(Photo: Elena Dorfman)

Van Hansis, 26
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“A sweet, tender, immensely brave actor,” says Logan, “who has weathered a firestorm of controversy in a landmark role.” (Hansis plays one of the rare gay men on soaps.) “Even the anti-gay, Christian-right grannies gotta love him.”

Kristen Alderson, 17
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“What fans love most about Kristen is that they watched her grow up on the show,” says Hinsey. “They know her. So when something happens to Starr—like her unwanted pregnancy at 16, for instance—it’s not just a soap character in trouble. She’s a member of the family.”