Trivia: An actress noted as much for her exotic, almost otherworldly beauty as she is for her considerable talent, Uma Thurman is one of the most renowned actors of her generation. The daughter of celebrated professor of Buddhist studies Robert A.F. Thurman and Nena von Schlebrugge, a model and psychotherapist who was once married to Timothy Leary, Uma was born in Boston on April 29, 1970. Raised with three brothers in Amherst, where her father taught at Amherst College, she enjoyed a fairly bohemian upbringing, one that was marked by visits from Eastern holy men and Tibetan refugees. Encouraged to think for herself and be independent, Thurman, who had been interested in acting from an early age, left her Massachusetts boarding school at the age of 15 to pursue an acting career. Moving to New York, she earned a living by washing dishes and modeling, though the latter means of support never agreed with her.The fledgling actress made her debut in Kiss Daddy Goodnight (1987), a forgettable film that cast her as a teen vamp who seduces and robs unsuspecting men. She had a starring role in the teen comedy Johnny Be Good (1988) and also made an eye-catching appearance in Terry Gilliam's underseen fantasy adventure film The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988). But it wasn't until her casting in Stephen Frears' Dangerous Liaisons (1988) as Cécile de Volanges, the impressionable convent girl deflowered by John Malkovich's slimy Vicomte de Valmont, that Thurman first gained recognition. Her scenes with Malkovich, particularly the one in which he offers to teach her a few bedroom terms in Latin, proved to be some of the most memorable of the year, resulting in a sizable helping of fame for the young actress. Further recognition followed with Thurman's portrayal of Henry Miller's wife -- and the object of both his and Anaïs Nin's affections -- in Philip Kaufman's Henry & June (1990). Unfortunately, the actress' role in the NC-17 film -- which required her to take part in explicit love scenes with Maria de Medeiros -- inspired a great deal of unwelcome, stalker-like attention from any number of "fans," causing Thurman to shy away from doing a subsequent number of films. The projects she did take part in all proved to be forgettable affairs: Robin Hood (1991), Final Analysis (1992), Jennifer 8 (1992), Mad Dog and Glory (1993), and Gus Van Sant's Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1994). By the time Thurman received the script for Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, her career was in great need of resuscitation. Fortunately, Pulp Fiction provided just that. A huge, unanticipated success, it was the most talked-about film of the year, eventually becoming recognized as one of the most influential films of the decade. For her part, Thurman gave a sly, smoldering performance as Mia Wallace, the coke-snorting wife of gangster Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), and soon found herself enjoying both a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination and an accompanying resurgence in Hollywood popularity. She followed the success of Pulp Fiction with three relatively modest romantic comedies: A Month by the Lake (1995), The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996), and Beautiful Girls (1996). The 1997 future dystopia Gattaca did little for Thurman but introduce her to co-star and future husband Ethan Hawke. (The two married in May of 1998 and had a daughter later that year; Thurman had been married once before, to Gary Oldman). Batman & Robin, that same year, was less than a high point in Thurman's career. 1998 proved to be similarly disappointing, with both The Avengers, which cast the actress as the cat-suited Emma Peel opposite Ralph Fiennes' John Steed, and Bille August's Les Miserables experiencing swift deaths at the box office. Thurman resurfaced in 1999 in Woody Allen's widely acclaimed Sweet and Lowdown. The story of a famed jazz guitarist (Sean Penn) whose talent is inversely proportional to his merits as a human being, the film cast Thurman as his worldly, unfaithful wife. The following year, she had starring roles in two lavish period dramas, Merchant-Ivory's The Golden Bowl and Roland Joffé's Vatel. The former, a Henry James adaptation that premiered to great acclaim at the 2000 Cannes Festival, featured Thurman as a commoner caught up in a forbidden love affair with an impoverished prince (Jeremy Northam); the latter, which also premiered at Cannes, cast Thurman as a French noblewoman during the reign of King Louis XIV. Supporting performances in Richard Linklater's Tape and husband Hawke's Chelsea Walls (both 2001) were soon to follow, and though Thurman's performances were solid as ever, the limited release of both films found her gaining minimal exposure. Though Thurman was virtually unrecognizable in her role as a lovelorn Jersey girl in the HBO feature Hysterical Blindness (2002), her bravado