Trivia: Best known for her role as the fearsome Xena: Warrior Princess in the long-running series of the same name, athletic worldly beauty Lucy Lawless didn't achieve the fame in her native New Zealand that flooded her in the U.S. until much later in her career, due to the fact that the wildly popular adventure series didn't air there until long after it was a staple of American television.Born into water at her home in Mount Albert, Aukland, New Zealand, in 1968 to the mayor of that city, Lawless began acting early and frequently appeared in school plays in her youth. A active child of diverse interests and with many siblings, Lawless went on to study German, French, and Italian at Aukland University for a year before traveling through Europe with boyfriend and eventual first husband Garth. They worked odd jobs to finance their trip and eventually ending up in Australia. Working in a gold-mining camp in Kalgoorlie to finance the final leg of their journey, the couple was married in Australia in 1988 and soon returned home to bear a daughter.Crowned Mrs. New Zealand the following year, the busy new mother got her first acting experience in Funny Business, a popular TV comedy troupe. Studying acting in Vancouver, Canada, at the William Davis Center for Actors Study, Lawless soon landed small roles in films (The End of Golden Weather [1991]) and television (For the Love of Mike [1991]), with her next regular job as of co-host on television's Air New Zealand Holiday. After appearing in The Rainbow Warrior in 1992, Lawless landed the role that would propel her to stardom and become her calling card into the new millennium. Initially appearing in the role of Lysia in Hercules and the Amazon Women, Lawless went on to appear as Xena in three episodes of Hercules before spinning off into her own series in 1995. It was a physically demanding adventure series in which the sporty actress performed many of her own stunts; Lawless ironically broke her pelvis after falling off of a horse while preparing to make a grand entrance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno in 1996. After a quick recovery, Lawless made her Broadway debut as Rizzo in Grease the following year. Her first marriage dissolved, Lawless was remarried to Xena producer Rob Tapert in October 1999, two years before the final episode of Xena. Lawless woudl continue to act on the small screen over the next several years, appearing on Tarzan, Battlestar Galactica, Spartacus, and No Ordinary Family.

Trivia: In 1992, became an original cast member of the long-running New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. Toured New Zealand, and also travelled to Switzerland, in 1994 with Steve Berkoff's play East. Raised profile playing Ephina in Xena: Princess Warrior from 1995 to '01. Role in the short film Topless Women Talk About Their Lives (1997) was changed to accommodate her pregnancy with her first child. After a successful career in New Zealand, moved to Australia in 2007; became a household name when she took on the role of Bea Smith in Wentworth in 2013. In 2014, played several characters in David Williamson's play Rupert, performed at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. Became an ambassador for the charity organisations Shine for Kids, ChildFund New Zealand and ChildFund Australia in 2014.

Trivia: Is of Iraqi and Hungarian descent. Spent two years as an exchange student in the Netherlands. First acting role was in the Australian TV series Breakers. Explored his Hungarian roots in a 2013 episode of Who Do You Think You Are?

Trivia: During WWII, her father was an assassin for the Polish resistance. Is of Polish and Scottish descent; moved to Australia with her family in 1966. Met fellow D-Generation alums Michael Veitch and Tom Gleisner in 1983 in the Melbourne University revue Too Cool for Sandals. Was a writer for, and starred in, the sketch-comedy Fast Forward from 1989 to '92; some of her most-popular characters include Pixie-Anne Wheatley and Chenille from Janelle's Beauty Spot. First big-screen role was playing Esme Hoggett in 1995's Babe; reprised the role in the 1998 sequel Babe: Pig in the City. At the 2006 AFI Awards, made out with Heath Ledger on the red carpet while playing one of her most iconic characters, Sharon Strzelecki from Kath & Kim. Was a spokesperson for Jenny Craig from 2009 to '11.

Trivia: First TV role was playing Tamara Henderson in the drama The Henderson Kids from 1985 to '87. Film debut was playing Sarah in The Still Point (1986). Wrote and directed the short film Afterglow in 2011. Has worked extensively on the stage and TV in both Australia and the UK.

Trivia: In the early 2000s, New Zealand helped Hollywood find some of the film industry's new and exciting talent. In addition to offering high-profile efforts by such visionary directors as Peter Jackson and Lee Tamahori, the South Pacific island country was also the birthplace of talented actor Martin Henderson. A native of Auckland who stumbled into acting when a popular local TV show held a casting call at his school, the 13-year-old soon realized his true calling. He landed the part on Strangers and soon thereafter was cast in the popular hospital drama Shortland Street -- a role which earned the up-and-coming star a Best Male Dramatic Performance award at the 1993 New Zealand Film and Television Awards. Henderson moved to Sydney, Australia, where he stepped into the lead as an athlete with Olympic aspirations in Sweat. By this point, he was beginning to court international recognition, and made his feature debut with a supporting role in 1999's Kick. Henderson opted to hone his craft further at the New York Playhouse, where he appeared in a number of stage productions. Though he was lost in the shuffle with a small supporting role in John Woo's ill-fated World War II drama Windtalkers (2002), things soon began to look up for Henderson in Hollywood. With the release of The Ring later that year, the actor had both more screen time and a character that afforded him a better opportunity to exhibit his talent. Indie romance followed when Henderson was cast opposite Piper Perabo in the 2002 drama A Piece of My Heart (adapted for the screen by playwright Matt Cooper). Then, in an unpredictable move, the rising star received positive notice for his role in the Swedish romantic drama Skagerrak (aka Sweet Dreams). In 2004, Henderson rode fast and furious in the motorcycle action thriller Torque, which offered him his first lead in a large-scale Hollywood production. He also appeared later that year in the U.K. musical comedy Bride and Prejudice, a Bollywood-style adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. AFI nominated for a "Best Supporting Actor" trophy as a result of his affecting role as a disabled man drawn into a dangerous crime sceme in the 2005 Australian crime drama Little Fish, Henderson could next be seen taking to the sides as an American pilot helping his French allies fight the good fight in the World War I adventure Flyboys. He had a small part in Smokin' Aces, and had a major role in the political drama Battle in Seattle. He also had a major part in the 2010 WWII film Home By Christmas.

