Trivia: Most everyone who went to high school in Livingston, NJ, with Newark-born Jason Alexander knew that the lad was destined to become a major actor. Though inclined to stoutness -- and baldness -- from age 16 onward, Alexander had such a commanding stage presence that he was invariably cast as the star in school plays, in roles ranging from romantic leads to elderly character parts. While attending Boston University, the 20-year-old Alexander was cast in the lead of the Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical Merrily We Roll Along, which might have made him an overnight star had it not closed almost as soon as it opened. Alexander's first film role was in 1981's The Burning; that same year he made his TV-movie bow in Senior Trip. By 1989, Alexander had two major industry awards to his credit: the Tony and Grammy, both for his participation in Jerome Robbins' Broadway. In 1990, he was cast as clueless loser George Costanza in the popular sitcom Seinfeld (the character was allegedly based on series co-creator Larry David). And in 1994, his voice could be heard each week on the USA cable network as the web-footed, sex-obsessed private eye hero of the animated cartoon series Duckman. Though still best-known for his portrayal of George Costanza, Alexander's feature film career picked up speed during the '90s as both a character actor in major comedies such as Dunston Checks In and a voice-over artist on such animated Disney features as Aladdin and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In 1997, he played a more dramatic role as an AIDS-afflicted drag queen who finds romance in Love! Valour! Compassion! (1997). After a disappointing blink-and-you-miss-it comeback to the small screen as a self-help guru in Bob Patterson, Alexander leapt back to the big screen opposite Jack Black in the Farrelly brothers' Shallow Hal. He directed the sex comedy Just Looking in 1999. He had another small-screen misfire with Listen Up. But he continued to appear regularly in movies including the documentary The Aristocrats, the improvised poker movie The Grand, and Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror. He has lent his voice to a handful of animated projects over the years, and in 2012 he appeared in the family film A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up Timmy Turner.

Trivia: The roller coaster career of actress and singer Vanessa L. Williams provides an excellent example of fortitude, resilience, and real talent winning out over adversity. In 1983, Williams made history when she was the first black woman to be chosen Miss America. For a time she was the country's darling as she toured about, attending to her royal duties, but when Penthouse magazine published nude photographs that she had posed for years before, Williams lost her crown, two million dollars in product endorsements, and the lead in a Broadway show; suddenly, America's sweetheart found herself the subject of moral outrage, criticisms, and cruel jokes. But though her career and reputation were in shambles, Williams kept her dignity and faith, and continued on, first making her name as a successful R&B singer (one of her songs went gold, "Save the Best for Last") and then receiving considerable critical acclaim on Broadway for starring in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Williams made her feature film debut in The Pick-Up Artist (1987) and went on to forge a steady career as an actress. Notable subsequent film roles include one co-starring with Arnold Schwarzenegger in Eraser (1996) and the part of a career-obsessed wife in Soul Food (1997). After spending the early 2000s working on theatrical productions, including the Broadway Musical Revue Sondheim on Sondheim, Williams returned to the big screen for the award winning drama My Brother in 2007, and won rave reviews in 2006 for her portrayal of Wilhelmina Slater, the ruthless editor-and-chief of a fashion magazine on ABC's hit series Ugly Betty, and was praised for her portrayal of Renee Perry in the seventh season of Desperate Housewives. After Housewives ended, she starred in the short-lived series 666 Park Avenue. She then returned to the stage, appearing opposite Cicely Tyson in The Trip to Bountiful.

Trivia: Was given her unusual name after a little back and forth between her parents. Her mother suggested the name India, to which her father replied, "You might as well call her North Vietnam or China." Started her entertainment career as an actress, making her film debut in 1987's Some Kind of Wonderful, before embarking on a career in music. Along with bandmates Carnie and Wendy Wilson, is a member of the pop group Wilson Phillips. Their 1990 self-titled debut album sold more than 10 million copies and garnered numerous music awards. Publicly supported her older sister Mackenzie when her sister claimed in an autobiography that their father forged an incestuous relationship with Mackenzie. Made a bet with husband William when she competed in the 13th season of ABC's Dancing With the Stars that if she won the competition, then he would get a vasectomy. She and partner Tony Dovolani were eliminated in Week 4. Works with the Los Angelitos Orphanage charity in Tijuana, Mexico, helping the displaced children in the city.

