Frances "Frankie" Stone is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was portrayed by actress Elizabeth Hendrickson....
, comes to Pine Valley as part of her aunt Vanessa Cortlandt's ploy to distract Bianca. Frankie develops true feelings for Bianca, but is then murdered by one of Vanessa's henchmen. Soon after, Frankie's identical twin sister, Maggie
Maggie Stone
Mary Margaret "Maggie" Stone is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was portrayed by actress Elizabeth Hendrickson, who also portrayed Maggie's identical twin sister, Mary Frances "Frankie" Stone. The character comes to Pine Valley in early 2002 after the...
, arrives and becomes friends with Bianca, often defending her when she is bullied by homophobic
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
classmates. Despite Maggie professing to being heterosexual, she shows a romantic interest in Bianca, which is reciprocated; however, their relationship does not progress past friendship and Bianca begins dating another woman, Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-born Lena Kundera. Bianca works with Lena at Erica's company, Enchantment Cosmetics. They fall in love, and share a chaste kiss in 2003 while at an airport. Though the relationship is tested when Bianca discovers Michael Cambias
Michael Cambias
Michael Cambias, formerly a brief resident of the fictional town of Pine Valley, appeared on the American daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor William deVry, from January 23, 2003 to August 2003, and later in a ghostly vision in 2004 and 2006.The character is one that lives in...
, owner of a rival cosmetics firm, has employed Lena to spy on Enchantment Cosmetics, they remain together.
Later in 2003, Bianca is rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
d by Michael. She internalizes her rage and only tells Maggie, but eventually the entire town of Pine Valley learns the truth, which brings Bianca and her estranged mother closer. When Bianca discovers she is pregnant as a result of rape, she opts to keep the baby and is supported by her older sister, Kendall (herself the product of rape), who, until then, had always scorned her. Michael is charged with rape but, to the town's outrage, he is acquitted. Amidst the furor, Kendall announces she has married her sister's rapist, and is pregnant with his baby — a ruse she and Dr. David Hayward
David Hayward
Dr. David Hayward is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama All My Children, as portrayed by Vincent Irizarry from: November 27, 1997 - March 2, 1998, July 8, 1998 - November 28, 2006, October 23, 2008 - September 13, 2010, and returned on November 22, 2010.The character has been a top...
planned to stop Erica discovering Bianca is carrying her own rapist's child. The truth eventually comes out in the wake of Michael's murder, and despite Kendall being prime-suspect, Bianca is revealed as the killer; she shot him in self-defense
Self-defense
Self-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...
, but the trauma of her rape led to her repressing the memory. After hearing Bianca's confession, the judge presiding over the case leans hard on the prosecution not to file any charges against her.
Bianca gives birth to a daughter named Miranda
Miranda Montgomery
Miranda Mona Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She is currently portrayed by Mackenzie Aladjem...
in 2004, during a staged helicopter crash. Babe Carey
Babe Carey
Arabella "Babe" Carey Chandler is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Alexa Havins, from October 13, 2003 to October 8, 2007, and then by actress Amanda Baker from October 8, 2007 to October 31, 2008...
gives birth to a son. During the commotion, Paul Cramer
Paul Cramer
Paul Cramer is a fictional character from the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live. Paul was originated on October 3, 2003 by Brock Cuchna, who played the role until March 10, 2004. The character was then recast with David Tom on March 11, 2004...
secretly kidnaps Babe's son and gives her Miranda instead, whilst claiming to Bianca that her daughter perished in the crash. Miranda is renamed Bess. Bianca grieves for her lost child, and even tries to kidnap Bess, not realizing she is her actual daughter. When Bianca discovers the truth, she attempts to reclaim her daughter, but falls from a balcony during a scuffle with Miranda's acting father, JR Chandler, and ends up coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
tose. Miranda is later returned to Bianca, causing her to awake from her coma. Bianca never remembers how she fell, whether or not JR pushed her, but she holds him responsible for her fall. In addition, Bianca cannot forgive Babe, who had previously discovered Miranda/Bess's true maternity, but could not part with the child.