performance earned her a Best Actress Golden Globe and the downbeat drama found audiences once again compelled by her marked versatility. Little did audiences know that her next role couldn't be more different. Thurman may had done action before in such efforts as Batman & Robin and The Avengers, but her role as the vengeful Bride in Quentin Tarantino's eagerly anticipated Kill Bill nevertheless found viewers' jaws planted firmly on the popcorn-littered multiplex floors. With the production initially delayed due to Thurman's pregnancy, the two-time mother quickly shed her excess weight shortly after giving birth to son Roan; after a vigorous training program, the violent revenge epic was back on track. Even though Thurman made no secret of the fact that balancing the difficult tasks of motherhood and superstardom often took their toll on her during the production of Kill Bill, the dedicated actress pulled off the physically demanding role without a hitch. Debuting in October 2003 to overwhelmingly positive reviews, Kill Bill Vol. 1 (the film was split into two halves after being deemed too long by studio Miramax) still managed to split audiences due to its virtually nonstop, extremely graphic violence. With Kill Bill Vol. 2 scheduled to roll into theaters four months later, fans wasted no time in speculating on The Bride's carnage-laden quest to even the score with the titular Bill (David Carradine) after the ruthless killer gunned her down on her wedding day.In the wake of the Kill Bill extravaganza, it seemed that Thurman was having an especially difficult time finding her footing at the box office when the Get Shorty sequel Be Cool, the romantic comedy Prime, and the musical comedy remake The Producers failed to make any real impact with viewers. Her career in serious need of a pick-me-up after three notable misfires, Thurman would make yet another grab for laughs when, in the summer of 2006, she starred as needy superhero who uses her powers to seek revenge against an ex-boyfriend attempting to move on in My Super Ex-Girlfriend. In 2010, Thurman joined the cast of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief in the role of Medusa, the snake-haired gorgon who could turn a man to stone with no more than a look. The actress played a decidedly different type of character in Ceremony (2010), a critically acclaimed independent comedy that featured Thurman as a woman in her late thirties with a tendency to date the wrong type of guy. In 2012, Thurman co-starred in the period drama Bel Ami and had a recurring role on the musical TV series Smash. She had a supporting role in Lars von Trier's Nymphomaniac in 2013.

Trivia: Although he made his film debut in the acclaimed independent film Bottle Rocket, actor Luke Wilson, born on September 21st, 1971, initially got more recognition for his real-life role as Drew Barrymore's boyfriend than for his acting. Fortunately for Wilson, his onscreen talents outlasted his relationship with Barrymore, and he has enjoyed steady employment and increasing visibility through substantial roles in a number of films.A native Texan, Wilson was born in Dallas in 1971. The son of an advertising executive and a photographer, he was raised with two brothers, Owen and Andrew. The three would all go on to make their careers in film, with Wilson discovering his love of acting while a student at Occidental College. In 1993, the brothers Wilson collaborated with Wes Anderson to make Bottle Rocket, which was initially a 15-minute short. The gleefully optimistic story of three Texans who aspire to become successful thieves, Bottle Rocket premiered at the 1993 Sundance Festival, where it attracted the attention of director James L. Brooks. With Brooks' help, the short became a full-length feature film released in 1996. That same year, Wilson also appeared in the coming-of-age drama Telling Lies in America.After large roles in three 1998 comedies, Bongwater, Home Fries, and Best Men (the latter two co-starring Barrymore), Wilson went on to star in another three comedies the following year. The first, Dog Park, was a Canadian film directed by Kids in the Hall alum Bruce McCulloch and featured Wilson as one of a group of twenty-somethings undergoing the trials and tribulations of love. Blue Streak starred the actor as the sidekick of robber-turned-policeman Martin Lawrence, while Kill the Man (which premiered at the 1999 Sundance Festival) cast him as the owner of a small copy center competing with a large chain store across the street.Though he would stick closely to comedy through 2001 with roles in Charlie's Angels (2000) and Legally Blonde (2001), Wilson took a turn for the sinister in the thrillers Preston Tylk and Soul Survivors (both 2001), before reteaming with his brother Owen and Wes Anderson to give one of his most memorable performances as Richie, the suicidal tennis pro in The Royal Tenenbaums.In 2003, Wilson reprised two past roles, appearing in both Charlies Angels: Full Throttle and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde. That same year, he also scored a hit as one of the stars of Todd Phillips' Old School. 