Trivia: Born on April 7, 1965, in Newark, NJ, Bill Bellamy's career as a performer began while he was a student at Rutgers University. Bellamy was persuaded to take part in a men's beauty pageant, and needing to do something for the talent competition, he worked up a standup comedy routine. Bellamy quickly discovered he enjoyed making people laugh, and began honing his skills at small comedy clubs around the country. Bellamy's skills as a comic came to the attention of the producer of the TV series Showtime at the Apollo, where he was given a guest spot. Bellamy's appearance was a major success, leading to an appearance on HBO's Def Comedy Jam and his own special on Showtime. Bellamy next enjoyed a five-year run as host of the series MTV Jams, and in 1996, starred in his own short-lived TV series, The Bill Bellamy Show. Bellamy made his feature-film debut in 1993 with a bit part in the hip-hop comedy Who's the Man?, but his big-screen career began in earnest in 1997, with a role in the acclaimed independent romantic comedy Love Jones. That same year, Bellamy scored his first lead in a movie when he starred in Def Jam's How to Be a Player. Since then, Bellamy has won showy roles in well-reviewed feature films such as Any Given Sunday and The Brothers, and has been a regular on the television comedy series Men, Women and Dogs (he's also done voice work on the animated series Cousin Skeeter). When not busy with his screen career, Bellamy continues to perform at comedy clubs, and appear on screen on shows like Cousin Skeeter and in movies like Neverwas.

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.