Trivia: It took versatile actor James Belushi several years to slowly come into his own, which wasn't an easy task following in the fiery footsteps of his flamboyant, self-destructive brother, the late comic John Belushi. Despite that obstacle, the easy-going actor with the crooked smile still managed to forge a respectable career playing co-leads in a variety of film genres, including comedy, action, and drama in roles ranging from a sleazeball thief to a cop to a party animal in a gorilla suit. Prior to his first television appearances, the Chicago-born actor earned a degree in Speech and Theater, and worked on-stage in The Pirates of Penzance and True West. Like John, James joined the notorious Second City improvisational comedy group. He also began making regular guest appearances on Saturday Night Live, where his brother became famous in the mid-'70s. Making his feature film debut playing James Caan's calm partner in 1981's Thief, James Belushi began acting under John Landis (who also directed his brother) in Trading Places (1983). He continued playing supporting roles and occasional leads -- most notably in Oliver Stone's Salvador with James Woods in 1986 -- but his big break came when he played a bad cop in 1988's Red Heat with Arnold Schwarzenegger. He was equally popular in K-9 the following year. Although his subsequent films were not as successful, Belushi continued to grow as a dramatic actor. In 2001, Belushi began headlining the successful ABC sitcom According to Jim.

Trivia: Blonde, slim, and polished television actress Courtney Thorne-Smith first appeared as Stacy Hamilton on Fast Times, the television series spin-off of the successful teen movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High. She made her film debut in the sports comedy Lucas, which also starred the rising young stars Winona Ryder, Corey Haim, and Charlie Sheen. When she did work on films, they were mostly lightweight comedies like Welcome to 18, Summer School, and Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise. Back on television, she appeared in the short-lived sitcom Day by Day and some TV movies before joining the cast of L.A. Law as Kimberly Dugan. Staying with TV dramas, she played Alison on the FOX soap opera Melrose Place from 1992-1997, and then she joined the cast of Ally McBeal and its truncated spawn Ally as Georgia Thomas. She also appeared in the Carrot Top movie Chairman of the Board. After a few guest-starring roles on Spin City, she moved over to ABC for the family sitcom According to Jim as Jim Belushi's wife, Cheryl.

Trivia: Though she worked consistently throughout the 1990s, Kimberly Williams made her biggest impression on movie audiences as the sweet ingenue in the remake of Father of the Bride (1991). Raised in New York, Williams began acting in commercials as a teenager. During her second year at Northwestern University, Williams got her feature film break when she was cast as protective father Steve Martin's soon-to-be-married daughter Annie in the (slightly) modernized version of the popular 1950s comedy Father of the Bride. Though the movie became a hit, Williams chose to finish college rather than head immediately to Hollywood, appearing only in the gentle nostalgia piece Indian Summer (1993) before she earned her degree. After school, Williams reunited with screen parents Martin and Diane Keaton to play the now-expectant mother Annie in the genial sequel Father of the Bride II (1995). Moving beyond gentle, crowd-pleasing comedy, Williams co-starred with TV heartthrob Jason Priestley in the hitman black comedy Coldblooded (1995), played Emilio Estevez's sister in the Vietnam drama The War at Home (1996), and appeared in the TV version of the Neil Simon play Jake's Women (1995). Williams' doe-eyed earnestness also won over a cadre of fans when she was cast as the female lead in the Edward Zwick/Marshall Herskovitz series Relativity in 1996, but the critically acclaimed show lasted only one season. Along with acting in Broadway and off-Broadway plays in the late '90s, Williams also played the young Sharon Stone in the film version of Sam Shepard's Simpatico (1999), joined the ensemble cast of the romantic comedy Just a Little Harmless Sex (1999), and starred as a contemporary young woman transported to fairytale land in the splashy NBC miniseries The 10th Kingdom (2000). That assignment seemed prophetic in retrospect, for Williams subsequently gravitated toward television projects and away from the big screen; she played Dana, sister-in-law of the titular suburbanite (Jim Belushi) on the popular ABC sitcom According to Jim (2001), and also began accepting leads in longform features. The majority of these projects constituted sentimental, family-friendly melodramas, such as the 2001 Follow the Stars Home (with Williams as a young woman deserted by her husband after she gives birth to a deformed baby) and the 2002 outing The Christmas Shoes (as a mother dying of congenital heart failure). Also in 2002, Williams turned up in Rodrigo García's drama Ten Tiny Love Stories, as one of several characters who deliver heartfelt monologues on their romantic lives. She married country singer Brad Paisley in 2003 and they have two children. Her film and television career includes Identity Theft, How to Eat Fried Worms, Eden Court, and Amish Grace.

Trivia: Constance Marie floored audiences with her performance as Selena's mother in Selena (1997), the biographical drama about the pop artist's rise and the tragic ending of her life. Through extensive makeup preparation, Marie was transformed to look substantially older than her on-screen daughter, played by Jennifer Lopez -- the actual age difference between the two actresses was merely one year. Marie's emotional portrayal in the role left no doubt of her maturity as a performer, with or without the makeup.Born September 9, 1969, in Hollywood, CA, Marie's first role was playing Penny in the film spin-off series Dirty Dancing. In 1995, she starred in the Newline feature My Family, as Toni Sanchez, earning her substantial credit in the field. Her role in Selena two years later solidified her impression as a performer, and would veer her career toward dramatic roles both on television and in films.Marie had several roles on TV series, including one recurring on the NBC series Union Square in 1997. Additionally, her film credits continued to grow, mainly in the vein of drama. In 2000, she was featured in the Sundance Film Festival feature Dancing in September. She appeared in See Spot Run and as Yolanda in Tortilla Soup a year later. After a few years without much emphasis on her television career, she returned to the tube, appearing simultaneously on two different networks. She starred as Angie, the wife of standup comic George Lopez, in the 2002 ABC sitcom The George Lopez Show, and as Nina in the critically acclaimed PBS dramatic series American Family of the same year. Over the years to come, Marie would find additional success on the series Switched at Birth.