Trivia: A source of perpetual inspiration to millions of young hopefuls, African-American pop diva-turned-actress Jennifer Hudson proved -- with glorious bravado -- that the most gifted and determined young talents can bounce back from a painful and public rejection and land squarely at the pinnacle of success, transcending even what they might have accomplished had the initial rejection never occurred. Born September 12, 1981, in Chicago, IL, Hudson was blessed with an astounding vocal range of six octaves and a perfect musical ear as a young girl, and rigorously trained as a chanteuse from the age of seven, initially in her Baptist church choir, then in dozens upon dozens of stage musicals and talent shows during adolescence. After high school, she briefly attended college but dropped out not long after. In 2002, 21-year-old Hudson landed a job as featured vocalist on the Disney Wonder cruise ship. Circa 2004, with American audiences deep in the throes of reality television, Hudson auditioned in Atlanta, GA, for the third season of Fox's American Idol series, made the cut, and quickly moved along to the semifinalist round. Her songs as a participant in the series included Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing," Elton John's "The Circle of Life," and Martha & the Vandellas' "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave." Though Ryan Seacrest later indicated that Hudson received a higher number of votes than any performer from a previous episode, Hudson was unceremoniously eliminated from the running. Reigning judge Randy Jackson -- a highly respected music producer -- brought Hudson back in the "wildcard" round to join the finalists, but with seven contenders remaining, Hudson was booted off of the series -- despite the well-publicized fact that her range and ability clearly outflanked those of her competitors. That decision infuriated millions; Elton John -- a previous guest judge on Idol -- accused Simon Cowell and others of stark racism, while other commentators, acknowledging that two of Hudson's competitors were also African-American, suspected a deliberate decision to split the contenders demographically. Regardless of the reason, Hudson quickly overcame her disappointment. In late 2005, Hudson auditioned among 783 hopefuls for the lead role of Effi "Melody" White, a female vocalist unfairly ousted from the ranks of a three-member female pop group in the early '60s -- because, ironically, her "look" isn't right -- in Chicago scribe Bill Condon's hotly anticipated late 2006 film musical Dreamgirls, an adaptation of the early '80s Tony award-winning Broadway hit. An ecstatic Hudson landed the part while cutting her first album (roundly trumping the 2004 Idol winner, Fantasia Barrino, in the process), and had to gain almost 25 pounds to perfect Effi's "look" onscreen. Production commenced in January 2006. A media blitz surrounded Hudson's triumph in the role that lifted her into the limelight even months prior to the stateside release of Dreamgirls in December 2006. This buzz included a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination and widespread comparisons to Jennifer Holliday, who originated the Effi role on Broadway in 1981. These predictions began to come true, starting with a win for Best Supporting Actress at that year's Golden Globes awards. The Cinderella story materialized in full on Oscar night when she captured the Best Supporting Actress trophy. The press helped Hudson land a record deal with Clive Davis' J Records, which slated the release of her premiere album for January 2007, mere weeks after the stateside debut of Dreamgirls. Her acting career continued in the 2008 period drama The Secret Life of Bees, and that same year she joined the cast of Sex In the City for their big-screen debut. In 2011 she starred in a biopic of Winnie Mandela, and tried her hand at comedy with the 2012 farce The Three Stooges.

Trivia: Forest Whitaker attended college on a football scholarship, then, interested in Opera, transferred to U.S.C. on two more scholarships to study Music and Theater. He landed small roles on television and in two films, beginning with Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). He got his big break when he appeared in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Martin Scorsese's The Color of Money (both 1986). After a few more supporting roles, Whitaker got his first lead in Clint Eastwood's Bird (1988), in which he played the title role -- heroin-addicted jazz great Charlie Parker, a performance which won him the 1988 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award. Although now better-known as an lead actor, he was unable to greatly capitalize on his success and remained primarily a supporting player in films. He is the older brother of actor Damon Whitaker.