Bianca's relationship with Lena ends when Lena returns to Poland, and her relationship with Maggie subsequently becomes an issue again, as Bianca realizes that she is still in love with her. Maggie, however, is romantically involved with Jonathan Lavery
Jonathan Lavery
Jonathan Lavery is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama All My Children. He has been portrayed by actor Jeff Branson from June 15, 2004 to December 18, 2007....
. After Bianca helps free Maggie from this abusive relationship, they begin to bond again. Though the nature of Bianca and Maggie's relationship is not specified, they, along with Miranda, relocate to Paris in 2005. While there, Bianca heads up the international division of Cambias Industries, which Enchantment now owns. Bianca and Maggie become lovers and are happy together, but in 2007, Bianca returns to Pine Valley alone. She states Maggie has cheated on her with another woman. Maggie follows her, hoping for reconciliation, but despite loving her, Bianca declines.
Family problems resurface due to Bianca's sexuality, but this time from her former stepmother Barbara, who denounces her lifestyle, but eventually sees the error of her ways. Bianca rebuilds her friendship with Babe upon finding out that Babe, who was pronounced dead as a result of a serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
's killing spree, is alive. She then reciprocates the romantic feelings Zarf
Zoe (All My Children)
Zoe is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama All My Children, and is credited as the first transgender character to appear on a soap opera at the beginning of a male to female gender transition. She was portrayed by actor Jeffrey Carlson in August 2006 and then again from November 29,...
(later known as Zoe), a transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
rock star, has for her. Zoe later tells her that at this point in her transition process, a romantic relationship between them would not be best; Zoe is not ready for it, and instead moves to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Bianca decides to move to Paris to be closer to Zoe, but returns on December 26, 2007 for a brief visit, cheering her family up following their recent traumas. Bianca reveals that she and Zoe drifted apart, but she is determined to provide a stable family unit for Miranda. After bidding farewell, she departs again on December 28, 2007.
On October 17, 2008, Zach Slater
Zach Slater
Zachary "Zach" Slater is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor Thorsten Kaye from May 20, 2004 to November 19, 2010; Thorsten returned to the role on August 5, 2011 to September 23, 2011...
is in the process of looking for wife Kendall buried under rubble due to a tornado
Tornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
having just struck Pine Valley. He finds Bianca instead, and is surprised to see that she is pregnant. He later finds an unconscious Kendall. As an ambulance arrives for her, it is stated that there is not enough room for Bianca and Zach to ride along to the hospital. There is, however, enough room for Zach and Kendall's children to ride in the front seat of the ambulance. Zach and Bianca stay behind and discuss Kendall's fate. They also discuss Bianca's secret that she is pregnant with Zach's child via sperm donation
Sperm donation
Sperm donation is the provision by a man, , of his sperm, with the intention that it be used to impregnate a woman who is not usually the man's sexual partner, in order to produce a child....
, and Bianca's new lover named Reese. Zach had agreed to father Bianca's child for the couple, but did not know that she had gone through with the procedure of artificial insemination
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
, until now. The two wonder how Kendall, who is unaware of this pregnancy, will react to the news when they tell her. As Zach and Bianca continue to talk, Bianca goes into labor. Zach helps deliver the new child into the world. Sometime later at the hospital, she is horrified to discover that Babe has perished in the disaster's aftermath. Reese Williams comes to Pine Valley not long after the tornado with Miranda. She proposes marriage to Bianca and she accepts. Reese and Bianca have their share of obstacles to overcome as a couple, mainly Bianca's suspicions of Reese's sexuality and friendship with Zach, but they exchange wedding vows on February 13, 2009.