2004 saw Wilson embark on The Wendell Baker Story, a film he stars in, co-directs with brother Andrew Wilson, and co-writes with brother Owen Wilson. Laced with supporting roles and cameos from such iconic friends as Harry Dean Stanton, Kris Kristofferson, and Eddie Griffin, this quirky low-budgeter made the festival rounds in 2005-6 and the responses were encouragingly supportive; Variety's Joe Leydon observed, "The co-directing Wilson siblings smartly refrain from pushing anything too hard or too often, making the unpredictable eruptions of straight-faced absurdity all the more effective. Luke Wilson is extremely engaging in lead role." Many praised the Wilson brothers' directorial and scriptwriting intuition and their willingness to take risky-yet-triumphant gambles onscreen.Wilson joined the cast of early 2006's box-office sleeper hit The Family Stone, a family drama with an ensemble that includes Diane Keaton, Craig T. Nelson and Sarah Jessica Parker; the remainder of the year sees Wilson appearing in a string of supporting roles in light and dark comedies. In a minor performance in May 2006's Hoot, Wilson plays Officer David Delinsky, who attempts to sabotage a plot by local children to blow up a pancake house. His appearance in July 2006's My Super Ex-Girlfriend marks director Ivan Reitman's return to the big screen since 2001's box-office disappointment Evolution; it stars Uma Thurman as a superhero who gets even with her ex-beau (Wilson) after he casts her aside. He also highlights summer 2006's Mini's First Time, a black comedy about an incestuous daughter and stepfather who have the mother committed to a mental hosiptal; co-stars include Jeff Goldblum and Carrie-Anne Moss. Idiocracy, directed by cult fave (and Beavis and Butthead creator) Mike Judge, has Wilson as a moron hurled a thousand years into the future by the U.S. Government, only to discover he is the most intelligent person on the planet.In the tradition of 8mm, 2007's jet-black paranoid thriller Vacancy will co-star Wilson and Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker as husband-and-wife who check into a hotel and unwittingly become the targets of a snuff film, while, in that same year's semi-spoof Dallas (2007) (adapted from the early-eighties TV sensation and directed by Gurinder Chadha) Wilson will tentatively co-star as Bobby Ewing, alongside Jennifer Lopez as Sue Ellen, Shirley MacLaine as Miss Ellie, and John Travolta as the infamous J.R.. Wilson's additional film roles throughout 2007 include Barry Munday (an indie pic helmed by Chris d'Arienzo and adapted from Frank Hollon's novel Life is A Strange Place, about a chauvinist who wakes up and discovers his own emasculation); and Last Seduction helmer John Dahl's mafioso comedy You Kill Me. In 2010, Wilson appeared in the films Death at a Funeral and Middle Men.

Trivia: Difficult to recognize in her natural blonde state following her turn as a raven-haired Neve Campbell knockoff in Scary Movie (2000), Anna Faris made her professional acting debut at the tender age of nine at Washington's Seattle Repertory Theater. Refining her skills in improvisational theater, Faris later found roles in commercials and small local productions, though her future as an actress came into question as she pursued further education and a move overseas. Born November 29, 1976, Faris was raised in Seattle and studied English Literature at the University of Washington after high school, later moving to London to begin working and writing. Longing to return to her childhood love of acting, Faris took a role in the run-of-the-mill teen slasher pic Lover's Lane (1999). Making the move to Los Angeles in order to pursue an acting career full time, Faris' previous improvisational experiences would soon come in handy as she landed her breakthrough role in the popular Scream-slanted spoof of teen slasher pics, Scary Movie. Of course that role was only the beginning for young Faris, and after returning in Scary Movie 2 the following year she portrayed the co-worker and love interest of the titular character in director Lucky McKee's offbeat sleeper May. A supporting role in the Rob Schneider comedy The Hot Chick was followed by the little-seen Sheer Bliss in 2002, and the following year Faris once again scored a hit with her portrayal of a self absorbed starlet in Sofia Coppola's critically acclaimed Lost in Translation. Though it may have been something of a given that Faris would return to the screen for Scary Movie 3 in 2003, many longtime fans were surprised to see her sporting her original blonde locks - a move that effectively banished the previous installments' Neve Campbell connection and forced audiences to take Faris' finely honed comic abilities on their own terms. In 2004 the talented comic actress would make a series of appearances on the hit sitcom Friends. 