Trivia: As the son of comedians Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara Ben Stiller's decision to establish himself as a comic writer and actor surprised almost no one.Born in New York City on November 30, 1965, Stiller began to shoot his own comic films from the age of ten. After high-school graduation, Stiller attended UCLA and landed bit parts in several features, notably the Steven Spielberg-directed, Tom Stoppard and Menno Meyjes-scripted, late 1987 opus Empire of the Sun.Meanwhile, Stiller continued to turn out comedy shorts, including the 30-minute Elvis Stories (1989), a spoof of obsessive Elvis fans featuring an already-established John Cusack. One of Stiller's shorts, a Tom Cruise parody called The Hustler of Money, won him a spot as a writer and player on Saturday Night Live in 1989. His stint on the show was short-lived, but led to his own eponymous series, The Ben Stiller Show, first on MTV (1990) and later on Fox (1992-1993). The program failed to draw a substantial audience, and folded within a couple of months on each network, but Stiller netted an Emmy for comedy writing in 1993.The following year, Stiller debuted as a feature film director with the twentysomething angst romcom Reality Bites (1994), in which he also starred alongside Winona Ryder and a memorably grungy Ethan Hawke. The film was a relative critical and commercial success and scored with Gen-Xers; unfortunately, Stiller's next directorial effort, 1996's The Cable Guy failed to register with critics and audiences. After a small part as nursing-home orderly Hal in the Adam Sandler comedy Happy Gilmore (1996), Stiller rebounded with a starring role in David O. Russell's Flirting With Disaster (1996). The relatively positive reception afforded to that comedy helped to balance out the relative failure of Stiller's other film that year, If Lucy Fell. It was not until two years later, however, that Stiller truly stepped into the limelight. Thanks to starring roles in three wildly, wickedly different films, he emerged as an actor of versatility, equally adept at playing sensitive nice guys and malevolent hellraisers. In the smash gross-out comedy There's Something About Mary (1998), Stiller appeared as the former type, making comic history for outrageous sight gags that involved misplaced bodily fluids and mangled genitalia. That same summer, Stiller did time as a gleefully adulterous theatrical instructor in Neil LaBute's jet-black evisceration of contemporary sexual mores, Your Friends and Neighbors. Finally, Stiller starred in the intensely graphic and disturbing addiction drama Permanent Midnight, earning critical acclaim for his portrayal of writer-cum-heroin addict Jerry Stahl -- a personal friend of the Stiller family from Stahl's days scripting the TV series ALF. Now fully capable of holding his own in Hollywood, with the license to prove it, Stiller starred alongside William H. Macy, Paul Reubens, Hank Azaria, and pal Janeane Garofalo in the fantasy comedy Mystery Men (1999) as the leader of a group of unconventional superheroes. Stiller also landed a supporting role in The Suburbans, a comedy about the former members of a defunct new wave band. The following year, Stiller starred as a rabbi smitten with the same woman as his best friend, a Catholic priest (Edward Norton), in the well-received romantic comedy Keeping the Faith (2000), which Norton also co-produced and directed. Stiller found his widest audience up to that point, however, with the Jay Roach-directed madcap comedy Meet the Parents. As the tale of a nutty father-in-law to be (Robert De Niro) who wreaks unchecked havoc on his daughter's intended (Stiller) via covert CIA operations and incessant interrogation, this disastrously humorous tale of electrical interference gone wild scored with ticket-buyers and qualified as the top box-office draw during the holiday season of 2000.In the autumn of 2001, Stiller brought one of his most popular MTV Video Music Awards incarnations to the big screen in the outrageously silly male-model comedy Zoolander, in which he successfully teamed with (real-life friend) Owen