Trivia: One of the most prominent female hip-hoppers of the 1990s thanks to her soulful and uplifting rhymes, Queen Latifah has also crafted an increasingly successful screen presence.Born Dana Owens in Newark, NJ, on March 18, 1970, this police officer's daughter worked at Burger King before joining the group Ladies Fresh as a human beatbox. Disgusted at the misogynistic, male-dominated rap scene, Owens adapted the moniker of Queen Latifah (meaning delicate and sensitive in Arabic) and was soon on her way to changing the way many people looked at hip hop. Soon gaining a loyal following due to her unique perspective and role model-inspiring attitude, Latifah recorded the single "Wrath of My Madness" in 1988 and the following year she released her debut album, All Hail the Queen. Making her feature debut three short years later in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, Latifah began refining a screen persona that would be equally adept in both drama and comedy. After starring as magazine editor Khadijah James on the FOX sitcom Living Single (1993-1998) and landing increasingly prominent film roles in Set It Off (1996), Living Out Loud (1998), and The Bone Collector (1999), she was given her own personal televised outlet in the form of The Queen Latifah Show in 1999. Losing her brother in a motorcycle accident in 1995 (she still wears the motorbike's key around her neck) in addition to grieving a friend who was shot when the two were carjacked the same year, Latifah has persisted in overcoming tragedy to remain positive and creative. The talented songstress has also appeared as both the Wicked Witch of the West (1998's The Wizard of Oz) and Glenda the Good (The O.Z. in 2002), in addition to remaining an innovative and inspiring recording artist. In 2003, Latifah hit a watershed moment in her career and in the public perception of her image: she signed to portray Matron Mama Morton in Rob Marshall's bold cinematization of the Bob Fosse musical Chicago. For Latifah, the turn embodied a breakthrough to end all breakthroughs - it dramatically reshaped the artist's image from that of a hip-hop singer turned actress to that of a multitalented, one-woman powerhouse with astonishing gifts in every arena of performance - voice, drama and dance. Latifah deservedly netted an Oscar nomination for this role, but lost to Catherine Zeta-Jones, who played Velma Kelly in the same film.Later that same year, the multifaceted singer/actress took a dramatic step down in ambition and sophistication, joining Steve Martin for the odd couple comedy Bringing Down the House. That farce tells the occasionally rollicking story of a hyper-anal white lawyer (Martin) who attempts to "hook up" with a barrister he meets online, but discovers that she is (surprise!) actually a slang-tossing black prison escapee with a mad taste for hip hop dancing (Latifah). Ironically - given the seemingly foolproof and ingenious premise - the film collapsed, thanks in no small part to an awkward and craven screenplay that fails to see the logic of its situations through to fruition, and wraps with a ludicrous denouement. The film did score with viewers, despite devastating reviews from critics across the country. (If nothing else, the picture offers the uproarious sight of Martin in hip-hop attire, and does celebrate Latifah's everpresent message of much-deserved respect for black women). Latifah's onscreen activity skyrocketed over the following half-decade, with an average of around 5-7 roles per year. One of her most popular efforts, Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004), constitutes a sequel to the urban comedy-drama Barbershop (2002). The original picture (without Latifah in the cast) concerned the proprietors and patrons of a (mostly) all-black barbershop on the south side of Chicago, with seriocomic lead characters portrayed by Ice-T, Cedric the Entertainer and others. In the second Barbershop go-round, Latifah plays Gina, the owner of an inner-city beauty parlor who operates her business next door. Those films reached a combined total of around $143 million worldwide, thanks in no small part to a pitch-perfect demographic that flocked to both efforts without abandon. The pictures also generated a Latifah-dominated sequel, Beauty Shop (2005), devoted to the exploits of Gina, her customers, and her employees, particularly the flamboyantly gay stylist Jorge Christoph (Kevin Bacon). The movie expanded the target audience of its predecessors and upped the ante by working in WASPy female characters played by A-listers Andie MacDowell and Mena Suvari and having Gina move her shop to the more audience-friendly Atlanta. Though the picture failed to match the grosses of its predecessors, it did reel in just under $38 million worldwide. Each of the installments generated mixed reviews from critics, Concurrent with Beauty Shop's release, Latifah signed on to collaborate with director Mark Forster and stars Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson in the comedy-fantasy Stranger than Fiction (2006). In that picture - about a man (Ferrell) who discovers he is the character in a book by a washed-up author (Thompson), and due to be killed shortly, Latifah plays Penny Escher, the "assistant" hired to end Thompson's creative block and put her back on track. Though Latifah's constituted a minor role (and, arguably, a throwaway at that), the film itself scored on all fronts, including craftsmanship, audience reactions, box office and critical response. After voicing Ellie in the CG-animated feature Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Latifah revisited cinematic song-and-dance (and reteamed with House director Adam Shankman) for the hotly-anticipated musical comedy Hairspray, based on the hit Broadway production (which was, in turn, based on the 1988 John Waters film). Latifah plays Motormouth Maybelle, in a cast that also includes Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer and an in-drag John Travolta, reprising the role originated by Divine. Latifah signed to star alongside Diane Keaton and Katie Holmes in the crime comedy Mad Money -- a remake of the British farce Hot Money (with echoes of 1976's How to Beat the High Cost of Living) about a trio of female janitors in the Federal Reserve bank who team up to rob the place blind. In addition to music, movies, and television, Latifah also found time to author a book on self-esteem entitled Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman, and to serve as co-chairman of the Owens Scholarship Foundation, Inc., which provides assistance to academically gifted but financially underpriveleged students.