2005 found her yet again being the very best aspect of an otherwise underwhelming comedy, Just Friends. However her few scenes in the multiple Oscar winning Brokeback Mountain showcased her remarkable skills, and allowed her to be funny while still showcasing her in a more dramatic context. She returned to the Scary Movie franchise for a fourth time in 2006, but she also showed up to support Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson, and Rainn Wilson in Ivan Reitman's comedy My Super Ex-Girlfriend. In 2007, Faris joined actors Jon Heder, Jeff Daniels, and DIane Keaton for Mama's Boy, and shone in the stoner comdy Smiley Face. Her peformance in the latter film won the "Stoner of the Year" award at High Times magazines 2007 Stony Awards, and further endeared the actress to her already loyal fan following. 2008 found Faris producing and starring in The House Bunny. Featuring a cameo appearance from Hef's famous girlfriends Holly, Bridget, and Kendra, the film followed a retired Playboy bunny (Faris) as she tried to make a life for heself outside the doors of the famous Playboy mansion. Faris put her vocal talents to the test once more for 2009's Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and as the lead singer of an all-girl band iin Alvin and the Chipmunk:The Squeakquel (also in 2009), and Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked (2011). Faris also continued to stick to her comedy roots with on-screen performances in the retro '80s comedy Take Me Home Tonight and rom-com What Your Number? (both 2011), before holding her own opposite Sacha Baron Cohen in his 2012 comedy The Dictator.

Trivia: An enormously popular British comedian known as much for his transvestitism as he is for his excoriating social observations, Eddie Izzard is one of the most gleefully unpredictable -- to say nothing of contradictory -- performers to have sabotaged the stage and screen during the late 20th century.Born in Yemen on February 7, 1962, Izzard grew up in Wales and Northern Ireland. Following his mother's death when he was six, Izzard found some degree of solace in comedy, particularly the works of Monty Python, Steve Martin, Richard Pryor, and the early Benny Hill. He began doing stand-up at college and, after being ingloriously kicked out of school, he took his act to the streets. Izzard refined his material -- which largely revolved around personal experiences, politics, and social issues -- over the next decade, and in the early '90s, he finally began earning some measure of recognition. His stand-up work brought him British Comedy Awards in 1993 and 1996, and with popular and critical approval thus in hand, Izzard began appearing in films.Izzard's supporting roles in The Avengers and Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine (both 1998) were concurrent with his first internationally acclaimed tour, Dress to Kill. The tour helped to establish him on both sides of the Atlantic, allowing the comedian to begin the new century on an exceptionally positive note. 2000 saw him co-starring in Shadow of the Vampire, a fictional depiction of the filming of the 1922 Nosferatu; the film's cast also included John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, and Stephen Fry.Izzard continued his highly successful stand-up appearances while maintaining a presence in movies. He played Charlie Chaplin in Peter Bogdanovich's The Cat's Meow, attempted to steal a couple of scenes from the crew in Ocean's Twelve, appeared in Ivan Reitman's My Super Ex-Girlfriend, and offered his vocal talents to the animated film The Wild.In 2007 he appeared as Mr. Kite in Julie Taymor's Across the Universe. The next year he voiced one of the main characters in the animated film Igor and appeared in the historical thriller Valkyrie. He went on to do two more comedy concert films before voicing the entrepreneur Miles Axlerod in Pixar's Cars 2. In 2012 he appeared in Snow White and the Huntsman.

Trivia: Born January 26th, 1966, Rainn Wilson is best known for playing über-nerd Dwight Schrute on the NBC comedy The Office, actor Rainn Wilson parlayed a Broadway career into screen work that began with a role on the daytime soap One Life to Live. Bit parts in features such as Galaxy Quest and Almost Famous soon followed before Wilson landed the part of apprentice mortician Arthur on HBO's Six Feet Under during the show's third season. After Six Feet Under bowed in 2005, Wilson was cast in his most prominent role to date, the aforementioned Dwight Schrute, the resident oddball on the critically acclaimed U.S. version of The Office. Wilson so embraced the part that he even personally penned a weblog by the character on the NBC website. In 2006, Wilson was the fourth lead in Ivan Reitman's fantasy romantic comedy My Super Ex-Girlfriend, and a year later he scored his first starring feature role in the children's sci-fi adventure The Last Mimzy.

