Who is this Rielle woman?

According to this profile in today's Los Angeles Times, the 44-year-old Rielle Hunter (pictured here) with whom former vice presidential candidate and Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards had an affair "has been a party girl, a minor (but working) actress (in the 1991 film "Ricochet," she's the reporter who sticks a microphone in Denzel Washington's face), a writer of oddly titled compositions, a yoga enthusiast and a spiritual seeker." She was born Lisa Jo Druck in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (her father was implicated in a 1982 Sports Illustrated article in a scheme to electrocute horses to collect insurance) and legally changer her name to Rielle Hunter in 1994, 14 years after she moved to Los Angeles. Jay McInerney, best known for his book "Bright Lights, Big City," says he based his 1988 novel "Story of My Life" on Rielle. Wickipedia says the book "is narrated in the first-person from the point of view of Alison Poole, 'an ostensibly jaded, cocaine-addled, sexually voracious 20-year old.' Alison is originally from Virginia and lives in Manhattan, where she is involved in several sexual relationships and is aspiring to become an actress. She falls in love with bond trader and Shakespeare expert Dean but soon they betray each other. The novel implies that the cause of protagonist Alison Poole's 'party girl' behavior is her father's abuse including the murder of her prize jumping horse." The Times profile is a good read. Check it out.