Wilson to carry stupidity to new heights.In 2001 Stiller once again teamed with Wes Anderson collaborator Wilson for the widely praised comedy drama The Royal Tenenbaums. Cast as the estranged son of eccentric parents who returns home, Stiller infused his unmistakable comic touch with an affecting sense of drama that found him holding his ground opposite such dramatic heavies as Gene Hackman and Anjelica Huston. Though his work in 2002 offered little more than a few cameo performances and some vocal contributions to various animated children's shows, the busy comedic actor returned to the big screen for the 2003 comedy Duplex, directed by Danny DeVito. Though the film pairs Stiller and Hollywood bombshell Drew Barrymore as a couple willing to go to horrific extremes to land the much-desired eponymous living space, reviews were unkind and the comedy died a quick death at the box office. Stiller's next film -- the romantic comedy Along Came Polly -- fared considerably better on a fiscal level, but suffered from an implausible premise.Spring 2004 promised a rebound when the electrifying duo of Stiller and Owen Wilson returned to the big screen with director Todd Phillips' celluloid recycling job Starsky & Hutch. Though Stiller and Wilson seemed the ideal pair for such a conceptually rich re-imagining of 1970s television, and the film boasted wonderful villainous turns by rapper Snoop Dogg and Vince Vaughn, reviews were once again lackluster and the film struggled to find an audience. Yet Starsky & Hutch did actually reap a profit, which (in a business sense) placed it miles ahead of Stiller's next film. Released a mere two months after Starsky & Hutch, the Barry Levinson comedy Envy sports a wacky premise; it explores the comic rivalry that erupts between two longtime friends and neighbors when one invents a product that makes dog excrement disappear. It also boasts a marvelous cast, replete with Stiller, the maniacal Jack Black, and the brilliant Christopher Walken. But for whatever reason (speculated by some as the film's inability to exploit the invention at the story's center) the film's sense of humor failed to catch fire and Envy died a quick box-office death. Stiller fared better with the ribald, anarchic summer 2004 comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, starring himself, Vince Vaughn, and Rip Torn. For the following two years, Stiller once again contented himself largely with bit parts (2004's Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy, 2006's Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny) until the Christmas 2006 release A Night at the Museum. In this effects-heavy fantasy, adapted from the popular children's book by Milan Trenc, Stiller plays Larry Daley, the new night watchman at New York City's Museum of Natural History, who discovers that the exhibits all spring to life after hours, from a giant skeletal Tyrannosaurus Rex to a waxen Teddy Roosevelt -- and seem content to hold Larry hostage. The effort split critical opinion, but shot up to become one of the top three box-office draws during the holiday season of 2006.Meanwhile, Stiller signed on to team with the Farrelly brothers for The Heartbreak Kid (2007), a remake of the 1972 Elaine May comedy of the same title; he also produced Blades of Glory, a comedy with Will Ferrell and Jon Heder as rival figure-skating champions vying with one another for Olympic gold. He wrote, directed and starred in the hit comedy Tropic Thunder (2008) as a moronic Hollywood actor toplining a war film, voiced Alex in the same year's animated picture Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and in 2009, reprised his Larry Daley role for Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. Stiller's emphasis on sequels then continued with 2010's Little Fockers and 2012's Madagascar 3. In 2013, Stiller picked up the role originally made famous by Danny Kaye, as the lead in the remake The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which Stiller also directed and produced. The following year, he appeared in the next film in the Night at the Museum series, Secret of the Tomb.