Reese and Bianca's marriage does not last long when Bianca discovers that Reese engaged in a passionate kiss with Zach the day before their wedding. She later sends Reese annulment
Annulment
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is usually retroactive, meaning that an annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the beginning almost as if it had never taken place...
papers, and returns to Paris with Miranda and Gabrielle. However, she comes back to Pine Valley on April 24, 2009 after having discussed with Zach the reasons she left. After later talking over her and Reese's relationship problems with Zach and Kendall, the couple reconcile and hope that they can work their relationship out. They return to Paris together with their children, and later remarry.
Bianca returns to Pine Valley to help search for Erica in June 2010, and eventually decides to stay. After Erica is found by Jackson Montgomery, Jack has Miranda and Gabrielle flown to Pine Valley. Currently, Miranda, Gabrielle, and Bianca are living at Wildwind with Caleb Cooney. After Reese decides that she is not coming back to Pine Valley, Bianca reluctantly decides to get a divorce, hiring Marissa Chandler
Marissa Tasker
Marissa Tasker is a fictional character on the soap opera All My Children She has been portrayed by actress Brittany Allen from April 21, 2009 to December 21, 2010...
for this end.
Marissa warns Bianca that Reese may fight to gain custody of her kids and things may get ugly, but Bianca dismisses her concerns, convinced that she and Reese can end things civilly and that Marissa is merely letting her experience with JR get in the way. However, when Reese sends her lawyer and nanny to Pine Valley in her place with tickets for Miranda and Gabrielle to come back for spring break, Bianca realizes that Marissa's fears may not be completely unfounded. However, Marissa manages to get Jack and Erica to come to Bianca's aid, where Jack forces them to back off and leave. Bianca thanks Marissa and apologizes for doubting her. Bianca is subjected to even further turmoil when she discovers that Reese is indeed trying to obtain full custody of both Miranda and Gabby.
On May 26, Bianca discovers that Ricky Torres, a seemingly-friendly reverend, is in fact a criminal and the murderer of Zach. Realizing that she is on to him, Ricky assaults her. In the midst of the assault, Bianca remembers getting raped by Michael Cambias and suffers a panic attack
Panic attack
Panic attacks are periods of intense fear or apprehension that are of sudden onset and of relatively brief duration. Panic attacks usually begin abruptly, reach a peak within 10 minutes, and subside over the next several hours...
. When Marissa comes along and sees Ricky carrying an unconscious Bianca, Ricky knocks her out, ties them up, and locks them in the closet. Upon regaining consciousness, Bianca reveals Ricky's true nature to Marissa, and they manage to escape. Bianca subsequently realizes that she is developing romantic feelings for Marissa.
Popularity
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
’s only lesbian monthly magazine; the content within the piece discussed Riegel's titled breakthrough lesbian role.
Riegel's portrayal of the character incited mania, admiration, and viewers displaying overprotectiveness for the character. Riegel additionally won praise from leading gay groups for her "complex portrayal" of Bianca.
Daytime and visibility
Bianca's impact on daytime television is considered significant for various reasons: She is cited as a gay iconGay icon
A gay icon is a public figure who is embraced by many within :lesbian, :gay, :bisexual and :transgender communities...
by soap opera and gay/lesbian media, and is credited as the first long-term lesbian character on an American soap opera. AfterElton.com
AfterEllen.com
AfterEllen.com, founded in April 2002, is a website that focuses on the portrayal of lesbian and bisexual women in the media. AfterElton.com, its brother site for gay and bisexual men, was launched in January 2005. The websites were founded by Sarah Warn, who initially served as the editor in...
, a website that focuses on the portrayal of gay men in the media, addressed Bianca's impact on viewers. They noted All My Children creator Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon is an American writer and producer. She attended Northwestern University where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, and is best known as the creator of soap operas such as One Life to Live and All My Children...
having told The Advocate
The Advocate
The Advocate is an American LGBT-interest magazine, printed monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a web site. Both magazine and web site have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to LGBT people...
in 2000 that out-lesbian Chastity Bono
Chastity Bono
Chaz Salvatore Bono is an American transgender advocate, writer, actor, and musician. Bono is the only child of American entertainers Sonny and Cher, though each had children from other relationships...
