Trivia: Best known as slightly geeky would-be ladies' man Dwayne Wayne on the television series A Different World, actor Kadeem Hardison's engaging onscreen persona and easy flair for comedy has earned him steady work as a supporting player in both film and television. Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1965, Hardison became interested in acting when he was in his early teens, and he began studying theater at New York's Eubie Blake Theater, where one of his instructors was Earle Hyman, who later portrayed Grandpa Huxtable on The Cosby Show. Hardison's work with Hyman helped win the young actor a guest spot on a 1984 episode of The Cosby Show, playing opposite Lisa Bonet; the same year, Hardison made his big-screen debut with a small role in the hip-hop musical Beat Street. Hardison made a handful of appearances in movies and television projects over the next two years, but his debut appearance on The Cosby Show earned him a major dividend in 1987, when Denise Huxtable, Lisa Bonet's character on The Cosby Show, was spun-off into her own series, A Different World, and Hardison was cast as fellow student Dwayne Wayne. While Bonet left the show after its first season, Hardison remained in the cast for its entire seven-season run, and directed several during the show's final two seasons. During his down time from A Different World, Hardison continued to work in motion pictures, with supporting roles in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and School Daze and a leading role in the independent horror film Def By Temptation. After A Different World went off the air in 1993, Hardison concentrated on film work, with roles ranging from the horror/comedy Vampire in Brooklyn to the political drama Panther. In 1997, he took another stab at series television on the short-lived sitcom Between Brothers, and began adding more TV guests spots to his resumé, appearing on Touched By an Angel, Just Shoot Me, and the revived Fantasy Island, while still maintaining a busy schedule of film work. In 2008 he played a small role in the romantic comedy Made of Honor, and co-starred in the 2011 horror Ashes, which followed a doctor who unintentionally releases a deadly plague.

Trivia: While she appeared in several notable features in the 1980s and 1990s, TV was the star-making venue for Jasmine Guy. A multi-talented performer, Boston-born Guy began her career as a dancer for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. She moved to acting and television, however, with a part in the TV film At Mother's Request (1987) and a starring role as snooty co-ed beauty Whitley in The Cosby Show spin-off A Different World (1987-1993). During the show's six season run, Guy also made her feature film debut in Spike Lee's politically charged college comedy/musical School Daze (1988) and co-starred in Eddie Murphy's ill-fated Harlem Nights (1989). Guy further revealed her range in TV movies Runaway (1989), A Killer Among Us (1990), and Stompin' at the Savoy (1992). After A Different World ended in 1993, Guy continued to be a regular TV presence with numerous guest star roles throughout the 1990s, particularly on Melrose Place and NYPD Blue. Guy also returned to the stage as a musical theater actress in touring companies of Grease and Chicago, played a major role in the feature thriller Kla$h (1995), and made a brief appearance as one of Stephen Rea's former female protégées in the 1999 Sundance Film Festival prizewinner Guinevere. She continued to act in projects such as the made-for-TV remake of Carrie, and enjoyed a run on the short-lived Dead Like Me - both of those projects written by Bryan Fuller. She appeared in the 2010 sequel Stomp the Yard: Homecoming, and the 2012 adoption/abortion drama October Baby.

Trivia: Many know actor Darryl M. Bell for his role as Ron Johnson on the sitcom A Different World. He would also appear in projects like the Spike Lee film School Daze, and on the show Homeboys in Outer Space. In 2009, Bell signed up to appear on the reality series Husbands of Hollywood.

Trivia: A hardworking funnyman whose clean, family friendly persona and animated antics have endeared him into the hearts of dedicated fans worldwide, Sinbad has worked tirelessly to rise to the top of the standup circuit, finding success in both television and film in addition to his popular stage act.Born David Adkins on November 18, 1956, in Benton Harbor, MI, the energetic youngster spent much of his youth entertaining his three brothers and two sisters and refining his unique sense of humor. A passion for basketball and the Harlem Globetrotters won the red-haired youth (affectionately christened "Red" Chamberlain by his teammates) a basketball scholarship to the University of Denver, but a knee injury later sidelined his professional sports aspirations. Turning back to his humorous instincts, Sinbad hit the road for his "Poverty Tour," working the comedy circuits while taking the Greyhound from city to city and living hand-to-mouth. Adapting the moniker of a legend that embodied the spirit of strength, adventure, and optimism symbolized all that the hardworking comedian aspired to be. Putting his faith in God and his ability to make others laugh paid off, and following seven appearances on Star Search the now-established Sinbad was given his television break by comedy legend Redd Foxx. Playing Foxx's son on The New Redd Foxx show in the mid-'80s found the aspiring actor expanding his talents, and though the show didn't last long, it did bring said talents to the attention of yet another comedy legend, Bill Cosby. Following a few other television appearances, Sinbad joined the cast of Cosby Show spin-off A Different World in 1987. Concurrently serving as host for It's Showtime at the Apollo continued his career momentum on the right track, and before long he had developed his own television show, Sinbad and Friends All the Way Live...Almost. On the world of the silver screen, Sinbad made an appropriate debut as a standup comedian in 1989 with That's Adequate. Following with notably funny bone-tickling minor roles in Necessary Roughness (1991) and Coneheads (1993), he took the lead for 1995's Houseguest and has since turned up memorably alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in Jingle All the Way and with James Coburn and Burt Reynolds in the made-for-television film The Cherokee Kid (both 1996), all the while making frequent appearances in standup cable specials and continuing to tour tirelessly. The 2000's would find him appearing on shows like Resurrection Blvd. and Slacker Cats, as well as in films like Stompin' and Leila. In 2010 he competed on the celebrity reality show The Apprentice, and created another stand up special, titled Where U Been?, that same year.In addition to his constant efforts to bring laughter to the masses, Sinbad has dedicated his free time and personal efforts to such causes as the Children's Defense Fund and the Omega Boys Club. Sinbad also made his bid to increase AIDS awareness with his involvement in the Time Out: The Truth About HIV, AIDS and You video in 1992. His intense dedication to family is evident in his hiring of his brothers and sisters to assist him in his numerous endeavors.

