The Maryland-born sixth-grader's career took off when she was enrolled at age 5 in a children's acting seminar by her mother, Diane, 35, a former freelance editor and onetime Washington Redskins cheerleader. Spotted by a theatrical agent, Brown promptly graduated to kiddie TV ads (Trix and Jell-O), then to Broadway (where she had appeared in three shows by the age of 9) and, in 1993, to the cast of GL. In April she scored an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Young Actress in a Drama Series. "She's like a ball of sunshine," says Brown's mother. "She's got so much energy."

She needs every watt. On the Manhattan set of GLby 7:30 a.m., Brown shoots her scenes, then scoots across town to Broadway, where she also appears in Showboat eight times a week. Schooling--via a Christian video correspondence course--gets done at home between her acting commitments. She has shared a two-bedroom Manhattan apartment with her mother, her father, Rick, 41, a freelance computer technician, and brothers Richard II, 6, and Roman, 6 months, since the family left Gaithersburg, Md., and followed Kimberly to New York a year ago.