Trivia: After spending the 1990s as a TV teen star, Melissa Joan Hart set her sights on feature films. Born and raised on Long Island, Hart began acting in TV commercials as a child. She further honed her skills in New York theater in the late '80s as the youngest member of the Circle Repertory Lab Company. Hart then broke through as a cable TV favorite (and a CableACE Award nominee) in the role of the precocious titular preteen on the Nickelodeon series Clarissa Explains It All (1991-1994). After the series ended, Hart moved to network TV stardom in 1996 as the supernaturally gifted title teen on Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Maintaining her pert primetime persona while revealing her range, Hart also starred in several TV movies, including Family Reunion: A Relative Nightmare (1995), Twisted Desire (1996), The Right Connections (1997), and the college date rape drama Silencing Mary (1998). Though Hart continued to produce and star in Sabrina, she also attempted to parlay her TV fame into movie stardom with the romantic comedy Drive Me Crazy (1999). The film, however, failed to perform as well as the Britney Spears tune that gave it its title. Hart raised eyebrows that same year when she tried to shed her squeaky-clean adolescent image with a racy photo spread and interview in men's magazine Maxim. Neither gambit affected Sabrina, although Hart and the series moved from the family-oriented ABC lineup to the youth-savvy WB in 2000. She lent her vocal talents to the Batman Beyond series, and continued to work steadily in made-for-TV fare like Rent Control, Holiday in Handcuffs, and My Fake Fiance. In 2010 she teamed up with fellow former child star Joey Lawrence for TV series Melissa & Joey that ran on the ABC Family channel.

Trivia: Born in Montreal, Quebec, Caroline Rhea launched herself on the path to stardom in 1986, when the then-22-year-old moved to Manhattan and enrolled in the New School for Social Research's standup comedy program. On the side, Rhea cut her chops by practicing at the standup club Catch a Rising Star, and the success of those engagements yielded additional bookings, not simply at Big Apple venues, but on such national television programs as Comic Strip Live and Caroline's Comedy Hour. Rhea segued into scripted television programs and features around 1996, with roles on such sitcoms as Sabrina the Teenage Witch and The Drew Carey Show, before hitting a watershed moment in her career: the launch of her own eponymous series, the talk program The Caroline Rhea Show (which followed her guest-hosting of The Rosie O'Donnell Show). Unfortunately, Rhea's talk show folded less than a year after its 2002 premiere, but Rhea continued to build her own reputation, with popular standup bookings across the U.S. and Canada, appearances on talk programs such as Live with Regis and Kelly, and small roles in movies. She played Candi in the disastrous Tim Allen holiday comedy Christmas With the Kranks (2004) and Gloria in the Mark Rosman-directed teen movie The Perfect Man (2005), and hosted the popular series The Biggest Loser, a reality series in which contestants compete to determine who can lose the most weight. In 2006, Rhea also hosted the made-for-cable standup special Caroline Rhea: Rhea's Anatomy, which found her offering witty divertissements on such subjects as post-40 pregnancy and age-disparity romances.

Trivia: Grew up in Huntington Beach, California.Moved to New York after graduating from American Academy of Dramatic Arts to start her professional acting career.Is also an accomplished writer, having co-written A Cup of Joe, Wonderland and Literatti with her writing partner Dennis Bailey.Is a founding member of the Celebrity Action Council of the City Light Women's Rehabilitation Program at the Los Angeles Mission.Is the founding director of Momentum, which was one of the first organizations in New York created to assist people with AIDS.

