Marcia Cross
That was then: Melrose Place's wig-wearing (and downright wiggy) psycho doc Kimberly, who once blew up the whole apartment complex.
This is now: ABC's Desperate Housewives' wiggy domestic diva Bree. (Think Martha Stewart moves to Stepford.)
Between then and now: Before her memorable stint last season as HIV-infected doc Linda Abbott on Everwood, Cross put her career on hiatus to earn a master's degree in psychology from Antioch University. "I had patients," she says. "I definitely miss it and imagine I'll go back to it at some point."
What I like about my new character: "Poor Bree. I think she lost her soul somewhere along the line. How deliciously exciting!"
If the old TV character squared off against the new one, who'd win? As if there's any question: Kimberly. "She's psychotic. Bree's not gonna go around killing people."

• Desperate Housewives premieres Sunday, 10/3, 9 pm/ET, on ABC.