Kassie Wesley cringes when people call Blair a vixen. "Isn't vixen one of the reindeer?" she laughs. "My character's just misunderstood. She does bad things for good reasons." Actually, Blair has been practically human lately. When Wesley took over the role in 1993 (from Mia Korf), Blair was the incarnation of pure ice; now, she's melting a bit. In fact, the overriding theme of Wesley's fan mail is: "Can't Blair be happy for once?" The vindictive vamp did get a 10-minute reprieve from anguish when she married Todd, but he died on their honeymoon.

What does the future hold for the Lordly young widow? Obviously, she'll keep making trouble for her mortal enemy, Marty, and will tangle with Tina over Todd's fortune. According to Executive Producer Susan Bedsow Horgan, even a rich Blair will always be needy emotionally--a trait she'll undoubtedly pass on to her brand-new daughter, Starr. Warns Bedsow Horgan: "Blair's someone who'll say, 'I'll give you everything, so you won't have to suffer the way I did,' and she'll then probably turn the child into another version of herself." Ten years from now, Bedsow Horgan sees Blair "where Dorian is today: still causing trouble, and still madly [searching for] the love and security that she can never find."