Trivia: Hailed as the teen queen of the mid-'90s, Alicia Silverstone rapidly ascended the summit of idolism with the help of an infamous Aerosmith video and starring roles in the cult trash favorite The Crush, and Amy Heckerling's sleeper hit Clueless. Despite such a promising beginning to her career, however, the vivacious, green-eyed blonde subsequently weathered a series of professional set-backs, due to poor film choices, weight issues, and an industry increasingly congested with such similarly ebullient young starlets as Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Love Hewitt. By the end of the decade, Silverstone's future looked uncertain, although many observers noted that her youth and talent made her chances for a comeback entirely plausible.Born to English parents in San Francisco on October 4, 1976, Silverstone is the daughter of a real-estate agent and an airline stewardess. She began working as a child model at the age of six after her father sent several pictures of her in a bathing suit to a few agencies. Modeling work led to TV commercials, which in turn led to work on a number of TV series including an episode of The Wonder Years which cast her as Fred Savage's literal dream girl. At the age of 15, Silverstone landed her first starring role in The Crush (1993), a Fatal Attraction for the Noxema set in which she portrayed a young woman obsessed with an older man (Cary Elwes). Although the film was trashed by critics, it was a hit among its teenage target audience, and Silverstone -- who had become legally emancipated from her parents while making the film in order to work longer hours -- was feted at the 1994 MTV Movie Awards with trophies for Best Villain and Breakthrough Performance. Around the same time, she starred in the popular music video for Aerosmith's "Crazy." Her onscreen antics with Liv Tyler, daughter of Aerosmith frontman Steven, coupled with her vampish turn in The Crush virtually ensured Silverstone's status as Hollywood's latest embodiment of nubile, underage female sexuality.Silverstone's real break came with her starring role as the spoiled, meddlesome, but ultimately endearing Cher Horowitz in Amy Heckerling's Clueless (1995). A very loose and modern adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, the film was a huge sleeper hit, and Silverstone was roundly praised for her effervescent performance. In the wake of the film's success, the actress signed a ten-million-dollar deal with Columbia that included a three-year first-look deal for her own company, First Kiss Productions. She also won the coveted role of Batgirl in Batman & Robin, something that allowed her to contemplate breaking out of the teen sexpot mode.Unfortunately, the actress was subsequently besieged with a number of problems, ranging from unending industry criticism of her weight to her first excursion as a producer, Excess Baggage (1997). The film, which also served as a starring vehicle for Silverstone, was a thoroughly misguided kidnapping comedy that failed to win favor with either audiences or critics. To add insult to injury, Silverstone's other major 1997 project, the long-awaited Batman & Robin, was one of the year's most expensive critical and commercial flops.After a nearly two-year absence from the screen, Silverstone resurfaced in 1999 with Blast from the Past. A likable romantic comedy that cast her as a cynical Valley girl opposite Brendan Fraser, the film enjoyed modest success. Silverstone followed it with a starring role as the French princess in Kenneth Branagh's much-anticipated musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost (2000), which saw the actress interpreting the Bard and Irving Berlin alongside the likes of Branagh, Nathan Lane, Matthew Lillard, and Alessandro Nivola.In 2001, Silverstone played an American rocker in England for the straight-to-video Rock My World (aka Global Heresay), which, despite providing little more than a blip on her resumé, gave her the opportunity to work with the iconic Peter O'Toole. After serving as executive producer for the animated television series Braceface, Silverstone went on to star in NBC's 2003 sketch comedy Miss Match, which featured the young actress as a divorced lawyer cum matchmaker whose good intentions were not necessarily met with equally positive results. In the same year, she starred opposite Rachael Leigh Cook in Scorched; this time playing a disgruntled bank teller. Silverstone played a role in Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed alongside fellow twentysomethings Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. in the summer of 2004. A subsequent trip to the salon in Beautyshop found Silverstone continuing to keep audiences in stitches, and in 2006 she would join Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy, Missi Pyle, and Alex Pettyfer in bringing author Anthony Horowitz's adolescent daredevil to the screen in the family-oriented action adventure Stormbreaker. She reteamed with Clueless director Amy Heckerling for the vampire comedy Vamps.

