How do you feel about being named a hottest teen? "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."

How closely does Bianca's life reflect your high-school experience? "Oh, not at all. In high school ... I was not present. I went to Professional Children's School."

Well, Bianca's doing "independent study." Wink, wink. "It's true. Meaning no Pine Valley High School set [laughs]. In my school, I was surrounded by people like me: actors and professional kids. Poor Bianca seems to be the only lesbian in all of Pine Valley, so it really can't be easy for her."

When you were a teen, who was your celebrity crush? "I had a crush on Tim Robbins. It's just so bizarre. I was not [into] Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio; Tim Robbins just did it for me. I think it was with The Shawshank Redemption that I developed this crush for him."

If you were an ice cream flavor, which one would you be, and why? "I'm going to say this — see if it works. If it doesn't, I'm going to abandon it. Mint chocolate chip because it's refreshing, it's not overpowering — it's subtle. And it's got some tough little bits in there, but once you crack 'em, they're nice and sweet."

What was your look in high school? "This is going to embarrass me. I called them my 'wack' outfits. I would go to flea markets, thrift stores and vintage clothing stores. I would pick out funky, crazy scarves, clothes, layers, vests, shoes and tights. I had these tights that had cartoon characters all over them. And things with rhinestones and studs."

This article originally appeared in the January 22, 2002 issue of Soap Opera Digest.