Trivia: Born on June 15, 1964, Courteney Cox grew up with three older siblings in Mountain Brook, an affluent Alabama town. Though Cox participated in multiple extracurricular activities during her high school years, she did not exercise her taste for acting until she dropped out of the architecture program at Mount Vernon College. Landing a contract with the prestigious Ford Modeling Agency led Cox to several commercial appearances. Her first official role arrived in 1984, when she was cast as a young debutante in one episode of the long-running soap opera As the World Turns.Her big break, however, was rooted in director Brian De Palma's decision to feature Cox as the girl pulled from the audience in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" video. Years later, after the actress had gained a great deal more notoriety, this short music-video appearance became a key piece of celebrity trivia in a multitude of magazines and entertainment shows. In 1985, she starred alongside Dean Paul Martin in the forgettable series Misfits of Science. Cox reappeared on the television screen as Michael J. Fox's girlfriend, Psychology major Lauren Miller, in the '80s sitcom Family Ties. Though Cox landed bit parts in a handful of mediocre films (Mr. Destiny, The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them) after Family Ties wrapped in 1989, her status as an actress officially gelled in 1994, when she co-starred with Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, and, most notably, won the role of Monica Geller on the hugely successful sitcom Friends. This role brought her a nomination for an American Comedy Award, as well as a prominent role in Wes Craven's Scream trilogy. Cox's role as the notoriously cutthroat reporter Gale Weathers was significant not only in terms of critical acclaim, but also because the set of Scream was where she met fellow actor David Arquette, whom she married in 1999.Although she certainly attempted to match the big screen-success of her fellow Friends castmates with such efforts as 3000 Miles to Graceland (2001), and The Longest Yard (2005), Cox-Arquette fought a tortuous uphill battle, and never managed to land a part that brought her nearly as much goodwill as the high-strung Monica. She voiced Daisy the Cow in Steve Oedekerk's 2006 animated feature Barnyard, alongside an all-star cast that includes Danny Glover, Kevin James, Wanda Sykes, Sam Elliott and Andie MacDowell. The endeavor became a double-edged sword; on one hand, most critics detested the $50 million picture; on the other, it worked wonders at the box office, as one of the top grossers of its season. Cox-Arquette's decision to join the cast of the family-friendly superhero story Zoom alongside Tim Allen and Chevy Chase didn't prove nearly as capricious. The picture suffered from relentless (though arguably justifiable) critical drubbings and performed abysmally on a commercial front, grossing just over $4 million in the week that followed its premiere - from an estimated $60 million budget. It also became the latest in Allen's long line of box office stinkers that included Christmas with the Kranks, Joe Somebody, and many others; The New York Times's Jeannette Catsoulis moaned that it "bleeds boredom from every frame," while Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwartzbaum observed, "this lifeless family comedy sucks the joy from every joke it touches."That same year, the trades indicated Cox's forthcoming producer credit in longtime husband David Arquette's 2007 directorial debut, the slasher picture The Tripper, with Balthazar Getty, Paul Reubens and Lukas Haas. The Hostel-like story involved a group of potheads who travel to a Woodstock-esque concert for indulgence in sensual (and visceral) pleasures, but find themselves stalked by a psychotic. Cox and Arquette each cameo in the film. 2007 also found Cox returning to TV, producing and starring in the dramatic thriller Dirt, about the seedy side of an already seedy industry - the tabloid press. The show only ran until 2008, but Cox was soon onto the next project, the sitcom Cougar Town, which she produced and starred in as well. By 2011, she was back in the movies, working on Scream 4 -- though during the production of the film, she and husband/co-star David Arquette announced they were separating; their divorce was finalized in 2013.