Trivia: The product of a profoundly unhappy home life, Andie MacDowell was compelled to make her own way from an early age. The Gaffney, SC, native spent her teenage years working a number of minimum-wage jobs before dropping out of Winthrop College when she was a sophomore in order to become an Elite model. Her innocent, well-scrubbed good looks were not only suited to her job as a cosmetics model, but, in 1984, they won her the role of Jane Porter in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. Unable to overcome her natural Carolina cadence, MacDowell's lines were dubbed by Glenn Close in the film -- the first and last time that audiences were denied the actress' warm, relaxing vocal shadings. Joining the Brat Pack brigade with St. Elmo's Fire (1985), MacDowell just as quickly broke away from it with her riveting performance in sex, lies and videotape (1989); her role as a dissatisfied housewife earned her a number of accolades, and helped to establish her as a "serious" actress.MacDowell's likability enabled her to weather such disasters as Hudson Hawk (1991) and Bad Girls (1994), and allowed her to shine in a number of other films, including Groundhog Day (1993), Short Cuts (1993), and the hit romantic comedy Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). Although she starred in a series of disappointing films during the late '90s, she remained highly visible, popping up in such movies as Unstrung Heroes (1995), The Muse (1999), and Town and Country (2000). She earned good reviews playing a middle-age woman infatuated with a younger man in Crush, but the film was poorly distributed and little seen. She appeared in a string of direct-to-video efforts including the supernatural thriller The Last Sign opposite Tim Roth. She returned to the multiplexes after landing a major part in the Queen Latifah film Beauty Shop in 2005. The next year she lent her distinct vocal qualities to the 2006 animated film Barnyard, twenty years after having her voice dubbed out of her film debut.In 2010 MacDowell surpised her fans with a villainous turn in the tense low-budget thriller As Good As Dead, which was quickly followed by an appearance as Vi Moore (a role originally played by Diane Wiest) in Craig Brewer's remake of Footloose.