Trivia: For an actor almost universally associated with a single character -- Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise -- William Shatner has found diverse ways to stay active in the public eye, even spoofing his overblown acting style in a way far more hip than desperate. Years after he last uttered "warp speed," Shatner remains a well-known face beyond Star Trek conventions, re-creating himself as the spoken-word pitchman for priceline.com, and starring in a popular series of smoky nightclub ads that featured some of the most cutting-edge musicians of the day.The Canadian native was born on March 22, 1931, in Montréal, where he grew up and attended Verdun High School. Shatner studied commerce at McGill University before getting the acting bug, which eventually prompted him to move to New York in 1956. He initially worked in such live television dramatic shows as Studio One and The United States Steel Hour in 1957 and 1958, as well as on Broadway. His big screen debut soon followed as Alexei in the 1958 version of Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov.Throughout the 1960s, Shatner worked mostly in television. His most memorable appearance came in a 1963 episode of The Twilight Zone entitled "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," in which he plays a terrified airline passenger unable to convince the crew that there's a mysterious gremlin tearing apart the wing. He also appeared in such films as Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) and the bizarrely experimental Esperanto-language horror film Incubus (1963). In 1966, he got his big break, though neither he nor anyone else knew it at the time. Shatner was cast as the macho starship captain James Kirk on Star Trek, commanding a crew that included an acerbic doctor, a Scottish engineer, and a logician with pointy ears, on a mission "to boldly go where no man has gone before." However, the show lasted only three seasons, considered by many to be high camp. After providing a voice on the even shorter-lived animated series in 1973, Shatner must have thought Star Trek too would pass. A costly divorce and a lingering diva reputation from Star Trek left him with few prospects or allies, forcing him to take whatever work came his way. But in 1979, after a decade of B-movie labor in such films as The Kingdom of Spiders (1977) and a second failed series (Barbary Coast, 1975-1976), Shatner re-upped for another attempt to capitalize on the science fiction series with Star Trek: The Motion Picture. This time it caught on, though the first film was considered a costly disappointment. With dogged determination, the producers continued onward with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), at which point fans finally flocked to the series, rallying behind the film's crisp space battles and the melodramatic tête-à-tête between Shatner and Ricardo Montalban.Shatner had to wrestle with his advancing age and the deaths of several characters in Star Trek II and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), but by Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986), the actor got to indulge in his more whimsical side, which has since characterized his career. As the series shifted toward comedy, Shatner led the way, even serving as director of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), which many considered among the series' weaker entries. During this period, Shatner also began parodying himself in earnest, appearing as host of Saturday Night Live in a famous sketch in which he tells a group of Trekkies to "Get a life." He also turned in a wickedly energetic mockery of a moon base captain in Airplane II: The Sequel (1982). Shatner made one final appearance with the regular Star Trek cast in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), then served as one of the crossovers to the new series of films in Star Trek: Generations (1994), in which endlessly theorizing fans finally learned the fate of Captain Kirk.The success of the Trek movies reenergized Shatner's TV career, even if it didn't immediately earn him more film roles. Shatner played the title role on the successful police drama T.J. Hooker from 1982 to 1987, directing some episodes, then began hosting the medical reality series Rescue 911 in 1989. Shatner returned to the movies with another parody, Loaded Weapon I, in 1993, and in 1994 began directing, executive producing, and acting in episodes of the syndicated TV show TekWar, based on the popular series of Trek-like novels he authored. In the later '90s, Shatner was best known for his humorously out-there priceline.com ads, but also guested on a variety of TV shows, most notably as the "Big Giant Head" on the lowbrow farce Third Rock From the Sun. He also appeared as game show hosts both in film (Miss Congeniality, 2000) and real life (50th Annual Miss America Pageant, 2001). In 1999, Shatner suffered public personal tragedy when his third wife, Nerine, accidentally drowned in their swimming pool. The champion horse breeder and tennis enthusiast owns a ranch in Kentucky and remains active in environmental causes. Shatner took on a small role for 2004's Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, and voiced the villainous wildebeest Kazar in Disney's animated adventure The Wild in 2006. Shatner returned to television for a starring role on the popular dramady Boston Legal, in which he plays Denny Crane, a once unbeatable lawyer who co-founded the successful law firm where he continues to work despite his reputation as an eccentric old man.

Trivia: Was raised in a dairy farm.At the age of 9, he discovered his passion for the performing arts after attending a play with his parents.Was encouraged by his parents to pursue his artistic aspirations.Founded the theatre company Fingerprints and Teeth Productions.Is skilled at hockey, swimming, and cross-country running.