Trivia: Jennifer Aniston makes a good case for proving that acting talent can be absorbed by osmosis. From her father John Aniston's stardom on Days of Our Lives to her godfather Telly Savalas, the actress was surrounded by plenty of inspiration from an early age. As Aniston attended the Rudolph Steiner School as a child, she was interested in many forms of art and proved to be a talented painter, eventually having one of her pieces displayed at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Acting also appealed to her, and became her primary focus after graduating from New York's prestigious High School for the Performing Arts in 1987. She took roles in off-Broadway productions such as For Dear Life and Dancing on Checker's Grave before she began honing her skills in television acting with appearances on shows like Quantum Leap and Herman's Head. Before long, Aniston's film and television résumé had grown into a laundry list of one-time appearances, short-lived series, and B-level movies. By 1994, the handful of bit parts and failed shows on Aniston's résumé had established her as a working actress but created little foreshadowing about her future as a star. Her upcoming audition for the role of Monica Gellar in a pilot for a sitcom at that point titled "Friends Like These," however, would prove to be quite auspicious. The role in question would eventually be filled by Courteney Cox, as Aniston changed her mind and opted to try out for Rachel Green, a young suburbanite living on her own for the first time and working as a coffee-shop waitress in New York City. The rest, as they say, is history -- "Friends Like These" would become Friends, the hugest sitcom in years, quickly making Aniston America's sweetheart. Friends' obsessive following churned up a particular interest in Aniston's signature hairstyle. The shag cut known as "The Rachel" could be seen on heads all over the country. Even as the fad fell out of popularity in the salons, Aniston's star continued to rise. Still adored on one of the most popular television shows in history, she moved to the big screen in romantic comedies like She's the One (1996), Picture Perfect, 'Til There Was You (1997), and The Object of My Affection (1998). In the late '90s, she also began dating actor Brad Pitt. Talk of Pitt's recently ended engagement to actress Gwyneth Paltrow quickly dissipated as "Gwen and Brad" turned to "Jen and Brad." The two young stars became the ultimate Hollywood power couple and celebrated with a star-studded wedding in July of 2000. The new millennium found Aniston at the top of her game. Raking in a million dollars an episode for her role on the still popular Friends and married to one of the hottest men in Hollywood, she seemed to have it all. Secure in her A-List position, she took the opportunity to work on low-profile films and cult hits, such as 1999's Office Space, and 2000's Rock Star. Aniston's talent for dramatic roles was finally given a proper outlet when she played the lead in 2002's The Good Girl, which found critics surprised and impressed with her range. She made no attempt to shy away from comedy, however, starring alongside Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty, and Ben Stiller in 2004's Along Came Polly. In 2004, as Friends began what would be its final season, Aniston's immediate future was filled with tremendous turmoil and change. Only a week into 2005, she and husband Brad Pitt legally separated, surrounded by rumors that Pitt had sparked a serious romantic connection with his Mr. and Mrs. Smith co-star Angelina Jolie. The media leapt onto the story, desperate to sate the public's curiosity about how such a seemingly perfect union could come to an end. Rumors swilled about the circumstances of their break-up, citing everything from disagreements over children to taste in interior decorating. Aniston's steady poise and willowy figure created a division in the public perception between herself and the more curvaceous and risqué Jolie.Media frenzy buzzed around the breakup long after she and Pitt officially filed for divorce in March. Vendors even started selling T-shirts reading "Team Aniston" and "Team Jolie," though most of the public seemed to side with the slighted Aniston. The actress plowed ahead, however, marking 2005 by starring with Clive Owen in the gritty thriller Derailed and with Shirley MacLaine and Kevin Costner in the comedy Rumor Has It.... 2006 brought the ensemble film Friends With Money, as well as another movie that would help put her divorce in the past...in more ways then one. While Pitt made headlines by becoming legal guardian of Jolie's adopted children and father to a baby Jolie gave birth to in Namibia, Aniston starred alongside comedy and character actor extraordinaire Vince Vaughn in The Break-Up. The comedy cast the two as an ex-couple going to war over which of them should keep their beloved condo, but the real life connection between the actors was quite the opposite. Though reluctant to speak about their relationship publicly, Aniston and Vaughn appeared quite clearly to have become a couple, bolstering the success of The Break-Up, and seeming to put Aniston's fans at ease regarding her personal life, even after she and Vaughan amicably split later that year. By 2007, Aniston's public image had left her divorce in the past, and was ready for new territory.Aniston found her next success in the 2008 tearjerking pet-comedy Marley & Me, opposite Owen Wilson. As the 2000's gave way to the 2010's, Aniston would all but completely cement her position as the number one actress in Hollywood when it comes to broadly appealing comedies, winning over audience after audience with He's Just Not That Into You, Love Happens, The Switch, Just Go With It, Horrible Bosses, and Wanderlust. She won rave reviews for her work in the film Cake in 2015, earning her a Golden Globe nomination.

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: Propelled to stardom in 1994 as a result of his role on the long-running, hit television series Friends, handsome Matt LeBlanc has been singled out for his finely tuned deadpan skills on the popular television mainstay, and it may come as no surprise that the actor who was voted one of the 50 most beautiful people alive by People magazine broke into show business as a model.Born July 25, 1967, in Newton, MA, LeBlanc dreamed of a career as a professional racer after receiving a motorbike at the age of eight. His mother's vocal objections voiced concern over the youngster's safety on the track, and the aspiring king-of-the-course and momma's boy soon began training to become a professional carpenter. Later graduating from high school and finding money in short supply, LeBlanc took his friends' suggestion of becoming a model to heart and, after selling his truck to pay the way, he headed for New York and began appearing in print and later, commercials. A role in a Heinz ketchup commercial which won the prestigious Gold Lion Award at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival brought the aspiring star more recognition, and it wasn't long before he began proper thespian training. Scoring a role on the television series TV 101 found the fresh-faced actor relocating to sunny Los Angeles, and although the show was quickly canceled, LeBlanc continued with appearances in television's Married With Children and in such short-lived series as Top of the Heap and Vinny and Bobby in the early '90s. Following his breakthrough in Friends in 1994, Leblanc gained a reputation as somewhat of a party guy with a penchant for womanizing, though he would later deflect the image as he settled down in his marriage to Meliss McKnight. LeBlanc attempted to solidify a cinematic career with roles in such features as Ed (1996), Lost in Space (1998), and Charlie's Angels (2000), but his greater success would remain on the small screen. After Friends wrapped in 2004, Leblanc appeared on a spin-off called Joey for two seasons, and later joined the cast of the comedy series Episodes.