Trivia: Intense, versatile African-American actress Alfre Woodard attended Boston University, then made her stage bow in 1974 with Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage. After a few minor appearances in films like Remember My Name (1978) and H.E.A.L.T.H (1979), the Tulsa, OK, native was nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Geechee in 1983's Cross Creek. She went on to further television acclaim during the decade, appearing on St. Elsewhere and winning Emmys for her recurring roles on Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law, and an ACE award for the made-for-cable Mandela (1987). In film, the actress consistently shone in roles that featured her as unconventional women who usually had a troubled past; after a memorable appearance in Miss Firecracker (1989), she went on to star in such films as Lawrence Kasdan's Grand Canyon (1991) and John Sayles' Passion Fish (1992), for which she won a Golden Globe nomination. Other notable film appearances included those in Rich in Love (1993), Crooklyn (1994), and Maya Angelou's Down in the Delta, in which Woodard played a single mother with drug and alcohol problems who returns to her family's southern hometown. In 1999, the actress starred in two films, Funny Valentines and Mumford, Lawrence Kasdan's tale of a small-town psychologist.Woodard has also continued to work in television, earning considerable acclaim for her performances. In 1995, she won an Emmy nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Best Actress Award for her performance in the The Piano Lesson, and two years later won an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a SAG Award for her portrayal of the title character of Miss Evers' Boys, a nurse who consoled many of the subjects of the notorious 1930s Tuskeegee Study of Untreated Blacks with Syphilis. In addition, she has done a fair amount of narration, lending her voice to a variety of television documentaries.The actress reteamed with HBO in 2003 for the film Unchained Memories, and took on a starring role on ABC's Desperate Housewives in 2006. In addition to appearing on a variety of popular television shows (Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, The Practice, Homicide: Life on the Street). Woodard played the part of a woman falsely accused of drug trafficking in the 2009 drama American Violet, and was nominated for yet another Emmy in 2010 for her work on HBO's hit drama True Blood.

Trivia: Blonde, blue-eyed, and looking for all the world like Heather Graham's little sister, Mena Suvari made her film debut with a small role in Gregg Araki's 1997 Nowhere. The same year, Suvari, who was born in Newport, RI, on February 9, 1979, appeared in two other films, Snide & Prejudice and Kiss the Girls. After another small role, in The Slums of Beverly Hills (which starred her future American Pie co-star Natasha Lyonne), Suvari landed her breakthrough role playing the forthright, virginal Heather in the 1999 sex comedy smash American Pie. The same year, the actress (who had also done television work on shows such as E.R. and Chicago Hope) won further recognition with a lead role as the teenaged object of Kevin Spacey's middle-aged affections in the hugely acclaimed American Beauty. With yet another lead role that year, this time in the made-for-TV disaster film Atomic Train, Suvari seemed perfectly poised on the well-trod brink of stardom. Her profile received another boost in 2000, thanks to starring roles in Sugar & Spice and Loser, the latter of which saw her starring as the apple of American Pie co-star Jason Biggs' eye. That same year, the then 21-year-old actress made headlines of a different sort with her marriage to Richard Brinkman, a cinematographer 17 years her senior. The marriage would only last until 2005, but that wouldn't stop Suvari from a series of projects during that time, ranging from a quirky role in the comedy Beauty Shop to an arc on the popular TV series Six Feet Under. Gravitating more and more toward challenging, left of center roles, the actress would go on to choose parts like the supporting role of Richie Berlin in the 2007 Andy Warhol/Edie Sedgwick biopic Factory Girl, and corn-rowed hardened criminal Brandi Boski in 2008's Stuck. As the first decade of the new millennium drew to a close, it became clear that Suvari was finally free of the somewhat limiting image of the pretty, blonde starlet that her breakthrough roles in American Pie and American Beauty had pigeon-holed her into. She would enjoy memorable roles in everything from the zombie flick Day of the Dead to the WWII period drama The Garden of Eden, based on the Hemingway novel. Suvari would also make appearances on TV series like Sex and the City, Psych, The Cape, and American Horror Story - on which she played the infamous "Black Dahlia" murder victim Elizabeth Short. By 2012, Suvari was gearing up to remember her roots, with an all-star installment in the American Pie fanchise, American Reunion.