's memoir was the inspiration for the Bianca storyline, and that she hoped that outing an already-established character as gay would make for a more integrated storyline. AfterElton.com said the representation of gay and lesbian characters in the media is important when taking into account that the viewing audience for soap operas "is enormous". Cited was The Museum of Broadcast Communications
Museum of Broadcast Communications
The Museum of Broadcast Communications is an American museum that currently exists exclusively on the Internet and not in any physical capacity. Its stated mission is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain...
' assertion that soap opera is "the most effective and enduring broadcast advertising vehicle ever devised. It is also the most popular genre of television drama in the world today and probably in the history of world broadcasting..." The museum states that "no other form of television fiction has attracted more viewers in more countries over a longer period of time." Author C. Lee Harrington, in her book Homosexuality on All My Children: Transforming the Daytime Landscape, stated that when "resident villainess" Greenlee Smythe
Greenlee Smythe
Greenlee Smythe is a fictional character from the daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Rebecca Budig from August 11, 1999 to November 30, 2005, and was portrayed by actress Sabine Singh from April 20, 2007 to January 15, 2008...
uttered "Bianca is gay" during Bianca's coming-out storyline, it transformed the daytime landscape and ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's All My Children entered "uncharted territory" for daytime television by revealing a core character as a lesbian.
Jeffrey Epstein, at the time a staff writer for Soap Opera News, was criticized by AfterElton.com for his statement in 1998, where he discouraged the idea that there would be more gay or lesbian representation to come on daytime television due to soap operas being mostly viewed by women and that gay or lesbian romances do not truly enrich most heterosexual women's fantasies. AfterElton.com relayed that the viewing demographic for soap operas continues to grow and diversify, further clarifying, "The popularity of the Bianca storyline on All My Children was proof that audiences were more than ready for a lesbian relationship, and his assessment of women's romantic fantasies in regards to gay male characters may prove to be equally outdated."
In 2001, Riegel was voted one of Soaps' Hottest Newcomers by Soap Opera Digest and the following year as one of Soaps' Hottest Teens by the same magazine. Riegel modestly accepted, "What does that mean, 'hot?' Does that mean I'm hot, like sexy? I feel pretty damn hot. I wish I knew what it meant. No, that's very flattering." In 2003, Bianca was the winner of the first GLAAD Media Award
GLAAD Media Awards
The GLAAD Media Award is an accolade bestowed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation to recognize and honor various branches of the media for their outstanding representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the issues that affect their lives...
as Favorite OUT Image. With her win, GLAAD released a statement:
Lesbianation.com, self-proclaimed as the leading online community for lesbians, voted Riegel #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!"
Bianca's popularity extended to her romances, as well as to other perceived possibilities; this was evident through the character's relationships with Maggie Stone
Maggie Stone
Mary Margaret "Maggie" Stone is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was portrayed by actress Elizabeth Hendrickson, who also portrayed Maggie's identical twin sister, Mary Frances "Frankie" Stone. The character comes to Pine Valley in early 2002 after the...
, Lena Kundera and Babe Carey
Babe Carey
Arabella "Babe" Carey Chandler is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Alexa Havins, from October 13, 2003 to October 8, 2007, and then by actress Amanda Baker from October 8, 2007 to October 31, 2008...
. The relationship with Babe Carey was not romantic, as Babe (now deceased within the series) was characterized as heterosexual; however, but fans speculated that Bianca was secretly in love with Babe. This speculation was mainly due to Bianca's nonchalant and forgiving attitude regarding most of Babe's misdeeds. AfterEllen.com took notice and acknowledged that there were viewers hoping for a Bianca and Babe romance.