Trivia: If one were to base one's judgment of David Schwimmer's talent on his low-key performance as the anxious, awkward but lovable paleontologist Ross on NBC's smash hit comedy Friends, one might never suspect that beneath the affable exterior lies a versatile, multi-talented actor and filmmaker. Tall, dark-haired, and lanky, Schwimmer was born in Queens, but later raised in Southern California, where he attended the famed Beverly Hills High School. He then enrolled in Chicago's Northwestern University, where he briefly considered pursuing his family's traditional profession and becoming a lawyer, but by that time, the acting bug had bitten him deeply and he was committed to it. Following graduation from Northwestern, Schwimmer gained enough stage experience in Chicago theater to co-found the Lookingglass Theatre Company with fellow actors. Schwimmer remains passionate about his involvement with the troupe and has starred in or directed many of their productions. In 1989, he made the first of several attempts to break into Hollywood, when he was cast as a killer in the made-for-TV thriller A Deadly Silence. It was apparently an unpleasant experience and the young actor hastened back to the familiarity of Lookingglass. Still, the lure of Hollywood was great and Schwimmer returned to guest star and play recurring roles on several television series. One of his best-known early TV roles was that of Olivia D'Abo's hippie fiancé on The Wonder Years. On the gritty crime drama NYPD Blue, he garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of a lawyer who goes over the edge and becomes a vigilante. He had another bad television experience when he was cast opposite Henry Winkler in Fox's sitcom Monty. The series crashed before it got off the ground and Schwimmer swore he'd never do another comedy show. Up until 1994, he continued to play a wide variety of roles and to divide his time between stage and television.Despite his earlier vow, Schwimmer reluctantly accepted the role of Ross in Friends, a role that the show's creators wrote especially for him. The series, about a group of good-looking, but rather aimless buddies in their twenties, was an immediate hit and Schwimmer's lovable nerd character made him a star and got him an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series With his newfound stardom came offers for feature film roles. Though he had actually begun appearing in films in 1990, he had, thus far, played only small roles. He made his debut as a star playing a virtual clone of Ross in the Pallbearer (1996). He played a dramatic role as one of the inventors of silicon breast implants in the made-for-television docudrama Breast Men (1997). Schwimmer signed a lucrative contract with Miramax that will not only star him in several pictures, but also allow him to direct. But while nearly a decade of experience directing television prepared Schwimmer well for his feature directorial debut, the 2007 comedy Run, Fatboy, Run, not even the presence of rising comedy star Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) could save the film from the bargain bins. Fortunately for Schwimmer, the animated comedy Madagascar proved enough of a hit to warrant at least two sequels, giving the able voice actor plenty of time to plan his sophomore feature, 2010's cautionary internet predator thriller Trust.

Trivia: Handsome leading man Matthew Perry has managed to translate the fame and popularity he garnered from playing Chandler Bing on the hit NBC sitcom Friends into an increasingly successful film career as a romantic comedy lead. Born in Massachusetts, the son of actor John Bennett Perry, his parents divorced when he was still a baby. His mother got full custody and moved Perry to Ottawa, Canada, where she worked as a political assistant (years later, Perry's mother would work as a press secretary for prime minister Pierre Trudeau). As a youth, Perry was an extremely talented tennis player and was once ranked third in Canada's doubles competition. At the same time, the teenaged Perry was interested in acting and had been appearing in school productions since he was 13. At age 15, he relocated to L.A. to join his father, in hopes of becoming both a tennis pro and a working actor. However, in 1984, Perry suffered a devastating loss during a major tennis event and decided that he would have more success as an actor. Shortly after the fateful sporting match, he debuted on an episode of the sitcom Charles in Charge. Though Perry was still in high school, it rapidly became apparent that his education would take a backseat to acting. While in a restaurant, he was spotted by director William Richert, who offered the 16-year-old a small role opposite River Phoenix in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon (1988). Though Perry wanted to become a successful professional actor, his father was pressuring him to attend U.C.L.A. As a compromise, Perry agreed that if he could not find an acting job in the first year after high school graduation, he would attend college. Not long after that, he was hired by Fox television to star in the series Boys Will Be Boys. The series bombed, but Perry was then starred opposite Valerie Bertinelli in a new series, Sydney. While this show too was short-lived, it started Perry on a professional guest-star career that would land him roles on such series as Beverly Hills 90210, Growing Pains, and his father's show 240 Roberts. He made his sophomore film appearance in She's Out of Control (1989) opposite Ami Dolenz and Tony Danza. In the early '90s, Perry and his colleague, Andrew Hill, penned the pilot to a situation comedy about a bunch of friends in their twenties who like hanging out. They called their show Maxwell House and sold it to Universal. They pitched the idea to NBC, but the network had a similar vehicle in the works. Instead of taking Perry and Hill's show, they offered to co-star Perry in their program, Friends. The first episode aired in 1994 and became a Top Ten hit. In features, Perry had his first success with the romantic comedy Fools Rush In (1997), though it was The Whole Nine Yards -- released the same year that Friends went off the air -- that really got moviegoers laughing. A return to television in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was shortlived after being eclipsed by the similar-themed 30 Rock, and in 2007 Perry erceived an Emmy nomination for his turn as a devoted high school teacher working with inner-city teens in The Ron Clark Story. In 2011 Perry could be seen as a sports arena manager experiencing a mid-life crisis in the ABC series Mr. Sunshine, though it was promptly cancelled by the network after failing to perform. Nevertheless, subsequent small screen roles in Go On and The Good Wife showed an actor determined to persevere at all costs.