Trivia: Della Reese is one of the few performers to move easily between the religious community and the mainstream entertainment industry. Born in Detroit, MI, Reese started singing in gospel choirs at a very young age. In 1945, she joined a touring choir with legendary gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. As a student at Wayne State University, Reese former her own singing group called the Meditation Singers. After a regular gig at Detroit's Flame Showbar, she went on to sing with Erskine Hawkins & His Orchestra. During the '50s and '60s, she recorded pop vocal albums for Jubilee and RCA Victor, leading to several pop singles on the Billboard charts. She was also nominated for a Grammy award and is remembered as one of the first gospel singers to have a popular stage show in Las Vegas.Her television career started in 1969 as the guest host of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. She then made television history as the first black woman with her own prime-time variety show, Della. After singing on the nightclub circuit and making television guest appearances as herself, she joined the cast of Chico and the Man from 1976 to 1978. Despite her battle with illness in the early '80s, she continued acting steadily throughout the next few decades. Her other TV series appearances include Sanford and Son, It Takes Two, Charlie & Co., and The Royal Family. On the big screen, she played madam Vera in Eddie Murphy's Harlem Nights and Martin Lawrence's mother in A Thin Line Between Love and Hate. Her biggest television achievement is the CBS drama Touched By an Angel, which ran from 1994-2003. For her role of Tess, the wise guiding angel to Monica (Roma Downey), Reese won several Image Awards and Emmy nominations. Her other television work includes leading roles on the TV tearjerkers Miracle in the Woods, The Moving of Sylvia Myles, and Anya's Bell. She would appear in a number of projects in the years to come, like Expecting Mary and Me Again. An ordained minister, Reese helps to run the Los Angeles church association Understanding Foundation for Better Living.

Trivia: The lithe and alluring African-American actress Golden Brooks began life in San Francisco in late 1970, and grew up in both the Bay Area and the City of Angels. As a young woman, she attended the University of California at Berkeley as a sociology major, later earning her master's degree from Sarah Lawrence College. Brooks first broke into films in the mid-'90s, with a small role in Spike Lee's phone sex-themed comedy drama Girl 6 (1996); the 2000 series Girlfriends, however, brought Brooks her first recognition in the American press. This rabidly popular sitcom -- which reeled in critical kudos and maintained a broad fan base -- constituted the pet project of Frasier star Kelsey Grammer and producer Mara Brock Akil. It told of four African-American female friends in the Los Angeles -- all white-collar women -- struggling to balance personal and professional demands. Brooks played an assistant at a legal firm and the only woman in the ensemble with a happy marriage and a growing family. After scattered roles in acclaimed features through the first several years of the new millennium, Brooks made the pivotal decision to join the cast of the Queen Latifah-starrer Beauty Shop, about the colorful proprietors and denizens of an Atlanta-based hair salon. The following year, she also starred in Sanaa Hamri's acclaimed dramedy Something New.

Trivia: Is of African-American descent.Started acting in her hometown in Texas at the age of 5.Attended the Dallas Young Actors Studio in Texas.Singer Al B Sure and Rapper DMX are both her godfathers.In 2008, organized a fundraiser for children's cancer foundations on her sweet 16 birthday.

Trivia: Appeared in Tupac Shakur's final music video, "Toss It Up," in 1996. Served as First Lady of Turks and Caicos during her marriage to Michael Misick. Founded the Turks and Caicos Film Festival with Jasmine Guy. Is a Global Ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure foundation. Made her directorial debut with the 2014 film Skinned.

Trivia: In his role as eager-to-fit-in exchange student Fez on the enduring and popular Fox sitcom That '70s Show, actor Wilmer Valderrama mangled the popular lingo of the eponymous decade with gleeful abandon. Though removed from his small-screen persona, the handsome actor can give the impression of a young Benicio Del Toro. His dorky and personable charm as Fez endeared him to television audiences, making him one of That '70s Show's defining personalities. Born January 30th, 1980, Valderrama is a Miami native whose family relocated to Venezuela when he was three years old; the aspiring actor would eventually return stateside to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. Valderrama joined the cast of That '70s Show shortly before finishing his high-school education at William Howard Taft High School in 1998, and three short years later, the television mainstay made his feature debut by taking to the diamond with a supporting role in the romantic teen comedy Summer Catch. Guest appearances on Grounded for Life and That '70s Show co-star Ashton Kutcher's hidden-camera prankster series, Punk'd, were quick to follow, and in 2003, Valderrama essayed the role of DJ Keoke in the flashy true-crime drama Party Monster. Based on the exploits of murderous club-kid Michael Alig, the film offered Valderrama an opportunity to truly separate himself from his popular small-screen persona. With That '70s Show still going strong in 2004, the popular television star's voice could also be heard in the animated children's film Clifford's Really Big Movie. 2006 found the actor playing a small supporting role for the scathing message movie Fast Food Nation, and took on the role of Detective Efrem Vega for the NBC television series Awake.Valderrama continued to concentrate on TV, booking guest arcs on shows like Suburgatory and Raising Hope before settling into more stable work with regular gigs on From Dusk till Dawn: The Series and the short-lived Minority Report series. In 2016, he joined the cast of NCIS for the 14th season of the show.