Trivia: Michelle Monaghan enjoyed a successful modeling career with plans to pursue a career in journalism before a full-time acting career became an option. She'd made some minor appearances on TV shows such as Young Americans and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as some nationally run commercials, but it was a recurring role on the acclaimed series Boston Public in 2002 that really opened doors for the young actress. Over the next few years, she scored big-screen parts in It Runs in the Family, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and The Bourne Supremacy. She shortly thereafter scored a role alongside Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand in North Country and a starring role in the black comedy Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang with Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer. In 2005, she appeared as the love interest of Tom Cruise in the hotly anticipated Mission: Impossible III, making her a far more familiar face and name. She immediately signed on to next appear in the Ben Affleck film Gone, Baby, Gone, which she followed with a starring role in the critically acclaimed independent film Trucker. She would go on to keep up her interest in the thriller genre, with roles in Eagle Eye in 2008 and Source Code in 2011.

Trivia: To the public at large, Jerry Stiller is best known as the husband and comedy partner of actress/director Anne Meara, and as the father of comedian Ben Stiller. For those addicted to the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, Stiller will never be anyone else than Frank Costanza, the eternally kvetching father of born-loser George Costanza (Jason Alexander). While Stiller would be the first to welcome recognition on these terms, to acknowledge him for the above-mentioned reasons alone would be grossly unfair. A stage performer from the age of 10, Stiller majored in drama at the University of Syracuse, then took to the road in a touring company of Peter Pan. Honing his comic timing to perfection under the tutelage of revue director Billy Barnes, Stiller chose to concentrate his laughmaking skills in the Classics, specifically Shakespeare. He made his off-Broadway debut in a 1953 production of Coriolanus, and subsequently paid homage to the Bard of Avon as a member of such prestigious troupes as the Stratford (Connecticut) Shakespeare Festival and Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park. Stiller made his Broadway bow in 1975 as ill-tempered gangster Carmine Vespucci in Terence McNally's The Ritz, a part he recreated in the 1976 film version. Among his many other film credits are Lovers and Other Strangers (1970), Hairspray (1988) and the made-for-television Seize the Day (1987). The actor's series-TV resumé includes the roles of Barney Dickerson in The Paul Lynde Show (1972), Gus Duzik in Joe and Sons (1975) and Sid Wilbur in Tattinger's (1988). He also co-starred with wife Anne Meara in the syndicated Take Five with Stiller and Meara (1977), and provided voiceovers for the animated Linus the Lionhearted (1964) and the multipart Ken Burns TV special Baseball (1994). Jerry Stiller has been honored with the Radio Advertising Bureau's Voice of Imagery Award for his persuasive radio and TV spots on behalf of the Public Broadcasting System.Notable later roles included an extended run on the hit TV series The King of Queens starting in 1998, as well as appearances in son Ben's 2001 male model comedy Zoolander, and the 2007 musical Hairspray. In 2000 Stiller received a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album for the audio version of his autobiographical book "Married to Laughter: A Love Story Featuring Anne Meara." Stiller and Meara received a joint star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2007, and three years later, Stiller and his wife launched the YahooWeb series Stiller & Meara, in which the pair discuss current events from their living room, which ran until Meara's death in 2015. Their son, Ben, produced the segments.

Trivia: Malin Akerman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1978, but her European life turned a surprising corner when she and her family packed up and moved to Canada before her third birthday. Akerman's ravishing looks seemed harbingers of a successful acting and modeling career, and indeed, at five years old she began to snag a myriad of commercials and small acting roles. Her popularity and recognition was boosted by a win of the Ford Supermodel of Canada search at age 17, and she was soon tackling print and runway work across Europe, followed by an enrollment in York University in Toronto. In 2001, the actress moved to Los Angeles and secured almost instant representation. She landed a series of guest spots on TV shows including Entourage, Doc and Witchblade, as well as a regular role as Juna on the short-lived but critically acclaimed HBO comedy The Comeback, with Lisa Kudrow. She also had a memorable bit part in Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004) as the attractive wife, Liane, of a disgusting truck driver known only as Freakshow (Christopher Meloni).Akerman achieved her first major acting coup when she signed on as one of the leads in the Farrelly Brothers' remake The Heartbreak Kid (2007), a comedy about a dissatisfied fortysomething newlywed named Eddie (Ben Stiller) who jilts his wife, Lila, only a few days into his honeymoon and instead snags a feisty and independent young free spirit named Miranda. In what seemed to those familiar with the 1971 film like a surprising casting choice, the Farrellys selected the alluring blonde Akerman to play not Miranda (as might be expected) but Lila -- a character no longer dowdy (or Jewish) in their hands. That same year, Akerman also essayed a part in the gag-laden comedy The Brothers Solomon, about a couple of socially impaired losers (Will Arnett, Will Forte) desperate to find a woman to have their baby.Her exposure in those two films soon led to steady work as a major supporting player in a variety of movies. She played the bride-to-be/sister Tess to Katherine Heigl's perpetual bridesmaid in 27 Dresses (2008), and had a busy 2009, with the release of big-budget superhero film Watchmen, followed by Couples Retreat and The Proposal. She showed off her singing chops playing a Rolling Stone reporter in the jukebox musical Rock of Ages in 2012.Akerman has also done extensive television work, playing Dr. Valerie Flame in Adult Swim's Childrens Hospital and a homeless bachelorette in the first season of the web series Burning Love. In 2012, she joined the cast of Suburgatory in the recurring role of Alex, Tessa's (Jane Levy) birth mother before nabbing the lead in her own show, Trophy Wife, the following year.

Trivia: When comic-cum-actor Carlos Mencia arrived on the scene in the late '90s, initially as the host of the series Funny Is Funny!, he instantly (and justly) attained a reputation as one of the most brutally, unabashedly honest, and scathing contemporary comics -- one unafraid to injure, insult or offend, and one for whom no topic was taboo. An entertainer of Mexican-Honduran heritage, raised in the barrios of East Los Angeles with 17 brothers and sisters, Mencia projected a lightning-fast wit and a heightened social consciousness that he consistently interpolated into his material, rendering it intelligent and thoughtful. Early projects consisted predominantly of filmed standup material, as when Mencia (alongside fellow Latino comics Freddy Soto and Pablo Francisco) headlined the standup concert film The Three Amigos Uncensored! (2001), or when Mencia landed his own cable comedy special, the aptly titled Carlos Mencia: Not for the Easily Offended! (2005). In 2005, the Comedy Central network offered the rising Latino star his own series, Mind of Mencia -- a combination sketch comedy/standup review essentially run by the comedian, with such special guest stars as the late Peter Boyle and the rapper Method Man. It premiered to sensational ratings. In 2007, Mencia tackled roles in both Bob Saget's March of the Penguins parody, the direct-to-video Farce of the Penguins, and in the Farrelly Brothers remake The Heartbreak Kid, starring Ben Stiller.