Trivia: Is of African-American and Guyanese descent.Co-starred in the sitcom A Different World from 1987 to 1992, playing Jaleesa Vinson.Composed A Different World's theme song with Bill Cosby and Stu Gardner.Played Deloris Van Cartier, the Whoopi Goldberg role, in Peter Schneider's Sister Act the Musical before its Broadway run.Has lent her voice to a number of animated television series such as The Simpsons, Futurama, The Cleveland Show and The Boondocks, as well as to Pixar films Monsters University and Inside Out.

Trivia: An esteemed African-American playwright and actor whose roles almost invariably contend with the politics and dynamics of race (frequent collaborator Spike Lee once famously described him as a "racial cheerleader"), thespian Roger Guenveur Smith grew up in Berkeley and debuted onscreen in the late '80s. Over the ensuing years, Smith cultivated and sustained a reputation for tackling demanding, challenging, and thought-provoking assignments with immense aplomb. He achieved much of his success thanks to repeated collaborations with Lee, who cast him as Yoda in the musical School Daze (1988) and Smiley, the hipster street philosopher in Do the Right Thing (1989); in fact, Lee later noted that Smith was the one who devised the idea for the juxtaposed photographs of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in one of Thing's pivotal scenes. Meanwhile, Smith remained extremely active in regional theater, both by authoring his own efforts (such as a musical about Christopher Columbus that painted commonly accepted versions of the man's life story as historical revisionism) and by teaching drama to juvenile delinquents. As the years passed, Smith's onscreen activity crescendoed; he signed for plum roles in such contemporary classics as King of New York (1990), Deep Cover (1992), and Eve's Bayou (1997), and, significantly, extended his professional relationship with Lee to many additional projects. The celebrated director cast Smith in such features as Malcolm X (1992), Get on the Bus (1996), He Got Game (1998), and Summer of Sam (1999), all of which received considerable acclaim. Their actor-director working relationship culminated in the little-seen (but arguably brilliant) A Huey P. Newton Story (2001) -- a Lee-directed film of Smith's one-man stage show on the life of controversial Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton. The film preserves the original Smith-authored play, and stars the thespian as Newton; Lee augments the film with visual pyrotechnics and interpolates archival footage to give the feature depth and dimension. Unfortunately, the project failed to receive even a limited theatrical release, and premiered instead on the Black Starz cable network. Thereafter, Smith continued his theatrical work (albeit very infrequently) with such plays as the 2003 Iceland, a psychological drama about four unrelated characters that debuted in Philadelphia. He also continued his frequent film roles, with assignments including Shade (2003), God's Waiting List (2006), Confessions of a Call Girl (2006), and Ridley Scott's American Gangster (2007).

Trivia: Best known for playing unapologetically mature, assertive, and intelligent adult women, African-American supporting actress Jenifer Lewis originally launched her career as a vocalist, singing in a church choir in Kinloch, MO. Lewis' passion (and gift) for singing carried her to the Great White Way, where she appeared in a number of sell-out Broadway musicals -- including Ain't Misbehavin' and Dreamgirls. She subsequently migrated to the West Coast for a string of appearances in TV programs such as Roc, A Different World, Murphy Brown, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Touched by an Angel, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and graduated to features in 1992. The films in which Lewis has appeared run the gamut of quality, from outstanding (What's Love Got to Do With It?, 1993) to satisfactory (Sister Act, 1992; The Preacher's Wife, 1996) to downright abominable (Frozen Assets, 1992); many, however, demonstrated her fine gifts. More recently, Lewis attained some much-deserved recognition (and ascended to higher than usual billing) with her multi-season portrayal of Lana Hawkins in the prime-time medical drama Strong Medicine (2000).