Trivia: Leading man and sex symbol, Selleck has a gentle, humorous manner. He attended college on an athletic scholarship, majoring in business. A drama coach suggested he become an actor; soon he began making the rounds of auditions. He won a part in the disastrous film Myra Breckinridge (1970), his screen debut, then appeared in small roles in a handful of films during the '70s. Meanwhile, Selleck was signed to a seven-year contract with Fox, leading to a great many TV roles, including appearances as a recurring character on the TV series "The Rockford Files." Eventually he was chosen as the lead for the TV series "Magnum P.I.;" the show became a hit, staying on the air from 1980-88, and he became a star and sex symbol, winning an Emmy, a Golden Globe award, and a star on Hollywood Boulevard. He suffered a serious career setback in 1981, when he was chosen to star in the Lucas-Spielberg blockbuster Raiders of the Lost Ark, but couldn't get released from his TV responsibilities. Beginning in 1983 he tried to break back into films, finally landing a major hit in a co-starring role in Three Men and a Baby (1987); although he appeared in a dozen films after 1983 he never firmly established himself as a screen star. He has also been active as a TV producer. He is married to English dancer Jillie Mack.

Trivia: Elliot Gould was one of Hollywood's hottest actors of the early '70s and though he reached the peak of his popularity years ago, he remains a steadily employed supporting and character actor. Gould's lifelong involvement in show business is partially the result of his mother. In classical stage mother fashion, she made an eight-year-old Gould take numerous classes in performing, singing, and dance, including ballet. She enrolled him in Manhattan's Professional Children's School and then had him perform in hospitals, temples, and sometimes on television. Gould was also a child model. During summers, Gould performed at Catskill mountain resorts. When he was 18, he made it into a Broadway chorus line. Working odd jobs in between minor stage gigs, Gould did not get his big break until he joined the chorus line of the musical Irma La Douce. From there he won the leading role opposite Barbra Streisand in I Can Get It for You Wholesale. Though the two leads got good reviews, the show did not and rapidly closed. During its short run, Gould and Streisand fell in love, and in 1963, married. The following year, Gould made an inauspicious feature-film debut playing a deaf-mute in The Confession (1964). He did much better in his second film, The Night They Raided Minsky's (1968). While Gould's career seemed jammed in neutral, his wife's popularity hit the stratosphere, and for a time, he helped arrange her television appearances. By 1967, after years of being called Mr. Streisand and undergoing analysis, Gould untied the knot with Streisand. Gould became a star in 1969 when his co-starring role in the sex comedy Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination. After playing Trapper John in Robert Altman's counterculture classic M*A*S*H, Gould at last made it to the big league. Tall, curly-haired, more homely than handsome, laid-back, unconventional, sensitive, and unabashedly Jewish, Gould was tremendously popular with young adults who strongly identified with the often confused and neurotic characters he played. Gould's subsequent few films, notably Getting Straight (1970) and Little Murders, reinforced his counterculture image. For a while, he seemed to be everywhere, but by 1973, his career had already begun tapering off. A powerfully subtle performance as Philip Marlow in Altman's Long Goodbye (1973) proved that Gould had talent to spare, but over the next few years, he chose several independent, under the radar films, like California Split and Capricorn One. Over the coming decades, Gould would eventually find an ideal level of fame and activity, appearing in a massive number of films, like Dangerous Love, Bugsy, Ocean's Eleven (and its sequels), and Contagion. Gould would also enjoy a beloved recurring role on the massively successful sitom Friends as the father of Ross and Monica Geller.

Trivia: Displaying the type of understated, dark-eyed good looks that make him a natural candidate for an art house pinup, Paul Rudd impressed filmgoers throughout the latter half of the 1990s with his talent for turning in performances marked by thoughtful insight and an unassuming charisma. Since his turn as Alicia Silverstone's endearingly self-righteous stepbrother in the 1995 film Clueless, Rudd has enjoyed a sort of low-key fame that has allowed him to branch out both in film and on the stage.The son of British-born parents, Rudd came into the world via Passaic, NJ, on April 6, 1969. Because of his father's job in the airline industry, Rudd and his family traveled a great deal, eventually settling in Kansas City, KS. After graduating from high school, Rudd attended the University of Kansas, where he majored in theater. Following his graduation, he was accepted as a student at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts/West in Los Angeles. His studies there led to a three-month theater workshop at Oxford University's British Drama Academy, where he was tutored by the producer and editor Michael Kahn. During his time in England, Rudd also co-produced the Globe Theatre's Bloody Poetry, in which he starred as the poet Percy Shelley, and then performed the title role of Hamlet, in a production directed by Ben Kingsley. Back in the States, Rudd made his television debut in 1992, in the series Sisters. As Ashley Judd's boyfriend Kirbie Philby, Rudd stayed with the show until 1995. During this time, he also appeared in other television productions, including the short-lived series Wild Oats (1994). In 1995, he made his big-screen debut in Amy Heckerling's Clueless, a film that met with a lavish dose of unanticipated success. Although much of the limelight was reserved for the film's star Alicia Silverstone, Rudd also received a fair amount of press, as well as the adulation of a new generation of fans who warmed to the actor's unconventional appeal. The same year, he played the lead in the sixth Halloween installment, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers. The year 1996 proved to be one of hits and misses, as it included his leading part in the straight-to-video Overnight Delivery, co-starring Reese Witherspoon, and the highly successful William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, in which he played against type as the arrogant Dave Paris. The same year, Rudd starred in the obscure but critically praised Canadian independent The Size of Watermelons, before going on to make the equally obscure, critically trashed The Locusts (1997). Theatrically, however, 1997 provided positive experience in the form of a Broadway production of Alfred Uhry's The Last Night of Ballyhoo, in which Rudd had a lead role. There were further positive experiences for Rudd in 1998, as in addition to his principal role in the well-received The Object of My Affection, he starred in the high-profile Lincoln Center production of Twelfth Night, which co-starred Helen Hunt and was directed by Nicholas Hytner, his Object director. Rudd continued his theater work the following year, with Neil LaBute's Bash, an off-Broadway show that also featured Calista Flockhart and Ron Eldard. In addition, he had a starring role in 200 Cigarettes, a film remarkable for both its enviable ensemble cast (including Christina Ricci, Ben Affleck, and Martha Plimpton) and the overwhelmingly desultory reviews it received. However, even the most savage of critics were able to single out Rudd for praise, further reflecting the actor's ability to make a favorable impression in even the most unfavorable of films.After a turn as Nick Caraway in a made-for-television adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Rudd showed off his ability pull off broad-comedy in the largely improvised 2001 parody film Wet Hot American Summer. He changed gears considerably for his next project, The Shape of Things which saw him reteam with director LaBute.In 2004, Rudd again flexed his skills as a comedic scene-stealer with a supporting role in the 70s-era Will Ferrell vehicle Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. Keenly aware that he was very much on to a good thing, Rudd kept the laughs coming in Tennis, Anyone...? and The Baxter before hitting yet another comedy homerun in the 2005 Steve Carrell comedy The 40 Year Old Virgin. The movie moved Rudd several notches up on the radar of comedy fans, and he followed it up with memorable turns in many more laugh-fests over the coming years, including Knocked Up in 2007, Forgetting Sarah Marshall in 2008, Role Models in 2009, and I Love You, Man in 2009. Having made himself a favorite comic actor in the industry, Rudd was soon able to pick and choose increasingly perfect roles for his style, starring in 2010's Dinner for Schmucks with Steve Carrell in 2010, and Our Idiot Brother with Zooey Deschanel in 2011. The following year, on the heels of the big screen comedy Wanderlust and a recurring role on television's Parks and Recreation, Rudd reprised his role from Knocked Up in writer/director Judd Apatow's semi-sequel This is 40.