Trivia: As the correspondent of the popular Comedy Central tongue-in-cheek reportage series The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, acid-mouthed comic Rob Corddry developed a schtick that involved interviewing newsmakers and gleefully poking fun of them on live camera -- recalling the early days of series host Craig Kilborn (in Daily's pre-1999 incarnation). Corddry also took over Stephen Colbert's "This Week in God" segment and would frequently slip into character as a "take no prisoners" interviewer called Dino Ironbody when interrogating his subjects.Corddry hails from the Boston area. He was born in Weymouth, MA, in 1971 and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After graduation, he joined the comic ensemble Third Rail Comedy for a few years, then formed (with three others) the four-man comedic ensemble Naked Babies. In time, Corddry's antics secured a spot for him on Comedy Central -- initially on The Upright Citizens Brigade. As a comedic actor in feature films, Corddry debuted with a portrayal of Warren in the Will Ferrell-Luke Wilson frat-boy comedy Old School (2003), and his performance as a cracked gun salesman was one of the only saving graces of the awful Matthew McConaughey movie Failure to Launch (2006). The comic-turned-actor re-teamed with Ferrell and Wilson for the 2007 skating farce Blades of Glory, then signed for roles in such films as the Farrelly Brothers remake of The Heartbreak Kid (2007) and the 2008 sequel Harold and Kumar 2.Corrdry went on to play a supporting role in Operation: Endgame, a 2010 action comedy following the rivalry between two groups of government assassins, and won laughs, if not critical success, for his turn in Hot Tub Time Machine (2010). Corrdry reunited with fellow Daily Show alumni Ed Helms to play a small supporting role in Cedar Rapids (2011). The comedian solidified his cult following with Children's Hospital, a satirical medical comedy that relishes in the clichés of more traditional medical dramas. In addition to a starring role, Corrdry also came up with the show's concept. In 2012, Corrdry joined Steve Carrell (yet another former Daily Show co-star) for a supporting role in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, a comedy drama following a couple on their final road trip before an asteroid destroys mankind.

Trivia: Comedian-turned-actress Stephanie Courtney established herself as a performer within the framework of the famed Groundlings comedy troupe -- the same ensemble responsible for kick-starting the careers of such comedic geniuses as Jan Hooks, Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell, and scores of other Hollywood notables. It marked an auspicious beginning, and Courtney soon traveled the same route as many of her famous Groundlings predecessors, segueing into film roles alongside then-current and former Saturday Night Live cast members in such features as Melvin Goes to Dinner (2003), For Your Consideration (2006), The Brothers Solomon (2007), and Blades of Glory. The key difference is that unlike, say, Will Ferrell or Will Arnett, Courtney bypassed the SNL stage before taking her feature bow.

Trivia: Declined a full college scholarship to pursue acting.Made his feature film debut in 1967's In the Heat of the Night.Received a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe nomination for his work in The Ninth Configuration.Is perhaps best known for playing veterinarian Hershel Green in zombie drama series The Walking Dead between 2011 and 2018.In 2016, appeared in Netflix sci-fi drama series The OA.

