Trivia: Lisa Kudrow first made her name playing Phoebe, the ditzy, New Age member of the titular close-knit pals on NBC's highly successful sitcom Friends. Since then, she has bridged the gap between television and film with undeniable success, winning particular acclaim for her role as an uptight school teacher in Don Roos' The Opposite of Sex (1998).Born in Encino, California on July 30, 1963, Kudrow earned a degree in biology from Vassar College before beginning her acting career. After college, she joined the Los Angeles improvisational group, The Groundlings, at the urging of family friend Jon Lovitz. Improv paved the way for more work, and Kudrow was soon appearing in bit roles in a number of films. Her first real break didn't come until 1993, when she began appearing on the TV sitcom Mad About You as Ursula, the waitress from hell. Real fame came in 1994, when the actress was cast as Phoebe on Friends; the enormous success of the show gave her both wide recognition and a steady day job. Kudrow's first leading role on the big screen was as one of the titular heroines (alongside Mira Sorvino) of the 1997 comedy Romy and Michele's High School Reunion; unfortunately, her character was little more than a film version of Phoebe. Fortunately, Kudrow got to widen her range a little further that same year with a starring role in the independent drama Clockwatchers, portraying a struggling actress alongside the likes of Toni Collette and Parker Posey. The following year, Kudrow won raves and critical respect for her turn in The Opposite of Sex, a scathing black comedy in which she gave a comic and poignant performance as an embittered woman coping with the death of her brother, the presence of her best friend's malicious little sister (Christina Ricci), and the romantic attentions of Lyle Lovett. The acclaim she received for her portrayal was complemented the same year with an Emmy Award for her work on Friends. In 1999, Kudrow shared the screen with Robert DeNiro in the comedy Analyze This, and later that year she starred with Diane Keaton and Meg Ryan as three sisters dealing with the imminent death of their irritating father (Walter Matthau) in the comedy Hanging Up, directed by Keaton and written by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron.As the new millenium unfolded, Kudrow would prove to be a strong force on screen, appearing in a number of acclaimed films, like Wonderland, Happy Endings, The Other Woman, Easy A, and in the comedy series Web Therapy.

Trivia: The older sister of edgy female comic Sarah Silverman, Laura Silverman first caught the attention of television viewers with her memorable vocal performance as the droll receptionist also named Laura on the popular animated sitcom Dr. Katz: Professional Therapist. Later, after appearing in the films Half Baked and State and Main as well as on numerous television shows including Bette, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Home Movies, and The Comeback, the senior Silverman sister would join her younger sister briefly onscreen in the 2005 standup feature Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic. More animation work was quick to follow as Silverman voiced characters in Freak Show and Metalocalypse, and in 2007 she joined her little sister on the surprise Comedy Central hit The Sarah Silverman Program. In 2007, Silverman could be seen opposite Ian Gomez in the independent comedy Love Shack.

Trivia: Spent a year performing at the Barn Theatre. Performed in improvisational Murder Mystery Theatre. Spent five years with the Chicago Second City improv comedy troupe. Starred as Paulie G in sitcom The Comeback in 2005, and in its revival in 2014.

Trivia: A familiar name to many a television viewer, writer/producer/director James Burrows has been associated with some of the most successful television sitcoms ever. From producing Cheers and Will & Grace to directing episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Frasier, Friends, and News Radio, it's impossible to deny Burrows' influence on modern television. A native of Los Angeles and the son of writer/director Abe Burrows, James graduated from Ohio's Oberlin College before getting his start in TV directing episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show; the remainder of the decade found him taking the helm of episodes of Rhoda, Laverne & Shirley, Lou Grant, and Taxi. As the '70s gave way to the '80s Burrows looked for ways to expand his resumé and exercise more creative control. Teaming with writer/director brothers Glen and Les Charles in 1982, the trio formed Charles Burrows Charles Productions and soon made television history with the beloved sitcom Cheers. Throughout the following two decades, Burrows directed numerous hits on the small screen, and even after Cheers went off the air in 1993, he remained extremely active as a TV director. His work on Cheers earned him numerous Emmys, and the 15-time Director's Guild of America nominee remains neck and neck with prolific television director George Schaefer as the man with the most nominations from the organization.

