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: Hailing from Overland Park, KS, clean-cut comedic actor Jason Sudeikis rose to fame as a member of that Valhalla of comics, Saturday Night Live; he joined the series not as an actor but as a writer, in the 2003-2004 season, then moved into performance and distinguished himself during his premiere season with three portrayals that instantly became audience favorites: burglar Ed Mahoney, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks, and that of a Bluetooth-wearing, egomaniacal "A-hole" in a series of sketches that also starred Kristen Wiig. Prior to SNL involvement, Sudeikis entered the comedic realm via participation in Kansas City's ComedySportz ensemble, then relocated to Chicago and enlisted with Second City. He also performed with Boom Chicago in Amsterdam and co-founded Second City Las Vegas.From SNL, Sudeikis made the short leap to prime-time television and feature films. On the small screen, he landed a recurring role as Tina Fey's boyfriend Floyd on the popular NBC sitcom 30 Rock. Sudeikis' feature-film appearances (the majority in the comedy vein) include supporting roles in the outings The Ten (2007), What Happens in Vegas (2008), Semi-Pro (2008), and The Rocker (2008). He had his biggest non-SNL hit to date when he was one of three regular guys looking to kill their Horrible Bosses in 2011, and that same year he co-starred with Owen Wilson in Hall Pass, and starred in the indie comedy A Good Old Fashioned Orgy. Sudeikis left SNL in 2013 to focus on his film career, next appearing as a drug dealer/con artist in We're the Millers.

Trivia: Bearing the kind of sharp-eyed, vaguely sinister good looks that often get actors cast as charismatic drug dealers or murder suspects, Timothy Olyphant first impressed film audiences playing none other than the resident charismatic drug dealer of Doug Liman's Go (1999). Born in Hawaii on May 20, 1968, Olyphant grew up in California. After attending the University of California, where he swam competitively, the actor made his professional debut in the Playwrights Horizons' production of The Monogamist, for which he won a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance. Olyphant's first film appearance came courtesy of a miniscule role in The First Wives Club (1996); somewhat more substantial work followed in 1997's Scream 2, in which the actor was cast as one of Neve Campbell's friends. After a turn in When Trumpets Fade (1998), a critically acclaimed made-for-TV WWII drama, and a memorable guest-shot on an episode of Sex and the City, Olyphant gave a scene-stealing performance in Go, managing to stand out in an ensemble cast that included Sarah Polley, Katie Holmes, Taye Diggs, and Scott Wolf. His work caught the notice of more than one industry observer, and by the following year, the actor had a number of projects in the works. Included among them were The Broken Hearts Club, a comedy that cast Olyphant as a gay photographer; Gone in Sixty Seconds, which featured him as a detective on the trail of a car thief (Nicolas Cage); and Auggie Rose, a drama about assumed identity in which Olyphant played the ex-cellmate of a dead con man. In 2001, Olyphant would turn up in the tale of an aspiring singer who gets to live a dream, Rock Star.Once touted as "the next big thing," Olyphant's stock seemed to drop after attaching himself to a string of duds, most notably the aforementioned Rock Star, Dreamcatcher, and A Man Apart, the latter two both released in 2003. Fortunately, the following year saw things looking up for the actor, with a starring role on the critically acclaimed series from HBO, the Western Deadwood. Over the next several years, Olyphant would appear in films like Live Free or Die Hard and I Am Number Four, in addition to a role on the night time drama Damages, as well as the massively popular series Justified.

Trivia: Ottawa-born Sarah Chalke first gained notoriety in 1993 when, at the beginning of the show's sixth season, she was cast on ABC's hit sitcom Roseanne as oldest daughter Becky, a role that had previously been filled by Alicia Goranson, who exited the show for college. Chalke continued to play Becky for two seasons until Goranson returned, but the two actresses took turns playing the character throughout the season. Goranson left again before the show's ninth and final season, and Chalke resumed the role full-time.Following the end of Roseanne, Chalke took on a role in the Canadian series Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy. While that show only lasted nine episodes, it would only be a couple more years before the actress found herself on another hit series. In 2001, she was cast as Elliot Reid, the female lead opposite Zach Braff on the cult hit NBC medical comedy Scrubs. The massively successful show would run until 2010, earning Chalke legions of fans.In addition to her series television work, Chalke has acted in a number of made-for-TV movies and small independent films over the years. In 2007 she had her first role in a high-profile Hollywood movie with a supporting turn alongside Jon Heder and Diane Keaton in the comedy Mama's Boy. She would also find continued success on the small screen, with starring roles on shows like Mad Love, a recurring gig on Cougar Town and guest spots on shows like Grey's Anatomy and Angie Tribeca.