Trivia: A native of New Jersey, actress Keshia Knight Pulliam first rocketed into the national spotlight -- and won the hearts of many a devoted '80s television viewer -- as Rudy Huxtable, the spunky, pint-sized youngest daughter of Dr. Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby), on The Cosby Show. Initially brought in at the age of five (in 1984), Knight Pulliam imparted the series with a "cuteness" factor that laudably waned somewhat as the program wore on and the actress herself aged (though producers eventually brought in Raven-Symone to fill the gap). By the fall of 1992, in fact -- when Cosby wrapped -- Knight Pulliam had reached her teens. Over the course of the series run, she received an Emmy nod for Best Supporing Actress at age six, and qualified at the time as the youngest actress to be nominated for an Emmy in history. During Cosby, Knight Pulliam also essayed occasional feature roles; among other accomplishments, she headlined at several telemovies, including the period holiday drama The Little Match Girl (1987), the Mark Twain update A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1989), and Debbie Allen's musical version of Pollyanna, Polly (1989), as well as its sequel, Polly: Comin' Home! (1990). After The Cosby Show wrapped, Knight Pulliam attended Spelman College in Atlanta, then achieved a second wind in her career as a reality television star, on programs including a celebrity installment of Fear Factor, Celebrity Mole: Yucatan, and a TV child stars episode of The Weakest Link. She also signed for a starring role in Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail (2009), as Candy, a locked-up prostitute befriended by the sardonic, hell-raising Madea.

Trivia: African-American comedian Sherri Shepherd debuted on the small screen in the mid-'90s, with appearances on such popular series programs as Friends, Emeril, and Less Than Perfect -- typically as aggressive and outspoken, spunky women. Shepherd then broke through to national acclaim and recognition in the mid-2000s -- both cinematically, with prominent billing in the features Beauty Shop (2005) and Who's Your Caddy? (2007), and on television, as one of the hostesses on the popular daytime talk program The View. Shepherd grew up in the Chicago area. When her parents divorced at an early age, the mother took custody of Sherri and her three sisters and moved with them to California. An experience watching a comedian do a standup act inspired Shepherd to step behind the microphone. As an actress, she debuted on the sitcom Cleghorne!, then landed guest appearances on the aforementioned series. As an outspoken and committed, born-again Christian, Shepherd is extremely guarded about which roles she accepts and which scenes and dialogue she will perform onscreen, guidelines that distinguish her from many of her contemporaries but have reportedly not hindered her career or her popularity. She appeared in the Oscar-winning Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, and joined the cast of the Madagascar animated franchise as Alex's mother.In 2011 she was cast in Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son, and in 2012 she played opposite Katherine Heigl in One for the Money.

Trivia: Though she's occassionally appeared in bit film parts, former-model Kimora Lee Simmons is best known for her eight-year marriage to music mogul Russell Simmons. Despite the couple's 2006 separation and 2008 divorce, they remained partners in their fashion venture, Baby Phat. In 2007, Simmons began starring in her own reality show, Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, on the Style Network, which ran until 2011. In 2013, her second reality show, Kimora: House of Fab, premiered.

Trivia: Had a twin sister who died while in infancy. Actively involved in the Zeta Phi Beta sorority, serving at one time as that organization's president. Served in the Air Force Reserves for two years after college. Contributed regularly to Tom Joyner and Steve Harvey's radio programs. Joined the daytime talk show The Talk in 2011. Owns and operates Pack Rat Productions.