Trivia: Born September 18th, 1970, actress, comedian, author, reality-show host, and occasional scriptwriter Aisha Tyler came of age in San Francisco and studied poly sci at Dartmouth College before mounting a (brief) career as an advertising executive in her hometown. Dissatisfied by this pursuit, and pining to launch herself as a full-time entertainer, Tyler "dropped out" of the corporate world and hit the road with a solo standup comedy act in the mid-'90s.Around 2001 -- after five years in Los Angeles with occasional standup bookings and concomitantly limited acclaim and recognition -- Tyler landed two huge breaks, first as the host of the irreverent Talk Soup during that program's final year (a position she inherited from Greg Kinnear, John Henson, and others), and then as the primary host of the dating series The 5th Wheel. Riding the crest of popularity generated by reality television during the first several years of the millennium, Wheel coupled the unscripted spontaneity of The Real World and Survivor with the format of the dating series Blind Date. Its premise involved setting two couples up on blind dates, having them "swap" partners, and adding an unforeseen fifth member (the "wheel" of the title) to stir things up and add provocation. The program placed a greater emphasis on erotic and suggestive content than Blind and -- perhaps as a result -- it unsurprisingly became a massive, runaway hit.The ever-ambitious Tyler, however, continued to expand her horizons. She maintained a short tenure with Wheel and quickly moved on to other endeavors, placing a particularly strong emphasis on television work. This included a stint as Charlie (the only recurring African-American cast member) in the final two seasons of the popular sitcom Friends, and a recurring role as covert terrorist Marianne Taylor on the weekly suspenser 24. Tyler also portrayed attorney Andrea Moreno (who dies in a car crash but is then "ushered" over to the other side by Jennifer Love Hewitt's psychic) in the first season (2005-2006) of the supernatural drama The Ghost Whisperer. After that, Tyler segued into feature-film work, with bit roles in such pictures as The Santa Clause 3 and .45.Six feet tall and one of the most physically breathtaking young actresses of her generation, Tyler frequently provides beauty tips in such magazines as Ebony and Glamour; she is also an outspoken proponent of physical fitness and a strenuous exerciser who pushes herself to an almost unimaginable degree. A February 2007 issue of In Style magazine reported, "In addition to scaling walls, Tyler runs, uses a rowing machine, lifts weights, snowboards and scuba dives. But for her, nothing beats the mental rush of rock climbing." In 2004, Tyler also authored and published the best-seller Swerve: Reckless Observations of a Postmodern Girl, a free-form, witty expostulation on such "hot" topics as men, bikini waxing, reality television, dating wars, sex, and body image.After filming several unremarkable movies throughout the mid-2000s, the actress found success on Archer, a television series that features Tyler as a dedicated but deadly agent for ISIS, a secret intelligence unit in New York City. While she continued work on Archer, she landed the job of co-host on The Talk, and later, host of the revamped Whose Line Is It Anyway? As if that weren't enough, Tyler also landed a recurring role on Criminal Minds in 2015.

Trivia: Lead actress, onscreen from 1989.

Trivia: Met her partner, David L. Williams, while they were both acting at Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. First professional job was as an understudy to Toyah Willcox in a stage production of Amadeus. Stint on Friends was shorter than intended due to a pregnancy; her final scene was filmed with her in bed under a sheet to hide her belly. Recruited old school friends to appear in Beyond the Pole (2009), which she produced with her husband. Aspires to an eco-friendly lifestyle, often dressing her family in secondhand clothing instead of buying new garments.

