She portrayed Bianca Montgomery in the daytime drama All My Children, and propelled the character into a gay icon, as well as a popular figure within the medium.

In December 2000, Riegel's character Bianca "came out" to her mother, Erica Kane (Susan Lucci), becoming the only lesbian on a daytime soap opera at that time.

Riegel returned again for a short visit from May 24, 2006, until mid-June, in a storyline connected with Bianca's sister Kendall's (Alicia Minshew) pregnancy and coma.

In 2007, she parted ways with the show once again, but reappeared in the episode dated August 14, 2007, when Bianca phones in to check on Kendall from Paris, and in December for a Christmas visit.

Reese and Bianca's union made history when it resulted in the first legal same-sex marriage in American daytime television.

[14][15] Riegel left the show again in February 2009, but also confirmed in an interview with Soap Opera Digest that she would be returning in spring 2009 to conclude the Reese and Bianca story.

[23] Prior to joining All My Children, Riegel had a small role on the daytime drama As the World Turns as an AIDS patient, appeared in Law & Order and portrayed a minor character in the feature film American Pie.

While portraying Bianca, she remained active in other acting avenues, doing a small guest role on American Dreams and appearing in the New York play The Sex Lives of Superheroes.

In 2008, Riegel joined the cast of Year One, a Harold Ramis film that stars Jack Black and Michael Cera.

Eden discussed the portrayal of Bianca with Tatiana, who is a lesbian, and with the producers of All My Children, in order to ensure that the character was not a stereotype.

[28] In March 2007, Riegel became engaged to actor Andrew Miller, who had been a high school classmate of Cameron Mathison's (Ryan Lavery on All My Children).

Riegel is a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and is a close friend of actresses Rebecca Budig, Alicia Minshew, and Elizabeth Hendrickson.