Trivia: Of all the "break out" performers from the series The Facts of Life, Mindy Cohn was the most improbable. The others were all child actors with experience in performing, but Cohn never trained as an actress and knew little or nothing about the series when she first came to the attention of the producers. Born in Los Angeles, she was an ordinary high school student attending the Harvard-Westlake School when the makers of The Facts of Life, planning their first season, arrived there to observe and photograph an actual girls' school in operation. It was reportedly series star Charlotte Rae who first spotted Cohn, a student at the school, entertaining some friends, and brought her to the attention of the producers. All involved agreed that she was a "natural," one of those uncanny, untrained individuals who simply looked good and memorable and funny in front of the camera, in a manner comparable to the child performers they had already cast, and with that ability added something extra special in terms of verisimilitude -- and a good deal of wry humor -- to the cast they already had. And so Cohn was cast as Natalie Green and was one of the three original young first-season cast members to get spotlighted when the program moved to its second season, achieving stardom in the course of a seven-season run for the series. One very ironic moment came later in the run of the show when Cohn, who had always been on the heavy side and whose character had been conceived with that as an attribute, began to slim down. According to Cohn, in an interview for the DVD release of the first two seasons, the producers actually asked her to put the weight back on, if possible; when she refused, they came up with a compromise by having her character dress in clothes that made her look like she was still overweight. Since the series ended production, she has somewhat limited her acting work while earning a degree in cultural anthropology. Cohn has specifically taken parts that were devised to capitalize on her work from the series and has still found enough roles to keep her occupied. She has also been extremely busy as a voice artist, including portraying the role of Velma on Scooby-Doo.

Trivia: Seemingly coming out of nowhere to essay the difficult role of famed shock-jock Howard Stern's wife in 1997's autobiographical Private Parts, actress Mary McCormack has since gone on to offer memorable performances in such fare as Mystery, Alaska (1999) and K-PAX (2001). A native of Plainfield, NJ, McCormack's interest in performing was piqued at an early age when the aspiring, 12-year-old actress gender-bent her way through a production of Menotti's Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. Since none of the local boys possessed the necessary vocal abilities, McCormack donned a hat and hit the notes needed to carry the play. Subsequently performing in regional theater before continuing her education at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, it was there that McCormack would major in English and painting while continuing to hone her stage skills. After earning her Comparative Arts degree from Trinity, McCormack decided to further her acting career by studying at the William Esper Studio. Performances at such New York theaters as The Atlantic Theater Company were quick to follow, as was her film debut in the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street. Simultaneously appearing on the small screen in the popular crime series Murder One (1995), it wasn't long before Private Parts would offer a stratospheric boost to her onscreen career. A cinematic love letter to Stern's real-life wife, Private Parts offered the burgeoning actress a complex emotional role that proved without a doubt what she was fully capable of. Follow-up roles in such high-profile fare as Deep Impact (1998) and Mystery, Alaska (1999) didn't quite offer McCormack the chance to shine that Private Parts did, though it was obvious to all who viewed her subsequent roles that her star was on the rise. The millennial turnover found McCormack successfully alternating between drama (Madison) and comedy (High Heels and Low Lifes) before once again heading the Hollywood route with a supporting performance in K-PAX. An unconventional role in director Steven Soderbergh's Full Frontal was quick to follow, and McCormack was soon beginning preparation for the television miniseries based on Soderbergh's Traffic (which was in turn inspired by 1989 U.K. series Traffik).She was the female lead in the creepy apocalyptic thriller Right at Your Door, and landed a small part in Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration. In 2008 she landed the lead role on the cable series In Plain Sight and enjoyed the most consistent success of her career.

Trivia: A celebrated professional wrestler who made a smooth transition to Hollywood roles as an action star, John Cena ironically grew up as something of a weakling; he reportedly weighed only 125 pounds in junior high. When others began relentlessly picking on the West Newbury, MA native for his undersized appearance, he rebounded by undergoing a weight-training program and bulking up. Cena later played collegiate football as an All-American center at Division III Springfield College, and moved to Los Angeles after graduation to establish himself as a bodybuilder. To support himself, he sold supplements at the "mecca" of bodybuilding, Gold's Gym in Venice; participated in flexing contests; and briefly starred in a reality television series on the UPN network, Manhunt.WWE recruited Cena when one of its stars happened to notice him training at Gold's; Cena then embarked on a successful and lucrative career as a top-tiered professional wrestler, winning a myriad of events against various competitors, and his wrestling career peaked when he won the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21. Cena's assumed identity as a wrestler often involved donning a "rapper" persona, which correlated with the performer's out-of-ring plans, for he did actually harbor ambitions as a rap singer. In time, he made his debut as an urban music recording artist on the May 2005 Columbia Records release You Can't See Me. Cena would continue to act in movies over the coming years, appearing in releases like The Reunion and Camp Fred.Cena's Hollywood acting work commenced with the title role in director John Bonito's poorly received action thriller The Marine (2006). The film concerns an injured U.S. marine who takes vengeance into his own hands when his wife is kidnapped by a thug (Robert Patrick). Cena followed this up with another lead, this one in director Renny Harlin's 12 Rounds (2009). As produced by Fox Atomic, the film mirrored the premise of The Marine; it stars Cena as a police officer who takes serious action when his wife is abducted.