Trivia: While some may not recognize Margo Martindale's name, many recognize her face. An actress onscreen from the early '90s, Martindale's list of memorable roles is long, and the character actress found a strong niche playing mothers (Million Dollar Baby) grandmothers (Hannah Montana: The Movie), and generally maternal figures (Practical Magic). Martindale even parodied her own typecasting, playing the mother of the title character in the biopic spoof Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. Martindale would continue to act at a furious pace for years to come, appearing in movies like Secretariat, and on shows like Justified and A Gifted Man.

Trivia: Jon Lovitz is a versatile comedic actor instantly recognizable for his distinctive voice, acerbic wit, pear-shaped body, and hangdog eyes. He studied at the University of California, Irvine, and participated in the Film Actors Workshop. He then went on to do guest spots on TV and had a recurring role on Foley Square. Lovitz also played small roles in Last Resort (1986), and Ratboy (1986), and also provided a voice for the animated feature The Brave Little Toaster (1987). He got his first real break as a regular on TV's Saturday Night Live, where his characters such as Tommy Flanagan of pathological Liars Anonymous, the great Shakespearean ham Master Thespian, and the Devil himself became quite popular. His stint on Saturday Night Live put him in demand as a character actor and television guest star. His friendship with director Penny Marshall helped him get roles in some of her earlier films such as Big (1988), and his role as the fast talking baseball recruiter Ernie "Cappy" Capadino in Marshall's A League of Their Own (1992) earned him widespread acclaim. Lovitz has also appeared as a guest voice on the TV animated show The Simpsons and played lead voice in the critically-acclaimed animated show The Critic on ABC and the Fox Network.In the years following SNL and The Critic, Lovitz remained active with comedic roles in film (High School High, Little Nicky) and television (NewsRadio, Las Vegas), though it his performances in such films as Todd Solandz's acerbic black comedy Happiness and opposite Kevin Spacey in the semi-comedic Jack Abramoff biopic Casino Jack that displayed more range most filmmakers had previously failed to capitalize on. And thought the comic actor was never known to be overtly political, his scathing criticisms of U.S. President Barack Obama on the issue of taxes made headlines across the country in 2012, resulting in an unusually serious appearance on FOX News in which he passionately defended his comments.

Trivia: Brittany Robertson found success as a teenage actress in the mid- to late 2000s with her small-screen portrayal of Samantha Saxton on the seriocomic period series Swingtown. The show took a headfirst dive into the confused sexual mores of the mid-'70s, played out via the intrigues of an "average" Middle American town. Prior to that, she had appeared as Steve Carell's daughter in the comedy Dan in Real Life (2007). Robertson would remain active on screen for years to come, starring on shows like Life Unexpected and The Secret Circle.

Trivia: Enrolled in dance classes as a toddler. Began her modeling career at 15, which allowed her to travel to international locales and spend time in Asia after high school. Made TV debut on Degrassi: The Next Generation in 2009. Appeared on several episodes of the Disney XD series Aaron Stone in 2010. Featured in Sean Paul's 2010 music video for "Hold My Hand." Originally tested for the role of Spencer on the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars, but ended up with the part of Emily. Became a spokesmodel for Pantene Haircare products in 2011.

Trivia: Auditioned for a role in Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone, when a casting team visited his school. Set a Guinness World Record for the Highest Stand-Up Comedy Gig in the World in 2011, held on a plane, alongside Dara O'Briain and Jon Richardson, to raise money for Comic Relief. Raised money for The Foxes Foundation, by playing in the Sellebrity Soccer Event in 2014. Was a regular panelist on the game show A League of Their Own from 2012 to 2018. Hosted The Feeling Nuts Comedy Night, raising awareness towards testicular cancer, in 2014. Had a small voice role in Disney's Frozen, that was ultimately cut from the final film. Appeared with his father in 2017 in the Netflix comedy documentary series Jack Whitehall: Travels with My Father. Has hosted the BRIT Awards since 2018.

Trivia: Worked on the assembly line for General Motors while still in high school; she discovered she had a proficiency for electrical engineering and earned a scholarship to Prairie View A&M University in Texas. Worked as a stand-up comedian nights during college. Briefly worked as a full-time engineer for companies like Xerox before switching to comedy full-time. Was the runner-up in the 2003 season of Star Search. In 2009, was named one of the Top 10 Comics to Watch by Variety. Became a host of The Real talk show in 2013. Wrote Love Him Or Leave Him, but Don't Get Stuck With the Tab, a book about relationships in 2013.