"Give Bianca her baby back"
In 2004, with Bianca's rape having left her subsequently pregnant with Michael's child, and the baby switch storyline having robbed her of her daughter, viewers were infuriated by what they felt was the pain the character had endured within the year. They additionally found the Bianca and Babe friendship unappealing, specifically due to Babe knowingly keeping Bianca from her own child. Within the story, Babe is initially unaware that her child has been switched with Bianca's and that Bianca's child, the one she is caring for, is still alive and not dead as she has been led to believe. However, once convinced by Krystal to keep Bianca's child as her own in order to save JR from heartbreak, she does as advised. Due to her guilt, she goes as far as to name Bianca godmotherGodparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
of the child. Angered by these events, viewers longed for Bianca to discover the truth. The amount of mail sent to the ABC studios requesting and demanding that Bianca's baby be returned to her was cited as astounding for a fictional character, especially one of daytime — and who is also gay: "Bianca's sexuality did not seem to matter to the thousands of fans who wrote letters, e-mail messages and blog entries insisting that the only safe place for the baby was back in the arms of Pine Valley's one known lesbian." This was achieved after significant campaign from viewers; the story shifts so that Bianca is eventually reunited with her baby on December 7, 2004. Described as "Babe's long-overdue confessional" and beginning of redemption, she confesses to Bianca the truth about their children. The culmination of this storyline combined with everything Bianca faces up to this point "transform[s] Bianca into a courageous soap heroine who ha[s] fans rooting for her". Viewers became even more invested in her trials and tribulations and hopeful for the character finding romance. Brian Frons
Brian Frons
Brian Frons is an American television executive, and president of ABC Daytime.- Educational background :Frons holds a Master of Science degree in Communications from Syracuse University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the State University of New York at Fredonia.-Television...
, president of ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime
ABC Daytime is a programming block on the ABC Network which has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows.-Schedule:...
, stated:
To have someone like Bianca who is openly gay, a mother, proud of who she is, who has fallen in love with another woman, who is taking heroic action — to have the audience embrace this character fully is pretty incredible. The audience went from 'I don't want to see a lesbian relationship' to saying, 'Bianca should be in love.
Havins and Riegel described what went into taping the moment Bianca discovers that her child is alive and Babe's deception. "It was crazy!" said Riegel of the "grueling" day. "It was insane, in fact. [Havins] and I were on the set from 9 a.m. to like 7:30 at night, just the two of us." Havins agreed and relayed, "It was so intense to tape. It was a long, long day, a 12-hour tape day." Havins and Riegel were warned by All My Children executives that the episode would be "especially" demanding. "They made a big deal of it," said Riegel. "I don't think they've ever handed that much material to just two actresses before, so they wanted us to be prepared." Havins added:
It was the most dialogue I've ever had in my entire life. To the point where several weeks before they gave me the script, our producer, Julie [Hanan CarruthersJulie Hanan CarruthersJulie Hanan Carruthers is an American soap opera producer.-Positions held:All My Children*Executive Producer General Hospital...
], sat us down and said to us, 'This is just so important.' And she turned to me and said, 'We're almost nervous because it's so much material. If it's too much, let us know.' It was that dialogue-heavy.
Riegel laughed and said, "Unfortunately, we only got the script like three days ahead of time! But hey! We're old pros." When asked if they were intimidated by the challenge of the reveal scenes, Riegel shrugged, "Actually, I wasn't scared at all." She clarified that it "was a good challenge" and "one of those things where it's like, 'This is what I do. This is what I love.'" She said, "To have all that material and to be there in the moment ... I didn't want to be in any other place. It was really exciting." Riegel had been waiting for the moment "for a long time" and felt that it was "a big pay-off" for them. She further stated:
But I was a little nervous because this was definitely a very, very special episode. That was the biggest challenge to me; I was going in there knowing, 'This is the moment.' I kept having to make myself laugh and leave set and play with my friends in the hair and makeup room and just sort of try to view the day as though it was just an average taping day because the last thing those scenes needed from my character's perspective was that sense of gravity, that feeling of, 'This is so important.' Because it was not a big deal for my character — she had no idea what was coming.
