Bianca Montgomery

Bianca Montgomery
All My Children character
Eden Riegel as Bianca Montgomery
Portrayed by
  • Jessica Leigh Falborn (1988–1990)
  • Caroline Wilde (1990–1991)
  • Lacey Chabert (1992–1993)
  • Gina Gallagher (1993–1997)
  • Nathalie Paulding (1997–1998)
  • Eden Riegel (2000–2010, 2013)
  • Christina Bennett Lind (2010–2011)
Duration
  • 1988–1998
  • 2000–2011
  • 2013
First appearanceFebruary 8, 1988
Last appearanceJuly 15, 2013
ClassificationFormer; regular
Created byLorraine Broderick
Introduced by
Crossover
appearances		One Life to Live

Christina Bennett Lind as Bianca Montgomery
In-universe information
Occupation
  • Head of Cambias Industries' European division
  • Co-owner (by proxy) of Cambias Industries
  • Founder of the Miranda Montgomery Center for Women and Children
FamilyKane
Parents
Half-brothers
Half-sisters
WifeReese Williams (2009–2011)
Daughters
Grandparents
  • Eric Kane
  • Mona Kane Tyler
Aunts and uncles
  • Jackson Montgomery
  • Christine Montgomery
  • Mark Dalton
  • Silver Kane
Nephews
  • Spike Lavery
  • Ian Slater
First cousins
  • Greenlee Smythe
  • Reggie Montgomery (adoptive)
  • Lily Montgomery (adoptive)
  • Julie Rand Chandler

Bianca Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. Until Eden Riegel assumed the role, portraying the character from July 2000 to January 2010, the character was portrayed solely by child actresses: Lacey Chabert, Nathalie Paulding, Gina Gallagher, Caroline Wilde and Jessica Leigh Falborn. When Riegel decided to permanently exit the role, plans to recast were confirmed; in June 2010, Christina Bennett Lind replaced Riegel,[1][2][3] and remained on the series through the original television finale episode, which aired September 23, 2011. In February 2013, it was announced that Riegel would be reprising her role as Bianca in a guest-arc on Prospect Park's continuation of All My Children.[4]

The character of Bianca is 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.[5] 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.[6] Newspapers such as The New York Times cite her as the first lead character on a major daytime drama to be a lesbian,[7] and The Advocate calls her "the most famous gay soap role of all time."[8] 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,[9] and is a heroine.[7][10] Under Riegel's portrayal, her popularity has been cited as groundbreaking.[5][7][9][11]

  1. ^ Logan, Michael (2010-05-13). "All My Children Finds Its New Bianca". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 2010-05-25. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
  2. ^ Levinsky, Mara (2010-03-30). "Wham, BAM!". Soap Opera Digest. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  3. ^ Dan J Kroll; Liz Masters (2010-03-05). "Riegel didn't want to play Bianca, recast coming". Soap Opera Central. Archived from the original on 7 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-04-04.
  4. ^ "UPDATE: Eden Riegel Set For Guest Arc On 'All My Children's Online Revival, Julia Barr Joins Cast". Deadline Hollywood. The Deadline Team. February 22, 2013. Retrieved 2013-02-22.
  5. ^ a b Byrd, Veronica (2001-10-15). "As Susan Lucci's Lesbian Daughter, Daytime Rookie Eden Riegel Breaks New Ground on All My Children". People. Archived from the original on 4 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
  6. ^ Yimm, Lisa (April 2004). "Olga Sosnovska, AMC's Unlikely Lesbian Icon". AfterEllen.com. Archived from the original on 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  7. ^ a b c Healy, Patrick D. (2005-02-24). "After Coming Out, a Soap Opera Heroine Moves On". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  8. ^ Fairman, Michael (2010-06-04). "Becoming Bianca". The Advocate. Archived from the original on 7 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
  9. ^ a b Hudson, Zack (2006-07-19). "All my gay children: Soap operas continue inclusive, if incidental use of gay characters". Washington Blade. Archived from the original on 2008-06-03. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  10. ^ Article cites its top heroines during Satin Slayer storyline. Bianca one of its most beloved. "SHOCKING DEATH! We Reveal Which Of These Heroines Is Killed. "It's not pretend."". Soap Opera Digest. January 2007.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference AfterElton.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).