Trivia: Rarely can it be said that an actor is so recognized and of such prominence that a game can be played by connecting him to just about any other celebrity simply through referencing his resumé. Any film buff has most likely participated in a round of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, and it's likely that if their opponent was an avid cinephile they came out on the losing end of the match. This should come as no surprise, considering Bacon's extensive and diverse body of work. Born in Philadelphia, PA, in 1958, Bacon received his education at The Circle in the Square (where he became the youngest student to appear in a production) and Manning Street Actor's Theater after leaving home at the age of 18. Two years later, Bacon made his feature debut as the smarmy Chip Diller in director John Landis' beloved frat-house epic Animal House. Following in the next few years with minor roles in such seemingly forgettable films as Hero at Large and Friday the 13th (both 1980), Bacon would re-create his off-Broadway role of a drug-addicted male prostitute in Forty Deuce the same year that he made a memorable appearance as the troubled Timothy Fenwick in Barry Levinson's Diner (1982). Though he had appeared in a few major films and displayed an intriguing range of abilities, it was 1984's Footloose that brought Bacon his breakthrough role. As the big-city boy crusading against the puritanical constraints against dancing imposed by a well-meaning but overbearing fundamentalist minister, Bacon became a teen icon -- an image that, though it propelled him to stardom, would prove difficult to shed. Following Footloose's success with a series of curious failures such as Quicksilver (1986) and White Water Summer (1987), it was on the set of Lemon Sky (also 1987) that Bacon would meet future wife Kyra Sedgwick; the couple exchanged wedding vows the following year. Though he would appear in a few other failed-but-interesting, audience-pleasing thrillers such as Tremors (1989) and Flatliners (1990) in the following years, it was with his role in conspiracy theorist Oliver Stone's JFK (1991) that Bacon found his career revived and began to shed his heartthrob image. Narrowly escaping the Brat Pack trappings of his '80s contemporaries, subsequent roles after JFK may not have all scored direct hits at the box office for Bacon, but audiences were now well aware of his talents and thirsted for more. Bacon would again prove his substantial range in the true story of a brutalized prison inmate opposite Gary Oldman in 1995's Murder in the First. His performance as the disillusioned and broken prisoner, accentuated by his famished and frail skeletal figure, was followed by an equally challenging reality-based role as a member of the troubled Apollo 13 (1995) lunar mission team in director Ron Howard's widely praised film. Proving that he could play sleaze as successfully as slice-of-life, Bacon took a turn for the worse as the sadistic reform-school guard responsible for the rape of a trio of young boys in Sleepers (1996) and as a cop investigating accusations of rape in director John McNaughton's raunchy sex-thriller Wild Things. Bacon's entertaining turn as a receptive father tangled in a mind-bending murder mystery in Stir of Echoes (1999) gained positive reviews, though the intelligent and subtle shocker withered in the shadow of another similarly themed thriller, The Sixth Sense. Though he wasn't visible for the majority of the film, Bacon fell into psychotic territory as the malicious genius consumed by his discovery of the key to invisibility in Paul Verhoeven's sadistic Hollow Man (2000). After an uncredited supporting role in the independent comedy Novocaine, Bacon once again went for the throat in Trapped; and though audiences were generally entertained by the film, it ultimately fell victim to a quick death at the box office due to poor timing (numerous stories of child abductions had been making headlines at the time Trapped was released). Of course with an actor such as Bacon, it was only a matter of time before he once again tackled a substantial dramatic role, and with the release of Mystic River in 2003 audiences found him doing just that. Adapted from the novel of the same name by author Dennis Lehane and directed by Clint Eastwood, Mystic River provided audiences with a brutal, slow-burning study in the effects of violence and the nature of revenge, withBacon's turn as a sympathetic detective playing pitch perfect opposite a mournful performance by Sean Penn. That same year, Bacon showed up in an uncredited role in the Jane Campion thriller In the Cut before taking the lead in the emotional drama The Woodsman.Bacon would continue to work on a variety of projects over the coming years, appearing in everything from the tense period thriller Where the Truth Lies to the ensemble rom-com Crazy, Stupid, Love, to the superhero flick X-Men: First Class. Soon however, the actor found himself hungry for a more substantial project, and he found it with the Billy Bob Thornton directed drama Jane Mansfield's Car in 2012, which found him acting alongside heavyweights like Robert Duvall and John Hurt. In 2013, Bacon turned to television, headlining Fox's drama The Following.In addition to his film work, Bacon has frequently toured with brother Michael, playing upbeat country-folk rock under the alliterate moniker the Bacon Brothers.