Trivia: A multi-talented performer who segued to acting out of an operatic vocal background, Audra McDonald began life in Berlin, the daughter of a U.S. Army employee father and an Affirmative Action officer mother. McDonald's dad subsequently transported the family to Virginia and then to Fresno, CA, where he taught school; meanwhile, McDonald set her eyes on show business at age nine. She sang and danced in cabaret and acted in dinner theater, and attended a junior high and high school designed expressly for youngsters interested in the performing arts. Soon, Juilliard beckoned, but even though McDonald gained acceptance at age 17, she reportedly felt less than enthusiastic during her time there -- complaining vocally about the instructors' insistence on leading her down an "operatic" path though she felt disinclined to go that way. This rectified itself when McDonald "found her way" into opera via dramatic readings of French literature. Many a stage musical followed for the blossoming diva, among them The Secret Garden, Carousel, and Master Class; throughout, she quickly attained a superior reputation for the dynamic range of her voice and the almost incomparable breadth of her vocal modulation. McDonald transitioned to non-musical film acting in the late '90s, with such productions as the made-for-television Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First One Hundred Years (1999) and Mike Nichols' cable movie Wit (2001); in the years to follow, she also joined the casts of the prime-time dramas Bedford Diaries (2006) and Private Practice (2007). The following year, McDonald carried her involvement in the 2004 Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry's seminal play A Raisin in the Sun to the next level by appearing opposite Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Phylicia Rashad in the 2008 TV movie of that production. In 2011 she appeared Oren Moverman's bad-cop drama Rampart. She played the Mother Abbess in NBC's Sound of Music Live in 2013.

Trivia: The youngest member of what may arguably be the funniest family in show business, Marlon Wayans may also be working his way up to becoming funniest member of the funniest family in show business. Regarding the formidable task of living up to the humorous standards set by his siblings, Marlon takes a healthy and positive attitude, considering his family an important exemplary support system rather than an ominous shadow casting impossible expectations.Born in 1972 in New York City, Marlon graduated from the School of Performing Arts in New York before moving on to study film and arts at Howard University. Following the lead of eldest clan member and brother Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon was inspired to pursue a career in show business. After taking a small role in brother Keenen's blaxploitation spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka! (1988), Marlon joined the cast of Keenen's groundbreaking and trend-setting hip-hop variety show, In Living Color. A natural knack for comedy found Marlon quickly gaining momentum among the cast and refining the skills that would eventually lead him to bigger roles in both film and television. With his role in brother Damon's con-artist comedy Mo' Money, Marlon continued to display his talents for comedy with more substantial roles. Teaming with brother Shawn for television's The Wayans Bros. (1995), Marlon began to expand his responsibilities. Taking on numerous roles -- from writer to director and, of course, star -- Marlon learned the virtues of multi-tasking that would lead him to become a key creative force behind such spoofs as Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996) and Scary Movie (2000). Wayans gained the majority of positive press earned by the otherwise run-of-the-mill comedy Senseless, and a few even compared him to the likes of Jerry Lewis, thanks to his talent for rubber-limbed humor. Yet Marlon began to seek out more serious roles. "I would do straight dramatic stuff. I'm trained as a dramatic actor," he said. "A lot of people just think I'm funny and crazy all the time, but I went to a performing arts high school, so I'm trained in the dramatic arts. I just happen to be funny." Though Marlon got deadly serious for his role as Jared Leto's drug-addicted friend on a collision course with disaster in Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, he continued to display his exceptional gift for comedy by hosting the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards with brother Shawn, and developing the follow-up to his runaway hit Scary Movie.The early 2000s were less benevolent to Wayans. Critics singled out and excoriated him for his foolhardy appearance as Snails in the 2000 bomb Dungeons & Dragons: The Movie. Cited as one of the most wretched films of its year - or any year, by almost everybody, Dungeons barely made half of its thirty-five million dollar budget. USA Today wrote, "Marlon Wayans' performance as a cowardly thief would have seemed in bad taste a half-century ago." As Gawain McSam in the lackluster Coen brothers remake The Ladykillers, Wayans similarly did little more than reinforce an ignorant, filthy-mouthed, jive-talking ghetto stereotype; moviegoers responded slightly more favorably than critics.Perhaps sensing the need to return to his roots for a fresh success, Marlon spent 2004 and 2006 in two family vehicles: the raunchy comedies White Chicks and Little Man, respectively In the former, he and brother Shawn play African American federal agents who go undercover as blonde Caucasian sorority girls to bust a kidnapping scheme. This film climbed the charts to become a top weekend and summer grosser. Little Man, directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and released in July 2006, uses trick photography and sight gags to turn Marlon into the dwarfish thief Calvin Simms, who attempts to retrieve a fenced jewel by posing as an infant and hiding out in the home of aspiring parents. Once there, he relentlessly torments his would-be adoptive father (Shawn Wayans).

