Amber Tamblyn.

AGE 20 HOMETOWN Los Angeles LEADING LADY Amber stars as feisty, angst-ridden Joan Giradi on CBS' quirky new drama Joan of Arcadia. Joan and her family have just moved to Arcadia when Joan starts hearing messages from, um, God. And as if Joan weren't already completely overwhelmed with the whole "new girl" thing, God keeps appearing to her in various human forms--a super hot guy, the school lunch lady--to give Joan an assessment of unusual assignments that help others. PLACE THE FACE For six years, Amber played Emily on General Hospital, and she has made guest appearances on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Boston Public. GRATEFUL DEAD She was also "a really good rotting corpse" in 2002's horror flick The Ring. DOING THE WRITE THING "Writing is my first [career] choice." Amber's had two books of poetry published and is working on a third. Check them out at www.amtam.com. She donates all the profits from the sale of her books to the International Wolf Center. GETTING THE GIG Joan almost didn't happen because Amber was committed to another project. "My agent sent the script to me, and my dad and I read it and said, 'Oh, no. This is really good. Beyond good.' But then the other project didn't work out, so I was available to do this." IN THE BEGINNING At 10, Amber played Pippi Longstocking at a theater house production, and an agent spotted her. One year later, she landed on General Hospital. GROWING PAINS Amber admits there was a time during her General Hospital gig when she thought about giving up acting to have a more traditional childhood. "I was really tired of working. I wanted to be a normal kid who went to school and got to go to birthday parties. If you've been working all week and haven't seen your friends, a birthday party becomes exceptionally important." BUT IT'S IN HER BLOOD Amber's father Russ Tamblyn is an actor (West Side Story, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers). Her uncle and grandfather were also in the biz. Amber says, "I'm fortunate to have that background, but I don't think it makes me compelled to be in the business. My father was dead against it for a really long time, but now he's incredibly proud of me." HEAVENLY FATHER "I'd love to see my dad play God on the show once," Amber laughs. "Please, it wouldn't be that much different than real life!"