Havins agreed with Riegel that the reveal scenes were exciting. "I'm always up for a challenge and I work best under pressure," she said. "My competitive side kicks in. So the thought that I maybe couldn't do it made me be like, 'Oh, yeah, I'm doin' it!' We put so much preparation into it." Justin Bruening
Justin Bruening
Justin Bruening is an American actor and former fashion model. In 2003, his acting career began when he was cast in the role of Jamie Martin on the daytime drama All My Children, earning him a Soap Opera Digest Award in 2005 for the portrayal...
(Jamie Martin) and Jacob Young
Jacob Young
Jacob Wayne Young is an American actor and singer. He is perhaps best known for his role as JR Chandler on the ABC daytime soap opera All My Children...
(JR) were the only other cast members in the episode. "...I worked with a private coach, we worked on it together.... We put a lot of time into this episode," Havins stated. "We usually don't have that luxury, but this time we did; this took priority. And shooting it, too, we knew it was a big deal."
Havins said the producers and director were patient with them. "And if we felt we didn't like where a take went," stated Havins, "usually they're like, 'No, it's fine, let's move on,' but this time they were like, 'Let's do it again. We loved that take, girls, but let's try something else,' and we'd go in a totally different direction." "They took the time and they were as invested in this episode as [Riegel] and I were, so that was a really good feeling. We were all there, we were all in it together, and hopefully, the finished product shows it."
In 2005, Riegel won an Emmy
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming...
for the role. When she decided to leave the show that same year, to pursue other acting ventures, it was concluded the gay community would be losing a viable voice.
Controversy
Scripting legendLegend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
ary character Erica as having a gay daughter initially upset a significant portion of the audience. "Viewers were deeply attached to the character as the 16-year-old daughter of [the leading soap opera diva]. ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
held a series of focus groups to gauge audience reaction." Female viewers in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and some in Atlanta found the storyline "refreshing and reflective" of what they called the "real world and its diversity". The Atlanta group, however, had a good portion who were concerned about morality and did not want a major character "saddled with a lifelong problem". Boston viewers felt Bianca's problem was being in the closet; Atlantans voiced her problem was her sexual preference itself. In addition, there was opposition to the increased love for the character. Critics of gay marriage complained about a sympathetic gay heroine, saying Bianca made daytime television even more licentious.
Rape outrage
Bianca's rape was heavily debated; viewers who despised the storyline argued the rape as "punishment" for her sexuality, and as unnecessary; others felt that it realistically captured what gay women sometimes face from men who want to force themselves on lesbiansLesbophobia
Lesbophobia comprises various forms of negativity toward lesbian women as individuals, as a couple or as a social group...
.
When GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) was asked by Metro Weekly
Metro Weekly
Metro Weekly is a free weekly magazine-style publication for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. It was first published on May 5, 1994. Metro Weekly includes local news, interviews with community leaders and politicians, community event calendars,...
why GLAAD sent out an action alert
Action alert
An action alert is a message that an organization sends to mobilize people - often members of their group and supports of a specific point of view - calling on them to take action to influence public policy. Typically, action alerts are in reference to a timely issue, where prompt action is needed...
voicing their concern over the rape storyline of Bianca, but two days later sent out another release which seemed to support how the storyline was told, Joan M. Garry, executive director of the organization, responded that they had "some concerns" about [the storyline] and "that the broader context of the [daytime television] genre kind of needs to be taken into account". Metro Weekly felt that this did not answer their question. They wanted to know why there was a sudden reversal in GLAAD's statement, specifically citing that GLAAD's second press release spoke of rape experience for lesbians and how men who rape lesbians not only engage in gender based acts of violence, but in acts of hate violence, and that this release was supportive of how Bianca's rape storyline was told, as opposed to GLAAD's first press release on the matter. Garry said she felt that their first press release concerning Bianca's rape was premature. Metro Weekly countered by asking what is the "actual process" GLAAD uses to select what to criticize, what raises their organization's red flags. "There's a whole host of input we receive about things as we hear about them, as we see them in script form, as we see them in pilots," Garry relayed. "We have a strong team of program folks who represent different regions around the country, different communities. We get an awful lot of stuff that comes across the transom via our website raising concerns. And we did get quite a number of concerns coming over email, particularly about All My Children." Garry continued, "So it's basically community feedback, as well as some of our own observations and perceptions. Combine that with conversations that we have with folks that are actually producing the images and we really try to work our way through those different opinions and shape a position we think makes sense."