Trivia: Born December 17, 1974, in Los Angeles, Giovanni Ribisi began his career in network television, with recurring and guest roles on a number of shows, including The Wonder Years. As a teenager, he was typecast for several years as a dimwitted slacker in films and on television, with a memorable guest spot in an episode of The X-Files and a recurring role as Lisa Kudrow's brother on Friends. Ribisi was eventually able to break the grunge mold, first with a secondary role in Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do! (1996) and then in Richard Linklater's SubUrbia (1997). It was his role in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan (1998) that caused many critics to dub him one of the leading actors of his generation, a status confirmed by his appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair with a number of fellow up-and-comers. Ribisi was given further opportunities to showcase his sleepy-eyed versatility in such films as 1999's The Mod Squad and The Other Sister. If Ribisi's best roles had been unfairly weighed down by an overabundance of commendable but little seen roles in the previous years, all this would change as the young actor began to focus increasingly on roles that were not only high quality, but high profile as well. His role in the high stakes 2000 drama The Boiler Room may have went largely unseen in theaters, but healthy word of mouth combined with an impressive cast of up and comers found the film an enduring shelf life on cable and DVD. After burning rubber in the fast and furious Nicolas Cage action thriller Gone in Sixty Seconds, Ribisi's memorable performance in director Sam Raimi's southern gothic flavored chiller The Gift preceded a touching turn in the affecting made-for-television drama Shot in the Heart. Ribisi's subsequent role as a conflicted police officer in the 2002 drama Heaven may have been a well-intended commentary on the state of crime and terrorism, but audiences largel dismissed the effort as pretentious tripe and the actor took a brief turn into blockbuster territory with Basic before a turn as an aloof, celebrity obsessed photogapher in director Sophia Coppola's art-house hit Lost in Translation. If his turn as a celebrity who turns convention in its head by stalking a fan in I Love Your Work didn't strike home with viewers, an appearance in the same year's Cold Mountain offered him the chance to flex his dramatic skills alongside an impressive cast that included Jude Law and Nicole Kidman. Of course Ribisi never was one to be predictable with his choice of roles, and following the romantic comedy Love's Brother he essayed a supporting role in the 2004 sci-fi thriller Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow. A handful of largely forgettable roles followed, and on the heels of recurring television roles in My Name is Earn and Entourage, Ribisi dove back into sci-fi with a role as villainous Chief Administrator Parker Selfridge in James Cameron's phenominally successful Avatar. And if Ribisi's performace in that film failed to make your skin crawl, his turn as a psychotic, heavily-tattooed drug dealer in the fast paced 2012 action thriller Contraband was sure to do the trick. He continued his villainous run as a stalker in the surprise hit film Ted (2012). Ribisi later re-teamed with his Ted director, Seth MacFarlane, in 2014's A Million Ways to Die in the West. He also appeared in the Oscar-nominated film Selma that same year.

Trivia: A multi-talented actress who's just as comfortable on the stage as she is before the cameras, Lauren Tom has built quite an impressive resumé by establishing herself as one of the most prolific small-screen players of her generation. While fans of such popular television sitcoms as Friends and Men in Trees are no doubt familiar with her face, Tom has also crafted an impressive voice-over career thanks in large to work on such animated television series as Batman Beyond, Futurama, and King of the Hill. Though she would first gain notice as the dutiful daughter of an Asian-American family attempting to bridge the gap between the past and the present in The Joy Luck Club, Tom had already been acting in film and television for over a decade -- her career gradually gaining momentum thanks to bit parts in such films as Wall Street, Blue Steel, and Cadillac Man. Two years after her breakout performance in The Joy Luck Club, Tom would shine in her recurring role as Ross' girlfriend Julie in Friends. While her onscreen presence was indeed captivating, audiences would soon discover that Tom's unique voice could be a huge asset to any number of animated productions. Though in the following years, Tom's voice could be heard in a variety of animated releases, onscreen performances in shows like Monk and movies such as Bad Santa proved that the increasingly active voice-over artist was still very much committed to her onscreen career as well. In 2006, Tom made a sizable impression on theatergoers by relating her quest for inner peace in her Dramalogue Award-winning one-woman show 25 Psychics. With a Broadway background that has included performances in A Chorus Line and Hurly Burley, Tom has a ready comfort on the stage that has allowed her to focus on her impressive storytelling skills. In 2006, Tom was back in front of the camera keeping television viewers in stitches as mail-order bride (Mai) to crusty pilot Buzz (John Amos) in the rural comedy drama Men in Trees.

Trivia: Genial and handsome character actor Eddie Cahill garnered significant attention for two onscreen series portrayals during the early 2000s: that of Tag, the twentysomething assistant hired by Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) in the 2000-2001 season of the blockbuster sitcom Friends, and that of NYPD homicide detective Don Flack on the successful crime series spin-off CSI: NY (2004). In addition, he had starred in the shortlived WB comedy drama Glory Days (2002) as author Mike Dolan, but it took the CSI role to secure him lasting small-screen success. In 2004, Cahill made his first feature-film appearance, as famous goalie Jim Craig in the Olympic hockey drama Miracle, followed soon after by his role as Larry Gordon in Catherine Hardwicke's bittersweet skateboarding movie Lords of Dogtown (2005). In 2008 he appeared in both This Is Not a Test, and the drama The Narrows.