Trivia: Actor Djimon Hounsou first gained acting attention in Steven Spielberg's Amistad (1997). Born April 24th, 1964 in West Africa, he moved with his family to Paris, France, at age 13. When he left school, he became homeless and spent a couple of years wandering the streets of Paris before being discovered by fashion designer Thierry Mugler. After he resettled himself, Hounsou moved to Los Angeles to try his hand at acting. While on the way to stardom, Hounsou appeared in music videos, including those of Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Steve Winwood. After his turn as a rebellious slave in Amistad, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination, he found increasingly steady employment on both the big and small screens, becoming a semi-regular on the hospital drama ER and appearing in such films as the historical epic Gladiator (2000). After such high-profile projects, Hounsou's success in the following two years would prove no surprise to anyone who glanced at his filmography. Aside from prominent roles in such high-profile French films as 2002's Le Boulet (Dead Weight) and the following year's Muraya -- l'Expérience Secrète de Mike Blueberry (The Adventures of Mike S. Blueberry), Hounsou's bid for screen stardom was simultaneously on display in such stateside features as The Four Feathers (2002), Biker Boyz, and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider -- The Cradle of Life (both 2003).In 2003, Hounsou received his first Oscar nomination for his acclaimed supporting role in Jim Sheridan's In America. And while he spent much of the next three years appearing in films that earned mixed reactions from both audiences and critics, he was back in top form in 2006's Blood Diamond, which found him opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. The film appeared on a number of Top Ten lists, garnered Hounsou accolades from countless critics groups and snagged him his second Oscar nod.Following the success of Blood Diamond, Hounsou made several guest appearances on th popular television show Alias, and joined filmmaker Michae Bay's 2005 action drama The Island, which co-stars Scarlet Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Sean Bean. In 2009, Hounsou played the rle of n aget determined to thwart the plans of a group of telekinetic American ex-pats. The actor joined the Academy-award winning actress Helen Mirren in the 2011 film adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest, in which Mirren played the traditionally male role of Prospero.

Trivia: Georgia native Omari Hardwick spent his formative years interested mainly in football, playing as a defensive back for the Furman Purple Paladins, and later for the University of Georgia Bulldogs. It was at UG where Hardwick first took an interest in acting, studying his craft in school and acting in a local theater troupe. Hardwick eventually moved to New York to act on Broadway, and later relocated to L.A. to pursue more on-camera roles. His big break came in 2004, when he was cast in Spike Lee's Sucker Free City, and within a few years, Hardwick was regularly appearing on the drama Saved. He stayed with the show for a season, and later made waves with a starring role in another Spike Lee project, 2008's Miracle at St. Anna. This soon led to a comedic turn in the crime comedy Next Day Air and the action comedy Kick Ass. He co-starred with Dylan McDermott in TNT's television series Dark Blue, in which he played a newlywed struggling to balance married liife with a demanding career in law enforcement (2009-2011), and took on a small role in the critically claimed musical drama Sparkle in 2012.

Trivia: Made her TV debut in Alice (1979) and her film debut in Smokey and the Bandit II (1980). Has guested on some 70 TV series, including Hill Street Blues, Newhart, Murphy Brown, Roseanne, The Golden Girls, Seinfield, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, ER, Everybody Loves Raymond and Nip/Tuck. Was a regular on ABC's Married to the Kellys, and had recurring roles on My Name Is Earl, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Grace Under Fire and Ellen. Hobbies include knitting and quilting; sews for the nonprofit organization Stitches From the Heart, which aids seniors and parents with premature babies.