Trivia: There's no mystery concerning the hometown of George Wendt. The heavyset, curly haired actor never misses a talk show opportunity to cheer on his beloved Chicago "Cubbies" or "Da Bears." After theater work in Chicago and New York and a handful of TV appearances on sitcoms like M*A*S*H and Alice, Wendt inaugurated his signature role of burly, unemployed barfly Norm Peterson on TV's long-running Cheers (1983-1993); so far as it can be determined, he still hasn't paid his bar tab, which according to TV Guide totalled up to 64,218 dollars at the end of 11 seasons. He starred in the short-lived The George Wendt Show, and continued to work steadily on both the small and big screen in a variety of projects including Spice World, Outside Providence, Teddy Bears' Picnic, and Edmond. He also reprised his iconic role of Norm on an episode of the successful Cheers spinoff Frasier.

Trivia: The daughter of actor James Daly and sister of actor Tim Daly, Emmy award-winning American actress Tyne Daly was destined early on to enter the family business. After graduation from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, Tyne worked on stage and appeared in TV guest spots starting in the early '70s. While applauded for her talent, Daly found full stardom eluding her for several years during a long string of busted TV pilots like In Search of America (1971), Doctor Granger (1972), Fitzgerald and Pride (1972) and Hotshot Harry and the Rocking Chair Renegades (1979) did little to make her bankable (though her performance as Kate, female partner to Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry Callahan, in the 1976 action opus The Enforcer, most assuredly helped).Then in 1981, Tyne Daly and Loretta Swit were cast in the pilot of Cagney and Lacey, an unusual (for U.S. prime time television) story of two policewomen who could handle their jobs with courage and assuredness. The success of the pilot led to a series in 1982, with Daly cast as Detective Mary Beth Lacey (opposite Meg Foster and later Sharon Gless). The series witnessed the character fighting to be accepted on equal terms with her male counterparts, and also struggling to maintain a normal home life as wife and mother. Daly's realistic portrayal earned her considerable praise from real-life law enforcement officials. Cagney and Lacey was cancelled in 1983, but returned to the air a year later thanks to a letter-writing campaign mounted by viewers. By the time the series ended in 1988, Daly had won four Emmy awards for her portrayal of Lacey. In 1994 she starred opposite Kellie Martin in the short-lived inspirational TV drama Christy, and in 1995 appeared in a trio of Cagney and Lacey reunions. In subsequent years Daly switched venues, devoting her energies to the Broadway stage. Her accomplishments during this period included scoring a personal triumph and winning a Tony as Mama Rose in the 1989-90 revival of the 1959 musical Gypsy, and taking on untold challenges in a five-role, one-woman show, Mystery School, at Gotham's Angel Orensanz Foundation Center in 1998 (revived 2008). As time rolled on, the actress (like Cagney co-star Gless) returned to television, notably with a key supporting role as the lead character's domineering, judgmental mother on the series drama Judging Amy (1999-2005) (a series on which Gless occasionally appeared as a guest star). Having caught the theatrical bug, however, Daly also retained her footing on stage in such outings as the acclaimed Rabbit Hole (2006) (opposite John Slattery and Cynthia Nixon).

Trivia: Austin is a lead actress, onscreen from the '80s.

Trivia: Worked as a librarian before his acting career took off. A founding member of the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival in Vancouver. Initially a recurring character on The X-Files, he was spun-off as a regular on the short-lived The Lone Gunman.

Trivia: Fluent in Italian. Is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio. Cofounded Gastown Films production company with director-producer David Langlois. Often cast as a detective or lawman. Cowrote and costarred in the award-winning film Break A Leg (2008) with his brother, actor John Cassini.