Trivia: Fair-haired, blue-eyed American actress Bonnie Somerville seemed tailor-made for on-camera work, and fell into her niche as supporting actress, beginning in her mid-twenties -- typically in the casts of Hollywood A-list features and hit television programs. In an unusual feat for an ingenue, the Brooklyn-born Somerville took one of her first bows as a lead -- with a starring role in the epic-length TV miniseries Shake, Rattle and Roll (1999), about an apocryphal music group from the '50s called "the Heartaches." Somerville portrayed Lyne Danner, the lead singer of the group. Many supporting roles followed, such as a small turn in the 2000 Harold Ramis comedy Bedazzled and a multi-episode role on the hit sitcom Friends as Mona, a girlfriend of Ross (David Schwimmer). Somerville then signed for regular roles in occasional sitcoms during the early 2000s, including Grosse Pointe and In-Laws; unfortunately, these failed to catch fire with the public. Somerville's fate turned in 2003 with a multi-episode run on the Fox prime-time soaper The O.C.; the actress played Rachel Hoffman, a former associate of Sandy Cohen's (Peter Gallagher) from the DA's office, who makes advances toward her married colleague but receives a rebuff from him.After a supporting turn in the big-screen comedy Without a Paddle (2004), Somerville scored a regular part as Det. Laura Murphy on the hit cop drama NYPD Blue; she played the role throughout its 12th and final season (2004-2005). Not long after, the actress signed for another regular TV part, portraying Mimi, the restaurant manager of Nolita (and daughter of the owner, Pino [Frank Langella]) in the U.S. sitcom Kitchen Confidential (2005). Unfortunately, that program folded shortly after it premiered, but the actress found another major TV role when she was cast in the Darren Star (Sex and the City) ABC drama Cashmere Mafia in 2008; she played Caitlin Dowd, a senior VP for a cosmetics company on that series, which focused on the lives of a group of four friends who were high-powered New York City businesswomen.

Trivia: It would be difficult to land a more preternatural start to acting than American Cole Sprouse. An identical twin, the fair-haired Cole reportedly commenced television appearances as early as six months old, when he and brother Dylan were jointly cast as Patrick Kelly, the eight-month-old son of acid-mouthed oil-refinery worker Grace Kelly (Brett Butler) in the popular ABC sitcom Grace Under Fire. After that program's cancellation in 1998, the Sprouses signed to appear opposite funnyman Adam Sandler in his 1999 comedy Big Daddy, directed by Dennis Dugan. In that vehicle, the then-five-year-old twins play Julian, a little boy adopted by misfit and loser Sonny Koufax (Sandler), who hopes to prove to his estranged girlfriend that he's capable of juggling "adult" responsibilities.As they aged, the twins branched out into separate roles and careers. The divergence began around 2000, when Cole Sprouse signed (sans his other half) to play Ben, the school-age son of Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), in several episodes of the blockbuster sitcom Friends. In 2001, the Sprouses reunited onscreen (and re-teamed with Adam Sandler) to voice the K-B Toys Soldiers in Sandler's animated holiday comedy Adam Sandler's Eight Crazy Nights. From this point on, the Sprouses typically appeared together (as -- surprise -- brothers!) in lieu of playing the same role interchangeably. For example, they portrayed soccer-playing twins in the family-friendly 2003 comedy Just 4 Kicks, directed by Farrelly Brothers collaborator Sidney Bartholomew Jr. The brothers hit a zenith of sorts with their 2005 sitcom The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, in which they play a couple of wiseacre twins who reside in a Beantown hotel and wreak all sorts of havoc there. Bit roles in Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana followed after The Suite Life with Zack and Cody went off the air in 2008, and after reteaming with Dylan for The Suite Life on Deck that same year, the siblings stuck together for The Suite Life Movie in 2011.