In an interview with Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
, Riegel detailed what it was like preparing for her character's rape scenes. She explained that it was grueling and that there were only four people in the episode. She found it to be "very work-intensive", emotionally haunting, and voiced that she had trouble sleeping. She elaborated that "these" type of scenes really stay with a person.
Riegel and co-star William deVry
William deVry
William deVry is an Canadian television actor now living in Vancouver. He has appeared on several soap operas. He played the roles of Joshua Doors on Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict, Tim Charles on Port Charles and Michael Cambias on All My Children...
(Michael Cambias
Michael Cambias
Michael Cambias, formerly a brief resident of the fictional town of Pine Valley, appeared on the American daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor William deVry, from January 23, 2003 to August 2003, and later in a ghostly vision in 2004 and 2006.The character is one that lives in...
) rehearsed the scenes on their own, which normally would not have been the case. Riegel commented that it definitely required more work than an ordinary episode. Asked if she was frightened of deVry during Bianca's rape scenes, she admitted that she was and that it was a testament to deVry's acting skills. Riegel was further queried about the uneasiness of the scenes and whether she was frightened or intimidated by "the gravity" of the storyline. "Absolutely, I was," she stated. "To be honest, I didn't know if I could handle it. But I knew it was a very important thing to do and that the show was serious about handling it well. I knew we could reach people, and that it was powerful stuff. I could feel the power of it. And I knew I should put myself through this because ultimately it might help somebody, touch somebody, make people talk about it. And rape is something people should talk about."
Lesbian community angers
Bianca's romantic attraction to transgender rockstar Zarf/ZoeZoe (All My Children)
Zoe is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama All My Children, and is credited as the first transgender character to appear on a soap opera at the beginning of a male to female gender transition. She was portrayed by actor Jeffrey Carlson in August 2006 and then again from November 29,...
was met with criticism from the gay and lesbian community, and fans in general. They asserted that, as a lesbian, it is illogical for Bianca to be intensely, romantically attracted to a transgender woman who is still of the male form, and that even more stressing was that the show tried to convey the story as soul-love (the belief that sexual orientation can be negated if you simply love that person's soul). Viewers titled the couple "Barf" (for Bianca and Zarf), and TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, which reported the nickname, named the storyline one of the worst of 2007.
The San Francisco Bay Area Reporter, Inc.
Bay Area Reporter
The Bay Area Reporter is a free weekly newspaper serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered communities in the San Francisco Bay Area; it is the oldest-continuously published, and one of the largest LGBT newspapers in the United States....
, a free weekly newspaper serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
ed (LGBT) communities in their area, were one of the first to comment on their discontent with the matter:
We have repeatedly voiced our displeasure over the transgender/lesbian storyline between Zarf/Zoe and Bianca. We disagree with the basic premise Zarf/Zoe as a MTF transgendered lesbian. We want Bianca to be with a woman (and she did have a one-night stand with Leslie on New Year’s Eve, which has to be a first for a daytime soap). We don’t want her already messy love life in which she has never been allowed to have a fully realized relationship with another woman (her first lover went crazy and was institutionalized, her next was killed, the next was a corporate thief who then had to return to PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, the next identical twin of the one who was killed wasn’t sure she was even queerQueerQueer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
and then left her for another woman). We don’t want her life complicated with the complexities of a transgender relationship.
The Wow Report delivered a scathing remark when they referred to Zarf as a drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
and commented on their disbelief that All My Children was winning GLAAD awards.