Trivia: After eking out a modest living as a piano teacher in Alabama and Florida, Polly Holliday switched to acting, spending ten seasons with the Asolo State Theater in Sarasota. In 1973, Holliday headed for New York, where she was cast in Murray Schisgal's Broadway play All Over Town; her director was Dustin Hoffman. All Over Town led to the tiny but pivotal role as a testy secretary in the Dustin Hoffman-Robert Redford feature All the President's Men (1976)--which, in turn, led to Holliday's being cast as wise-cracking waitress Florence Jean "Flo" Castleberry in the TV sitcom Alice (1976-80). Rising to nationwide fame by virtue of her oft-repeated catchphrase "Kiss mah grits!", Holliday earned four Emmy nominations and one Golden Globe Award. In 1980, she was spun off into her own weekly series Flo, which lacked Alice's staying power and was cancelled after a single season. She went on to briefly replace Eileen Brennan on TV's Private Benjamin (1983), and to play Captain Betty in the pilot episode of Stir Crazy (1985). Her film roles of the 1980s included Gremlins (1984), in which she was eminently hissable as Margaret Hamilton clone Mrs. Deagle. Polly Holliday's more recent work has largely been confined to the Broadway stage; in 1989, she received a Tony nomination for her portrayal of Sister Woman in a revival of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Trivia: Born in 1976, character actor Danny McBride took his Hollywood bow in the early 2000s and frequented mostly youth-oriented comedies, often though not always with a visceral element. These included Jody Hill's cult hit The Foot Fist Way (which he also co-scripted with Hill and Ben Best), the Farrelly Brothers' raunchy remake The Heartbreak Kid (2007), and the Judd Apatow-produced, David Gordon Green-directed action comedy Pineapple Express (2008), which starred Seth Rogen. The 2009 Observe and Report -- a by-the-throat comedy about a psychotic mall guard -- re-teamed co-star McBride with lead Rogen and director Hill. In 2009, McBride added television to his résumé, starring as a washed-up ex-baseball player in the HBO sitcom Eastbound & Down, which he also executive produced; the following year, he collaborated with director Green once again on the fantasy-comedy Your Highness. He had a small but memorable part in the Oscar-nominated George Clooney vehicle Up In the Air. He reteamed with David Gordon Green and James Franco for the fantasy pot comedy Your Highness in 2011, lending his vocal talents to Kung Fu Panda 2 that same year.

Trivia: Genial character actor Roy Jenkins evinced a deft aptitude for tackling humorous portrayals onscreen. He was particularly memorable and hilarious as a debate moderator in the satirical farce Thank You for Smoking (2005) and mounted a small role in the Ben Stiller/Farrelly Brothers gross-out remake The Heartbreak Kid (2007).

Trivia: An alluring red-headed siren and a genial presence in U.S. theatrical films and television during the first decades of the new millennium, actress Amy Sloan first caught the attention of viewers when cast in the 2000 telemovie A Diva's Christmas Carol, starring Vanessa Williams as an aggressive and acid-mouthed variant on Ebenezer Scrooge. Sloan then teamed with the gifted director Euzhan Palcy (of Sugar Cane Alley and A Dry White Season fame) for a small supporting role in the gritty, sobering prison drama The Killing Yard (2001). After a spin as a reporter in the made-for-cable production No Ordinary Baby, Sloan once again demonstrated her keen instinct for picking exemplary filmmakers as collaborators, by signing on to work with acclaimed stage director Peter Masterson in the psychological thriller Lost Junction. Unfortunately, this -- like The Killing Yard -- failed to generate substantial recognition, and a supporting role in the disappointing Halle Berry/Robert Downey Jr. thriller Gothika (2003) (as an inmate) provided Sloan with only a small amount of screen time. Sloan fared better -- and received slightly higher billing -- as Sheila on television's popular Gilmore Girls and as Wendy on the short-lived 2007 series Big Shots.

Trivia: Got hooked on acting in seventh grade in a production of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's comedy The Man Who Came to Dinner. Half-sister is Julia Louis-Dreyfus (they have the same mother), who helped her get a role on Seinfeld, playing a waitress at Monk's (the one George thought was flipping him off); also appeared in Louis-Dreyfus vehicles The New Adventures of Old Christine and Watching Ellie, playing Ellie's sister. Seinfeld connection also includes an appearance on cocreator Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm in Season 8 with her husband, Patrick Fischler (as Stu, the guy who hugs a lot). Has done a PSA for the It Gets Better antibullying campaign.

Trivia: Born in Los Angeles in 1993, actor Mishon Ratliff first gained widespread attention in 2007, when he was cast on the ABC Family drama Lincoln Heights. That same year, he could be seen in a bit part in the big-screen Ben Stiller comedy The Heartbreak Kid. In addition to his onscreen work, Ratliff is also an accomplished R&B singer.

Trivia: Like a lot of actors, Johnny Sneed's first breaks came in the form of appearances on popular TV shows. In his case, they were shows like Friends and ER, and he even scored a recurring role on The Guardian before transitioning into supporting roles on the big screen. He appeared in Fever Pitch as well as the tween comedy Sleepover before snagging an even more prominent role in Ben Stiller's The Heartbreak Kid.