Trivia: A driving creative force behind such critically praised, but short-lived, television series as Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, writer/producer/director/actor Paul Feig has worn many hats throughout his enduring showbiz career. From teenage standup to high-profile Hollywood player, his unique perspective always seems to offer something fresh and innovative. A native of Mt. Clemens, MI, whose interest in theater prompted him to join the drama club and play an active role in forensics, Feig got his first taste of show business as the writer and director of a trio of television commercials for his father's hardware store. It was around the age of 15 that the aspiring comic began performing at local comedy clubs (accompanied by his parents, of course) and landing roles in community theater, and following his freshman year in college, Feig set his sights on a career in the entertainment industry. Realizing that he wasn't about to break into the movie business in Michigan, Feig began phoning every major Hollywood studio in hopes of finding work as an actor. Though that particular endeavor may not have landed him a lead in the latest Hollywood blockbuster, Universal Studios did mention that they were looking for tour guides -- and Feig was soon gassing up for the cross-country road trip that would bridge his past to his future. It didn't take long for Feig to land the job as a tour guide, and after becoming enamored with the film industry when he attended the world premiere of Raiders of the Lost Ark, the aspiring filmmaker was accepted into U.S.C. Film School. As his tenure at U.S.C. wound to a close, Feig opted to fill his internship credit by working as a script reader for Michael Phillips. The internship eventually evolved into a full-time job, and Feig's co-workers were constantly impressed with the aspiring writer's tireless drive to succeed -- though Feig was secretly itching to get back into standup comedy. A chance win on the $25,000 Pyramid provided Feig with the money needed to hit the road with his standup act, and in order to keep himself occupied on the road, the struggling standup worked to hone his screenwriting skills. When the acting bug finally lured Feig back to the West Coast, the struggling comic became a struggling actor with roles in such features as Three O' Clock High and Ski Patrol, and on the small screen in It's Garry Shandling's Show and the short-lived Dirty Dancing. More substantial roles in Heavyweights and That Thing You Do! were quick to follow, and after scraping together 30,000 dollars to film his feature debut, Feig stepped behind the camera to direct his script for Life Sold Separately. A low-key comedy drama concerning four strangers attempting to escape their day-to-day lives, Life Sold Separately went largely unseen despite landing mostly favorable reviews. In 1999, Feig served as writer and producer for the critically acclaimed, but ill-fated, television series Freaks and Geeks, a refreshing look at high-school life from the unique perspectives of the eponymous cliques. Two years later, Feig stepped behind the camera to direct episodes of the popular Freaks and Geeks follow-up series Undeclared, a unique and honest look at college life which suffered an eerily similar fate to its high-school counterpart. In 2003, Feig made an interesting departure from his generally humorous, Midwestern-flavored brand of comedy to direct I Am David, an adaptation of author Anne Holm's acclaimed novel North to Freedom. A touching tale of a young boy who escapes a concentration camp in a desperate attempt to deliver an important letter to Denmark, I Am David revealed a side of the director that audiences had rarely seen. Feig would continue to direct for the small screen, finding particular success with shows like Arrested Development, The Office, and Nurse Jackie. The filmmaker would continue to helm big screen efforts as well, most memorably with the 2012 comedy Bridesmaids.

Trivia: Squeaky-voiced comedienne Victoria Jackson is perhaps best known for being a cast member of the NBC television sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1992, but she also makes sporadic film appearances. Jackson made her film debut in Stoogemania (1985). Born in Miami, FL, Jackson was raised in a strict Christian home. Her father was a gymnastics coach and Jackson was trained in the sport from age five through 18. Following studies at Florida Bible College, Jackson attended Furman University on a gymnastics scholarship. She next went to Auburn University before getting involved with summerstock theater in California. With the troupe, she ended up in Alabama where she met actor Johnny Crawford (best known as the star of the TV Western The Rifleman). He hired her for his nightclub act. From there, Jackson went to Hollywood working odd jobs while launching her career as a standup comic. Jackson's big break came from an appearance with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show in which she recited poetry while doing a handstand. The funny lady went on to appear a total of 22 times on the enduring nighttime talk show. Following her long stint on SNL, Jackson married her old high school flame and returned to Florida to raise a family. Since then her film and television appearances, on shows such as The Naked Truth, have been sporadic, though Jackson did find time to record a children's album, Ukulele Lady, on Choo Choo Records. Herself a devout Christian, Jackson also occasionally appears on The 700 Club to share her faith.

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: Started acting when he was 10 years old. First became known for his role as Antonio on the television series Moesha. Spent eight years in the military and participated in Operations Just Cause and Desert Storm. Finished a college degree in theater while in the Air Force. Nominated for a 2000 ALMA Award for his role on ABC's Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Has worked closely with several charities that help veterans, including the Wounded Warrior Fund and Puppies Behind Bars.

Trivia: Had he been in Hollywood in the 1930s or 1940s, Vincent Schiavelli's Halloween-mask countenance, shock of unkempt hair and baleful voice might have permanently consigned him to minor roles in horror or gangster pictures. As it happened, Schiavelli became an actor during the 1960s, a period when, thanks to unpretty stars like Elliott Gould and Dustin Hoffman, homeliness opened more career doors than it closed. After several seasons' worth of stage experience, Schiavelli made his first film appearance in Milos Forman's Taking Off (1971) playing a pot-smoking support group leader by the name of...Schiavelli. He would work with Forman again on several occasions, most memorably as Salieri's(F. Murray Abraham) phlegmatic valet in the opening scenes of Amadeus (1984). In 1972, Schiavelli played his first regular TV-series role, gay set designer Peter Panama in The Corner Bar. Fourteen years later, he could be seen as oddball science teacher Hector Vargas in the weekly sitcom Fast Times, repeating his role from the 1982 theatrical feature Fast Times at Ridgemont High. One of his best-known screen roles was the ill-tempered Subway Ghost, who teaches newly dead Patrick Swayze how to move solid objects with sheer "hate power" in the 1990 blockbuster Ghost. Tim Conway fans are most familiar with Schiavelli through his appearances as Conway's dull-witted assistant in the popular Dorf videocassettes. Previously married to actress Allyce Beasley, the couple would part ways in 1988 and Schiavelli would subsequently wed Carol Mukhalian.

Trivia: American comedienne Christine Nelson first gained fame on 1950s television shows such as Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theater, Hollywood Palace, and The Ray Bolger Show. She made a couple of successful comedy albums in 1964, and went on to appear in a few films.