Trivia: Started working as a Daily Show correspondent the same day he auditioned for the job. Grew up in Bradford, England, and moved to Tampa with his family when he was 16. Wrote and starred in the Obie Award-winning Sakina's Restaurant, a one-man comedy about the Indian immigrant experience.

Trivia: While landing a guest spot on a hit television series would be a welcome event for most up-and-coming actresses, Jennifer Garner's brief run on Felicity proved especially fortunate for her -- thanks to her appearance on the show, she met her future husband, and the producer who would cast her in the leading role of the successful action/adventure series Alias. Jennifer Garner was born in Houston, TX, in 1972; when she was very young, her family relocated to Charleston, WV, where she grew up. Garner was the second of three daughters, and early on developed an interest in ballet. After graduating from George Washington High School in Charleston, Garner attended Denison University in Granville, OH, where she became interested in drama, and eventually received a degree in theater. After college, Garner moved to New York and began auditioning for stage roles, landing her first part only a month after arriving in town in 1995 as an understudy in the Broadway production of A Month in the Country. Later that same year, Garner moved to Los Angeles and began working in television, making her screen debut in the made-for-TV movie Zoya. Over the next two years, Garner landed guest roles on several television shows, including Spin City and Law & Order, and small parts in several motion pictures, among them Deconstructing Harry, In Harm's Way, and Mr. Magoo. 1998 found Garner cast as the female lead on the short-lived Fox drama Significant Others, and while the show only aired for a little over a month, Garner fared much better with a showy recurring role on Felicity, where she played Hannah, the former girlfriend of Noel Crane, played by Scott Foley. Though Garner claims she had to go through five rounds of auditions before she was given the role, she certainly made an impression on co-star Foley; they soon began dating, and were married in the fall of 2000. Garner's work on Felicity helped win her a major supporting role on the television series Time of Your Life, a spin-off of Party of Five starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. The heavily promoted series was a ratings disappointment, but Garner received enthusiastic notices, and began winning film roles in high-profile projects such as Pearl Harbor and Dude, Where's My Car? In 2000, J.J. Abrams, who produced Felicity, was preparing a new series for ABC about a female spy living a triple life as a college student and supposed bank employee, who is also a double agent working for the CIA. Abrams remembered Garner's impressive performance as Hannah, and cast her as Sydney Bristow in Alias. The show quickly became a success when it premiered in 2001, earning respectable ratings, strong reviews, and a devoted fan following who tuned in each week to see Garner beat up bad guys and don an impressive collection of slinky outfits. That same year, Garner also appeared opposite her then-husband, Foley, in a supporting role in the independent drama Rennie's Landing. Riding high on the success of Alias with a Golden Globe Award in hand, Garner continued to grow as a big-screen presence. After a memorable appearance in Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can, Garner displayed the butt-kicking skills she honed on Alias, appearing as Elektra in the 2003 comic-book adaptation Daredevil. The next year, she took on her first big-screen starring role, playing an adolescent girl who wakes up to suddenly find herself all grown up in the romantic comedy 13 Going on 30. Garner would star on Alias until it ended its run in 2006, and subsequently enjoyed her career as a movie star, appearing in such films as Juno, The Kingdom, The Invention of Lying, Arthur, and Butter. She took a supporting role in the drama Dallas Buyers Club in 2013, before returning to family fare with Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

