Before She Was 'Bionic Woman'

[Brian Damage]

October 22, 2007 -- 'THE Bionic Woman" is the biggest star you've never heard of.

Until three years ago, Michelle Ryan, 23, the intensely private British actress who plays the new version of the cybernetically-enhanced secret agent, Jamie Sommers, was a huge teen soap star in England on the popular program "EastEnders."

The show, which Ryan joined when she was just 15 to play weak-willed Zoe Slater, has been known at times to draw nearly 20 million viewers daily - a massive audience by U.K. standards. Overnight, Ryan became instantly recognizable, a side effect of fame that she has always been somewhat uncomfortable with, she says.

Fame arrived "Pretty much the next day after being on 'EastEnders,' " says Ryan. "It was relentless and wasn't exactly my favorite part of it - I really couldn't go out anywhere."

Ryan later revealed that when she was 17, she asked to be written out of the show for several months while she reportedly battled depression following the death of her grandfather and rabid tabloid gossip about her weight.

Behind the scenes, Ryan bought a house and lived there with her parents and brother until last winter when she moved to Vancouver to film "The Bionic Woman." Ryan says she chose to live with her parents because she was still so young when she bought the house and wasn't sure what would happen to her work-wise.

"I'm living on my own for the first time, I'm going out and doing my own shopping and the recognition factor now is much more low key.

After leaving "EastEnders" in 2005, Ryan found abundant work on stage, in independent films and in prominent U.K. TV productions, including a role in the ITV period drama "Mansfield Park" and the BBC series "Jekyll," a modern day take on the classic Robert Louis Stevenson monster tale.

While "The Bionic Woman" has not turned out to be the breakout hit NBC was hoping for - its ratings have dropped from a 14 million viewer debut to about 10.2 million last week - the show remains one of the bright spots on the network.

"I like this much better," says Ryan. "I feel like everything has sort of fallen into place."


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