Trivia: Began acting in plays as a child and did theatre at university. Visited New York City while at university to interview for jobs on Wall Street, but also used the time to go on auditions. Attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Often portrays some type of authority figure. Was cast as a cop in Lethal Weapon 2, a commanding officer in Starship Troopers, and a state trooper in Little Miss Sunshine, amongst others. Has created several videos parodying his cop persona, including a fictional show called Cop Talk and one that pokes fun at his character in the series Breaking Bad.

Trivia: Though Leslie Easterbrook has only one major feature film role to her credit, it happens to come courtesy of one of the most durable comedy franchises of the 1980s (and briefly into the 1990s). Playing off her looks, Easterbrook first gained notice as Marilyn Monroe-wannabe Rhonda Lee on the hit sitcom Laverne and Shirley from 1980 to 1983. Along with a supporting role in the sex comedy Private Resort (1984), Easterbrook further made her bombshell mark as Sgt. Callahan in the hit misfit comedy Police Academy that same year. Though she returned to TV on the daytime serial Ryan's Hope from 1985 to 1987 and played a substantial part in the TV docudrama The Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story (1988), Easterbrook also reprised the role of Callahan in all six of the Police Academy sequels. After the franchise ended in 1994, Easterbrook continued to appear frequently as a guest star on primetime TV, acted in the TV movie Two Voices (1997), and displayed her vocal talents in musical theater.

Trivia: Opinionated and outspoken Desperate Housewives Latina starlet Eva Longoria is almost as well known for her risqué sense of style as she is for her role as the oversexed nymph on the aforementioned ABC hit, on which she starred opposite television veterans Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, Felicity Huffman, and Nicollette Sheridan. Crediting her remarkable success in Hollywood to an unwavering determination to succeed and a strong sense of personal discipline, Longoria has enjoyed a steady rise to fame that shows no signs of slowing anytime soon. Considered in her youth as the "ugly duckling" among her three siblings due to her dark complexion, the future sexpot nevertheless had a happy childhood growing up on her family's Corpus Christie ranch, and by the time she earned the title of Miss Corpus Christie in 1998, any insecurities that might have resulted from her unfortunate family title had long faded. Though Longoria had numerous career options after earning her bachelor of science degree in kinesiology from Texas A&M-Kinsville, a new and empowering sense of self-confidence found the aspiring starlet opting instead to try her luck among the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. Of course, it didn't take Tinseltown talent agents too long to notice a good thing when it came their way, and after procuring an agent and making her stage debut in a production of What the Rabbit Saw, Longoria was soon cast in a small role on the hit television series Beverly Hills 90210. A subsequent stint on the long-running daytime drama The Young and the Restless found Longoria's steady ascent to stardom perfectly on track, and although her trajectory may have been momentarily derailed due to roles in such forgettable efforts as the small-screen Dragnet revival in 2003 and a pair of throwaway straight-to-video features (Snitch'd and Señorita Justice), 2004 proved the year that everything came together for the determined actress when Desperate Housewives emerged as a surprise hit that revitalized an ailing ABC and setting breakout beauty Longoria back on the fast track to fame. Her role as a glamorous former runway model who is having an affair with her 17-year-old gardener showcased both Longoria's undeniable sensuality as well as her remarkable comedic skills, and fans were further impressed when Longoria took the dual roles of star and producer in the hit comedy/variety show Hot Tamales Live. The same year of her breakout success on Desperate Housewives, Longoria appeared opposite Anne Heche in the made-for-television thriller The Dead Will Tell, with subsequent roles in Carlita's Secret, Harsh Times, and The Sentinel, pointing to a lucrative feature career in addition to her success on the small screen. Briefly married to actor Tyler Christopher from 2002 to 2005, Longoria moved further into the spotlight when she was chosen as the new face of cosmetics powerhouse L'Oréal in April 2005.Her place in Hollywood firmly established, Longoria appeared in the 2006 thriller The Sentinel, alongside Michael Douglas, and then in the Ben Stiller comedy The Heartbreak Kid in 2007. The next year she starred in the comedy Over Her Dead Body, in which she played a woman who is accidentally killed by an ice sculpture on her wedding day and proceeds to haunt her fiancé. Eager to continue to flex her comedic muscle, Longoria then signed on for the family comedy Foodfight!. Over the next few years, Longoria would continue to appear in movies like Without Men and Long Time Gone.Desperate Housewives ended in 2012, and Longoria turned her focus to producing, including the film John Wick and the soapy series Devious Maids. She had a recurring role on Brooklyn Nine-Nine before returning to TV properly in Telenovela, playing a telenovela star that doesn't speak Spanish; Longoria also produced the short-lived series.