Gabrielle Montgomery
In October 2008, with Bianca's return to the series during a series of tornadoTornado
A tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. They are often referred to as a twister or a cyclone, although the word cyclone is used in meteorology in a wider...
es striking fictional town Pine Valley, Bianca was reported to be pregnant with her second child. Fans immediately began speculating on who the sperm donor was, which caught the attention of soap opera press, LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
press, and other media outlets. TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
reported that "nobody knows [Bianca's] in town until her brother-in-law finds her under the rubble". SOAPnet.com
SOAPnet
SOAPnet is an American cable television channel that broadcasts current and past soap operas and primetime dramas, along with some original programming. The channel launched on January 20, 2000, and is owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
stated, "The physical affects [sic] of the tornado are miniscule [sic] compared to the ripples Bianca’s presence creates." Another soap opera website sensationalized the story by stating, "When Bianca returns to town this time, she will have a brand new ‘someone special’ in her life and a big surprise — Bianca is pregnant! And wait until everyone finds out who the 'father' is."
Fans, aware that Miranda Montgomery
Miranda Montgomery
Miranda Mona Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She is currently portrayed by Mackenzie Aladjem...
, Bianca's first child, was the result of rapist Michael Cambias
Michael Cambias
Michael Cambias, formerly a brief resident of the fictional town of Pine Valley, appeared on the American daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor William deVry, from January 23, 2003 to August 2003, and later in a ghostly vision in 2004 and 2006.The character is one that lives in...
, speculated Zach Slater
Zach Slater
Zachary "Zach" Slater is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. He was portrayed by actor Thorsten Kaye from May 20, 2004 to November 19, 2010; Thorsten returned to the role on August 5, 2011 to September 23, 2011...
as the child's biological father. Zach was Michael's older brother. Fans theorized that Bianca wanted a baby closely related to Miranda and asked Zach to father the child. If Bianca were already pregnant when she got to Pine Valley, then Zach could have "donated" last time Bianca was in town, even though the timing within the series was off.
Another theory concluded Bianca’s former love Zarf/Zoe as the father; the argument arose over a website putting "father" in quotations. The "father" is really a "mother" trapped in a "father’s" body, went the theory.
Zach was eventually confirmed as the father of the child by magazine Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest
Soap Opera Digest is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional information...
, and Bianca's reasons for asking Zach to be the donor and doing so without informing her sister and Zach's wife, Kendall Hart Slater, infuriated viewers. They reasoned that neither Bianca nor Zach would do this to Kendall.
The child is soon named Gabrielle Montgomery. The choice for Zach as the father makes Miranda and the new child not only half siblings but cousins as well, which some viewers found "icky".
See also
- Bianca Montgomery and Maggie StoneBianca Montgomery and Maggie StoneBianca Montgomery and Maggie Stone are fictional characters and a supercouple from the American daytime drama All My Children. Bianca was portrayed by Eden Riegel, and Maggie was portrayed by Elizabeth Hendrickson....
- Lena Kundera and Bianca MontgomeryLena Kundera and Bianca MontgomeryLena Kundera and Bianca Montgomery are fictional characters from the American daytime drama All My Children. Commonly referred to by the portmanteau "Lianca" , they were the first lesbian couple on an American soap opera. Lena was portrayed by Olga Sosnovska, and Bianca was portrayed by Eden Riegel...
- Reese Williams and Bianca MontgomeryReese Williams and Bianca MontgomeryReese Williams and Bianca Montgomery are fictional characters and a lesbian couple from the ABC daytime drama All My Children. Reese was portrayed by Tamara Braun, and Bianca was portrayed by Eden Riegel. On Internet message boards, the pairing is commonly referred to by the portmanteaus "Rianca" ...
- SupercoupleSupercoupleA supercouple or super couple is a popular or financially wealthy pairing that intrigues and fascinates the public in an intense or even obsessive fashion...
Further reading
- C. Lee Harrington (July 2003). Lesbian(s) on daytime television: The Bianca narrative on All My Children. Feminist Media Studies. An analysis on Bianca's lesbian life.