Trivia: Started his comedy career in Boston in the mid-1980s and soon after moved to New York City. In 2000, his first one-man show, Jerusalem Syndrome, had an extended off-Broadway run and was released as a book in 2001. A few of his comedy album titles include Not Sold Out, Tickets Still Available, and Final Engagement. Created, in 2009, the podcast WTF with Marc Maron, which featuring interviews with comedians, old friends, and acquaintances. He is often praised for creating a comfortable space on his podcast for comedians to open up about personal issues; notably in his interviews with Robin Williams and Carlos Mencia.

Trivia: Played a prince in The Festival of the Lion King at Walt Disney World after graduating college. Made his Broadway debut in 2005 in Good Vibrations. Originated the role of Sebastian the Crab in the 2007 Broadway musical The Little Mermaid. Released an album titled Comfortable in 2012.

Trivia: With his handsome, everyman looks and strong abilities on stage and screen, actor Tate Donovan has endured to become one of the most talented actors that no one recognizes. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing; with previous girlfriends such as Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Aniston and solid performances in Clean and Sober (1988) and Memphis Belle (1990), it's readily apparent that he has the charm to match his talent. A Tenafly, NJ, native who took up acting in his teens, Donovan's early screen appearances came with troubled teen roles in such efforts as Not My Kid and Into Thin Air (both 1985), as well as a memorable appearance in the 1986 sci-fi adventure Space Camp. A move to Los Angeles found Donovan closer to the world of film production while he pursued his higher education at U.S.C., and it was there that he made the acquaintance of longtime friends such as George Clooney. A post-collegiate role in Memphis Belle (1990) proved that Donovan was indeed honing his skills in front of the camera to good effect, and following an appearance as a recovering drug addict in Clean and Sober (1988), he took his first leading role in the 1992 romantic comedy Love Potion No. 9. Though a relationship with that film's co-star, Sandra Bullock, would result in an engagement, the couple parted ways two short years later, and Donovan began a series of appearances in such art-house efforts as Ethan Frome (1993). A role in the Buena Vista comedy Holy Matrimony (1994) found Donovan getting in good with the folks at Disney, and in three short years he would be providing the voice for the eponymous character in the animated Disney adventure Hercules. More success came in the late '90s with appearances in the popular television series Ally McBeal and Friends, and in addition to a memorable appearance in Homicide: Life on the Street, Donovan gained even more exposure when he was spotted around Tinseltown with high-profile squeeze Jennifer Aniston. Though such later efforts as The Office Party (2000) and Exposed (2002) went largely unseen, Donovan returned to the small screen in 2003 with supporting roles in the series The O.C. and Mister Sterling. Over the coming years, Donovan would continue to appear in several projects, including movies like The Pacifier, Shooter, and Argo, as well as TV series like The O.C. and Damages.

Trivia: Dropped out of high school in the 11th grade, but eventually earned her GED. Her demo tape was a karaoke-type recording of Anita Baker's "Caught Up in the Rapture" that she made at a mall when she was 17. It wound up in the hands of Uptown Records exec Andre Harrell, who signed her. Sean Combs was her musical mentor, helping to produce her 1992 debut album, What's the 411?, and its follow-up, 1994's My Life. What's the 411? sold more than two million copies and helped establish what was then termed "New Jack Swing" (a blend of soul and hip-hop). Made her acting debut in a 1998 episode of The Jamie Foxx Show. In 2004, appeared in the off-Broadway play The Exonerated. Started her own record label, Matriarch Records.

Trivia: Learned Kathakali and Bharatanatyam, two Indian classical dance forms, from Professor Surendra Wadgaonkar. Made her film debut in Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978). Learnt to spin the charkha for her role in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982). After two months of learning, she had a lot of thread, which she exchanged at Gandhi Bhavan for a handkerchief. She gifted it to Richard later on. Won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in Gandhi (1982). Started a theatre group called Awishkar, along with her husband. Received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2004 for her contribution to Indian theatre. Headed the jury for the 59th National Film Awards in 2011.

Trivia: Made his debut on the big screen in David Dhawan's Shola Aur Shabnam (1992). Nominated for the Filmfare Best Villain Award for his performance in Satya (1998). Won the Best Actor award at the Osian's Cinefan Festival for his performance in Kabootar (2009). Worked for the National School of Drama reportary company for over a decade.