Trivia: New York City native Rachel True longed to be an actress from her youngest years, watching the performances of her stepmother, renowned stage actress Verona Barnes. True's own first break came when she was cast for several episodes of The Cosby Show in 1991, as a friend of Theo's. She would later score recurring television roles on Beverly Hills 90210, The Drew Carey Show, Once and Again, and HBO's Dream On.In 1993, True moved to Los Angeles, which kick-started her film career. Her first notable appearance was opposite Chris Rock in the rap parody CB4 (1993). She next starred alongside Alyssa Milano in Embrace of the Vampire (1994), then stayed with the occult theme for the more widely seen witch flick The Craft (1996). True plays the most underwritten of four young Wiccan worshipers (opposite Fairuza Balk, Robin Tunney, and Neve Campbell), one of several roles she has taken that was originally written for a white actress. She and Campbell became best friends as a result of working together on the project.True ventured into indie filmmaking with Gregg Araki's Nowhere, the third installment in his "teen apocalypse trilogy," in which she won some acclaim for her portrayal of Mel, a sexually confused central cog of Araki's dystopian soap opera. She returned briefly to more commercial fare with Half Baked (1998), in which she plays Dave Chappelle's love interest and one of the few non-stoned characters. Since then it's been back to lesser-seen films -- most notably as a veteran rave girl in Greg Harrison's Groove (2000) -- as well as her television work.

Trivia: Actress Essence Atkins began appearing onscreen in the late '80s, with small appearances on shows like Saved By the Bell and The Cosby Show. She would go on to land a series of starring roles on short-lived series throughout the '90s like Under One Roof and Smart Guy before finding lasting success with a starring role on the comedy series Half and Half, which she stayed with from 2002 to 2006. After the show ended its run, Atkins made a number of appearances in movies like Love for Sale and Dance Flick.

Trivia: A Broadway actress by training, Valarie Pettiford earned a Tony nomination for her role in the principal cast of the musical Fosse. She would also earn critical acclaim for roles in shows like Chicago, but most viewers would become acquainted with Pettiford for her film at TV work. Beginning with appearances on shows like Another World and Walker, Texas Ranger, Pettiford spent the '90s building up her résumé. In 2002, she was cast in the recurring role of Gayle Noland on the crime drama The District. Around the same time, she took on the role of Big Dee Thorn on the comedy series Half and Half, which she'd stay with for the next four years. In 2008, she began a professional relationship with Tyler Perry, playing Sandra on the sitcom House of Payne, and playing weary wife Harriet in Perry's 2010 dramedy Why Did I Get Married Too?

Trivia: The resonantly photogenic model-turned-actress Sarah Lancaster began life in Overland Park, KS, with a real estate broker father, a homemaker mother, and one sibling. The family moved to Mission Viejo, Orange County, before Sarah's 11th birthday, where the aspiring star instantly secured representation and, within a few years, landed a recurring role as Rachel Meyers on the teen-oriented sitcom Saved by the Bell: The New Class, between 1994 and 1996. Lancaster briefly attended the University of California at Irvine to facilitate an early high-school graduation, then leapt into L.A.-based acting work, with a series of contributions to such low-profile films as Lovers Lane (1999), Mercury Project (2000), and Devil in the Flesh 2 (2000). Lancaster scored her first huge cinematic break in 2002, when she appeared (very briefly) as one among dozens of romantic interests for Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) in Steven Spielberg's dazzling biopic Catch Me If You Can (2002). Lancaster maintained a higher onscreen profile with guest-starring appearances on Scrubs and CSI, as well as supporting roles on Everwood and Dr. Vegas. Her next two television roles -- Dr. Marjorie Seaver on the comedy drama What About Brian and Ellie Bartowski on the spy comedy drama Chuck -- lead to even higher exposure and success.