Trivia: Entered a student competition in 1969 at the Catholic University of America and took home top prize for his work Sunday Drive. That same year, earned a Shubert Fellowship in Playwriting. Was a high-school teacher. Also taught drama classes at a few colleges. In the early 1990s, served as director of performing arts at Urbana University in Urbana, OH. Made TV debut in 2005 on the HBO series The Comeback. First appearance on the big screen was in the 2007 comedy Smiley Face. Wrote An American Scrapbook in 2007. Penned a vast collection of theatrical pieces as well as TV sitcom pilots.

Trivia: Malin Akerman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1978, but her European life turned a surprising corner when she and her family packed up and moved to Canada before her third birthday. Akerman's ravishing looks seemed harbingers of a successful acting and modeling career, and indeed, at five years old she began to snag a myriad of commercials and small acting roles. Her popularity and recognition was boosted by a win of the Ford Supermodel of Canada search at age 17, and she was soon tackling print and runway work across Europe, followed by an enrollment in York University in Toronto. In 2001, the actress moved to Los Angeles and secured almost instant representation. She landed a series of guest spots on TV shows including Entourage, Doc and Witchblade, as well as a regular role as Juna on the short-lived but critically acclaimed HBO comedy The Comeback, with Lisa Kudrow. She also had a memorable bit part in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) as the attractive wife, Liane, of a disgusting truck driver known only as Freakshow (Christopher Meloni).Akerman achieved her first major acting coup when she signed on as one of the leads in the Farrelly Brothers' remake The Heartbreak Kid (2007), a comedy about a dissatisfied fortysomething newlywed named Eddie (Ben Stiller) who jilts his wife, Lila, only a few days into his honeymoon and instead snags a feisty and independent young free spirit named Miranda. In what seemed to those familiar with the 1971 film like a surprising casting choice, the Farrellys selected the alluring blonde Akerman to play not Miranda (as might be expected) but Lila -- a character no longer dowdy (or Jewish) in their hands. That same year, Akerman also essayed a part in the gag-laden comedy The Brothers Solomon, about a couple of socially impaired losers (Will Arnett, Will Forte) desperate to find a woman to have their baby.Her exposure in those two films soon led to steady work as a major supporting player in a variety of movies. She played the bride-to-be/sister Tess to Katherine Heigl's perpetual bridesmaid in 27 Dresses (2008), and had a busy 2009, with the release of big-budget superhero film Watchmen, followed by Couples Retreat and The Proposal. She showed off her singing chops playing a Rolling Stone reporter in the jukebox musical Rock of Ages in 2012.Akerman has also done extensive television work, playing Dr. Valerie Flame in Adult Swim's Childrens Hospital and a homeless bachelorette in the first season of the web series Burning Love. In 2012, she joined the cast of Suburgatory in the recurring role of Alex, Tessa's (Jane Levy) birth mother before nabbing the lead in her own show, Trophy Wife, the following year.

Trivia: Actor Kellan Lutz has a face that feels eerily familiar, partly because of his many appearances on shows like CSI and Six Feet Under and partly because even before his acting career took off Lutz's face could be seen gracing the pages of Abercrombie catalogs. The model-turned-actor soon graduated from TV to film roles with appearances in movies like Stick It and Prom Night, and by the time he was 23, he'd been cast in the role of Emmett Cullen in the highly anticipated 2008 film adaptation of the young-adult novel Twilight, making him an even more familiar face to legions of fans. Lutz would remain active for the next several years, appearing in the Twilight sequels, as well as movies like A Warrior's Heart.

Trivia: Began acting in plays as a child at his synagogue. Wrote an original stage play, I Know You Are, But What Am I?, which he later adapted into his film All Over the Guy. Performed with the Groundlings improv troupe in New York. Wrote Lisa Kudrow's part in All Over the Guy specifically for her, after the two became friends while attending Vassar College. Wrote a book about being a gay parent called Does This Baby Make Me Look Straight? Confessions of a Gay Dad. Runs a production company, Is or Isn't Entertainment, with Lisa Kudrow.