Trivia: Instantly recognizable for her cute overbite, raucous voice, and broad Bronx accent, Penny Marshall successfully made the transition from popular comic actress to a respected director and producer of popular mainstream feature films. A New York native (born Carole Penny Marsciarelli), Marshall is the daughter of an industrial filmmaker and a dance instructor. She started dancing herself as a toddler and as a teen competed on The Ted Mack Amateur Hour with a dance troupe comprised of several friends. The group also appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show. By the time she was a young adult and had graduated with degrees in math and psychology from the University of New Mexico, her older brother, Garry Marshall, had established himself as a successful television writer. It was Garry who provided Marshall with her first film role in his feature film debut effort as a screenwriter and producer in How Sweet It Is (1968).When her brother began creating and producing situation comedies, he made sure Marshall had parts in his shows, the first of which was My Friend Tony and the second was The Odd Couple, where she had a recurring role. Marshall also guest starred on other comedies, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, but her big break didn't come until her brother cast her and her friend Cindy Williams as Laverne and Shirley in an episode of his popular series Happy Days. Her portrayal of a wiseacre working-class broad and Williams' take on the more innocent Shirley gained an instant fan base and so Garry Marshall was inspired to build a sitcom around the characters. Laverne and Shirley debuted in 1978 and ran through 1983. During this period, Marshall was married to actor-turned-director Rob Reiner. She divorced him in the early '80s. At that time, it was apparent that her acting career was on a dead-end street and Marshall decided to try out directing. Beginning with television movies and series such as The Tracey Ullman Show, Marshall learned to direct. She made her feature film directorial debut with the Whoopi Goldberg vehicle Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) which had originally been slated for director Howard Zieff. Returning her brother's favors, she gave him a part in the film and also created a part for her daughter, Tracy Reiner (the offspring from Marshall's first marriage to Michael Henry). The film was a critical and box-office dud, but this did not deter Marshall from trying again. Her second attempt at directing, Big (1988), the story of a boy whose wish is granted and so finds himself stranded in a man's body, made actor Tom Hanks a movie star and established Marshall as a respectable big-league filmmaker. Still, she took two years to finish her next film, Awakenings (1990). This was due in part to 20th Century Fox's reluctance to have the story filmed until Marshall had engaged her friends Robin Williams, in a rare subdued dramatic role, and Robert De Niro. A well-made and poignant drama, Awakenings received three Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture. For her next film, Marshall offered up a sentimental, funny, and ebullient look at the women who kept professional baseball alive when all the young men were off fighting during WWII in A League of Their Own (1992). It was a well-crafted effort that has grown in popularity on video and netted star Geena Davis a Golden Globe nomination. Since then, Marshall's directorial output yielded uneven results and her films, while still loaded with mainstream appeal, had yet to reach the degree of popularity of her earlier work. In the late '90s, she and her much-younger pal, comedian Rosie O'Donnell, became popular for a series of television commercials for K-Mart. In addition to directing and producing, Marshall occasionally continued to work as an actress on television and in films, and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (alongside her Laverne and Shirley co-star Cindy Williams) in 2004. Though at the time it appeared that Marshall had taken a hiatus from the director's chair, she would later resurface to direct episiodes of According to Jim and United States of Tara before lending her voice to the animated comedy series The Life and Times of Jim, and making an appearance in Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein's hipster-skewing sketch series Portlandia.

Trivia: Volunteered on President Barack Obama's presidential campaign in Cleveland. Made his Broadway debut as a replacement in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Premiered his autobiographical show Pub Crawl, about his life being raised in an Irish pub by a single mother, in 2013. Co-Founder of Broadway Impact, an organization promoting marriage equality, with Jenny Kanelos and Gavin Creel.

Trivia: A capable comic actor whose regular-guy looks and sharp wit have made him a popular character performer in both movies and television, Larry Miller was born on October 15, 1953 on Long Island, NY. Miller grew up with a keen interest in music, and graduated with honors from Amherst College, receiving a degree in music. Hoping to make a career as a musician, Miller moved to New York City and began playing the nightclub circuit as a pianist and drummer. Working the clubs inspired Miller to take a stab at comedy, and he began performing occasional sets at comedy clubs such as the Comic Strip and Catch a Rising Star. Within two years, Miller had put his musical career on the back burner and was touring full-time as a comic. Miller made his film debut in 1978 in the film Take Down, but it would be several more years before Miller found himself before the camera again; as his career as a standup comic rose, Miller began landing occasional television guest shots and bit parts in films, as well as appearing on several cable television specials devoted to comedians. But it was Miller's appearance in the 1990 film Pretty Woman that kick-started his screen career; playing an arrogant but all-too-eager-to-please salesman, Miller's brief moment in the film earned big laughs, and he soon became a frequent presence in movies and television. Miller was a regular on the TV series The Pursuit of Happiness, Life's Work, and Michael Hayes -- all three of which only lasted a season -- and played recurring roles on Mad About You, Dream On, DAG, and My Wife and Kids. Miller also made a surprising appearance in a dramatic role on Law & Order, in which he played a man accused of murder. Miller played a number of showy supporting roles in theatrical films, including Waiting for Guffman, The Minus Man, The Nutty Professor, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind. His comedy chops only gaining more bite with the passing years, Miller would find only increasing success when he appeared on such small screen hits as Desperate Housewives and Boston Legal in the mid-00s. Of course Miller was still very much a feature man, with roles in the underseen sleeper Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Any Bully providing plenty of room for the comic talent to shine. When not busy with his acting career, Miller still performs as a standup comic, and writes a humor column for The Daily Standard.

Trivia: Actress Kate Linder studied theater arts at San Francisco State University before launching her onscreen career, making small appearances on shows like Archie Bunker's Place and Bay City Blues. In 1982, Linder joined the cast of the daytime soap The Young and the Restless in the role of Esther Valentine. She would remain with the show for over two decades.