Trivia: A quick-witted comedien who has transcended the comedy scene to become one of the funniest comics to hit the stage in some time, Wanda Sykes' unique blend of stinging humor and outspoken honesty has found her moving beyond a career in standup thanks to notable success in film and television. With an Emmy under her belt indicating a bright and enduring career in the years ahead, Sykes has shown a versatility that has gained her increasing attention on such acclaimed HBO series' as The Chris Rock Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Born in Portsmouth, VA, and raised in Maryland, Sykes rounded out her education by receiving her B.S. in marketing at Hampton University. It was around this time that an impromptu performance at Washington D.C.'s Super Talent Showcase sparked an interest in standup comedy, and in the years that followed, the rising starlet would continue to hone her skills on-stage. In 1997, Sykes kicked off her small-screen career as a writer for both The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show and The Chris Rock Show, with the latter offering additional exposure by giving the comedien a place in front of the camera as well as behind. A supporting role in Louis C.K.'s 1998 feature Tomorrow Night was quick to follow, and a 1998 part in the HBO special Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm found Sykes in a scene-stealing performance as David's wife's best friend. By this time, Sykes' feature career was beginning to gain momentum, and after commendable supporting performances in The Nutty Professor II: The Klumps and Down to Earth, she delivered a winning performance in the little-seen C.K. comedy Pootie Tang. Though her next foray into television on the short-lived The Downer Channel proved almost as abysmal as Pootie Tang's box-office returns, Sykes endured to lend her voice to the hit Comedy Central series Crank Yankers and host the pay-cable channel's popular standup comic series Premium Blend. The following year seemed to find Sykes at her peak as she landed her own sitcom, Wanda at Large, and her first standup special, Wanda Sykes: Tongue Untied, and served as a field correspondent for HBO's Inside the NFL. Though Wanda at Large premiered to impressive ratings early in the year, the show was moved from Wednesday to Friday nights for its second season and died a quick death in the difficult time slot. Hardly deterred by the end of that sitcom, Sykes appeared in the hit comedy Monster-In-Law offering up zingers at Jane Fonda in her comeback film, and appearing in the Ivan Reitman comedy My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Considering that withering sarcasm comes easily to Sykes, it is little surprise that she has worked on a variety of animated films including Over the Hedge and Barnyard.She had a bit part in Clerk II, and in 2008 she was cast in the hit sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine. She had her own cable series, The Wanda Sykes Show, for a brief period, and continued to work steadily in animated projects like Rio and Ice Age: Continental Drift.

Trivia: A handsome and prolific television actor who first rose to fame as a regular fixture on the long-running soap opera All My Children -- for which he earned two ALMA Awards and a Daytime Emmy nomination -- Mark Consuelos made waves in the entertainment industry when he married All My Children co-star Kelly Ripa before going on to appear in such series as Missing and Hope & Faith. Born in Zaragoza, Spain, the worldly future actor spent much of his childhood in Lebanon, IL, and Tampa, FL. Upon graduating from Bloomingdale High School in Illinois, Consuelos attended Notre Dame University and subsequently studied marketing at the University of Florida. Early acting roles included performances in Hello Dolly at the Looking Glass Playhouse in Lebanon, IL, and an off-Broadway production of Howard Korder's Boy's Life. Consuelos found his first major screen role when he was cast on All My Children in 1995. In the following years, he became something of a small-screen fixture thanks to frequent television roles. With roles in such features as My Super Ex-Girlfriend and The Pleasure of Your Company (both 2006), it appeared that Consuelos was working hard to launch a feature-film career, though he did prove an amiable host for the 2007 May/December reality romance series Age of Love as well.In 2008 he produced and acted in For the Love of Grace, and in 2010 he had a part in Kevin Smith's action comedy Cop Out. He also presided over the wedding ceremony between Howard Stern and Beth Ostrosky.

Trivia: Is the oldest of four siblings.Moved from Vancouver to Delaware at the age of 5.Fell in love with acting while attending summer camp.Attended an arts school, where she majored in drama and minored in dance and vocals.Was an intern at casting agencies.Was a cheerleader.