Trivia: An actor whose solid everyman quality has endeared him to audiences and critics alike, Jon Favreau first made his name with 1996's Swingers. The story of a group of rat pack-obsessed, out-of-work actors slumming amiably through life in L.A., the indie-comedy was one of the year's biggest sleeper hits and made a star out of Favreau, who also wrote the script.A native of Queens, NY, where he was born on October 19, 1966, Favreau was raised as the only child of two educators. After attending the Bronx High School of Science, he did an abbreviated stint at Queens College before heading to Chicago to pursue a comedy career. In Chicago, he studied improvisational comedy with Del Close and was a member of the ImrovOlympic troupe. Favreau's time in Chicago ended when he decided to head to L.A. to try and break into film; his experiences as a lovelorn, out-of-work actor would later provide the inspiration for Swingers.After years of false hopes and false starts that took the form of supporting roles in such disappointing films as Rudy and P.C.U., Favreau began channeling his experiences and those of his friends (who included fellow Swingers star Vince Vaughn) into a rudimentary script for Swingers. Encouraged to make his script into a film, the actor despaired of securing enough funding for the project until he met fledgling director Doug Liman, who convinced him that the film could be made for 250,000 dollars. Costs were cut by filming largely without permits and making use of inexpensive shooting locations such as Favreau's own apartment. The film's low-budget charm was sufficient enough to sway the powers-that-be at Miramax who picked it up for distribution. When Swingers was eventually released in 1996, it was hailed by critics as a funny and painfully accurate account of the L.A. scene and its various faux-hipster denizens, as well as the dynamics at work amongst a group of guys (Favreau, Vaughn, and company) and the women they try so desperately to impress. In the wake of the film's success, Favreau, who was being hailed as the latest in the long line of Hollywood "Next Big Things," chose to star in Very Bad Things (1998), a black comedy directed by actor-turned-director Peter Berg. The film, in which Favreau played a soon-to-be married man whose Las Vegas bachelor party goes disastrously wrong, received very mixed reviews, although most critics praised the actor's performance as a "suburban Joe" caught up in circumstances that rapidly spiral beyond his control. After playing the eponymous boxing legend in the made-for-TV Rocky Marciano in 1999, Favreau returned to the screen in 2000 to star as a football player in The Replacements, a sports comedy directed by Howard Deutch. That same year, he returned to the indie scene with Love & Sex, a take on urban romance. In 2001, Favreau re-teamed with Vaughn for Made, a crime comedy that cast the two actors as aspiring mobsters and marked Favreau's feature directorial debut. Also in 2001, Favreau made the jump to the small screen, producing and hosting IFC's Dinner for Five, a candid roundtable program featuring fellow actors and filmmakers. In 2003, not only did Favreau show up in supporting roles in the hits Daredevil and Something's Gotta Give, his sophomore directorial effort, the Will Ferrell holiday comedy Elf proved to be one of the season's biggest crowd-pleasers, grossing over 100 million dollars at the box office. He followed up that success by bringing Chris Van Allsburg's Zathura to the big screen, although it did not match Elf's box office success. After making a few cameos on TV shows like My Name Is Earl and Monk, Favreau re-teamed with Vince Vaughn once again for a supporting role in the 2006 comedy The Break-Up. He also lent his vocal talents to the animated film Open Season. That same year he announced he would be taking on directorial duties for the big screen adaptation of the comic book Iron Man. Though it wouldn't be released until 2008, Iron Man was a huge success, and helped further Favreau's already solid reputation as a director. Favreau went on to direct Iron Man 2 (2010), which enjoyed similar success.Favreau returned to the screen to play a role in the 2009 comedy Couples Retreat (which he also wrote), which follows a group of married adults who realize their inclusion in a tropical vacation depends on taking part in intense, mandatory therapy sessions. The same year, Favreau appeared in the buddy comedy I Love You, Man, and lent his voice to the cast of the animated children's adventure G-Force. In 2011, Favreau directed and produced the popular sci-fi Western Cowboys & Aliens, and worked as an Executive Producer for 2012's blockbuster hit Marvel's The Avengers.

Trivia: Rubber-faced comic actor and vocal artist extraordinaire Hank Azaria initially plied his trade on the stand-up circuit, then subsequently landed stage appearances and tackled bit parts on television. Azaria scored his breakthrough in 1989 when he began providing a multitude of voices for the Fox network's groundbreaking animated series The Simpsons, an assignment that imparted the performer with an enviable degree of cult stardom. In 1991, Azaria nabbed a major role in the Fox live-action sitcom Herman's Head, which ran until 1994 and gave audiences a glimpse of the man responsible for the vocal intonations of some of the most famous characters to ever corrupt an animator's storyboard.A native of Queens, NY, where he was born into a family of Sephardic Jews on April 25, 1964, Azaria commenced film roles in the late 1980s, coincident with his Simpsons stardom. Work on that program (which, after graduating from a series of crude sketches on The Tracey Ullmann Show to its own animated sitcom, quickly shot up to qualify as the Fox network's most popular enterprise) easily outstripped Azaria's screen work in popularity and visibility for many years. Recurring parts included Indian convenience store owner Apu, quack doctor Nick Riviera, dim-witted bartender Moe, and the idiotic, pig-nosed Springfield Chief of Police, Clancy Wiggum. Though his Simpsons work continued unabated over the years, beginning in the mid-1990s Azaria branched out somewhat, placing a heavier emphasis on live-action portrayals. Even in that venue, however, his work tonally mirrored his animated contributions; he specialized in adroitly handling goofy, over-the-top character parts, often with an ethnic bent. The performer attained visibility and memorability, for example, as the klutzy and scantily-dressed gay houseboy Agador in The Birdcage (1995), Hector, a goofy Hispanic paramour with a permanent effeminate lisp, in Joe Roth's underrated showbiz comedy America's Sweethearts (2001), and Claude, a Gallic beach bum with no qualms about taking off with other men's wives, in John Hamburg's gross-out romantic comedy Along Came Polly (2004).Azaria has also departed from the boundaries of screen comedy from time to time, doing memorable work across genre lines in such films as Great Expectations (1998) (which cast him as Gwyneth Paltrow's lackluster fiancé), Mystery Men (1999) (as the superhero Blue Raja), and Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock (1999), a historical drama about art and politics in 1930s New York that cast Azaria as leftist playwright Marc Blitzstein. In 2005, Azaria presided as one of the many off-color monologuists in Penn Jillette's stand-up comedy showcase film The Aristocrats; the performer subsequently provided at least seventeen voices (including his usual series roles) for The Simpsons Movie (2007) and voiced both Abbie Hoffmann and Allen Ginsberg in the animated sequences of Brett Morgen's offbeat documentary Chicago 10 (2007).He appeared in the pre-historic comedy Year One, and provided several voices in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. He played an ethically challenged doctor in Love and Other Drugs, and portrayed Gargamel, the bad guy in the big-screen hit The Smurfs. He was in family film Hop, and lent his prodigious vocal talents to Happy Feet Two. In 2012 he acted in the biopic Lovelace.In July 1999, Azaria married actress Helen Hunt, with whom he co-starred in several episodes of the sitcom Mad About You. The two divorced within eighteen months.