Trivia: Innovative rap music superstar LL Cool J made the successful transition to actor/musician in the 1990s, with several major films and a TV series to his credit. Born James Todd Smith in Queens, LL Cool J established himself as one of the major figures in rap music in the 1980s and '90s; he made his movie debut as himself in the 1985 rap movie Krush Groove. Although LL Cool J also appeared as himself in B.A.P.S. (1998), his 1990s movie career revealed that he had the acting chops to go with his musical talent. Following roles in the light-hearted cop movie The Hard Way (1991) and the ill-fated fantasy Toys (1992), LL Cool J spent four seasons as one of the stars of the primetime TV sitcom In the House (1995-1999). During his years on TV, LL Cool J also showed his dramatic versatility in the romantic comedy Woo (1998), crime dramas Caught Up (1998) and In Too Deep (1999), and horror sequel Halloween: H20 (1998). After starring as potential shark bait in the mutant mako actioner Deep Blue Sea (1999), he finished the decade by winning critical kudos as an immodest football player in Oliver Stone's sports drama Any Given Sunday (1999). Hit former career in music all but forgotten, LL Cool J would give action films a shot with Charlie's Angels (2000) and Rollerball (2002) before living up to his real life reputation as a ladies man in the comedy Deliver Us from Eva. Starring as the stud wrangled into taming Gabrielle Union's shrew Eva, LL Cool J notched his first romantic comedy lead and took another step away from his musical past by billing himself under his real name. Following the less than stellar Eva, LL Cool J added his voice to the animated Rugrats Go Wild (2003). Further bolstering his action movie credits (and returning to his street moniker), LL Cool J then joined the multicultural cast of Samuel L. Jackson's elite police squad in the summer popcorn movie S.W.A.T. (2003). Later, the rapper-turned-actor's role as Sam Hanna in a two-part 2009 episode of NCIS led to regular work on the spin-off series NCIS: Los Angeles, as well as a crossover appearance as the same character in the 2010 Hawaii Five-O revival.

Trivia: The daughter of novelist Bebe Moore Campbell, actress Maia Campbell gained fame in 1995, starring opposite LL Cool J in the UPN sitcom In the House. Roles in such small films as 1999's Trippin' and 2001's The Luau followed. In 2007, Campbell made headlines when it was reported she had been charged with stealing a car.

Trivia: African American actress/dancer Debbie Allen had built up a solid reputation as a Broadway choreographer by the time she made her screen debut in The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh (1979). In 1980, she created the role of demanding dance instructor Lydia Grant in Fame (1980), a role she carried over into the long-running TV series of the same name. Each and every episode of this five-season series began with Debbie addressing a roomful of students: "You want fame?...Well, fame costs. And the price is sweat." Practicing what she preached, Debbie not only co-starred in the series but directed several episodes and handled the choreography, winning a brace of Emmies in the process. She went on to be nominated for a Tony award for the 1986 Broadway revival of Sweet Charity. The older sister of Cosby Show co-star Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen has herself remained active on the small screen, in the early '90s mapping out the production numbers of the annual Academy Awards telecast and in the mid-'90s co-starring with rapper LL Cool J on the weekly NBC sitcom In the House. In 1997 she was one of the producer's of Steven Spielberg's period drama Amistad. Four years later she directed and starred in the made-for-TV drama The Old Settler opposite her sister. She played herself in the remake of the TV show Fame. She continued directing for television including episodes of That's So Raven, and the Lifetime movie biopic The Fantasia Barrino Story: Life Is Not a Fairy Tale. In 2009 she returned to her roots yet again by playing the principal of the high school for performing arts that is the setting for the 2009 big-screen remake of Fame.

Trivia: Made his Broadway debut in 1983's The Tap Dance Kid, opposite Hinton Battle and Samuel E. Wright. Appeared in a Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial in 1984, as a background dancer. Won the first and only season of Celebrity Duets in 2006. Appeared in the video for Will Smith's "Wild Wild West." Ranked No. 95 on VH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars countdown. Aspired to be a professional race-car driver until the birth of his daughter prompted him to change his priorities.

Trivia: Got her start in the entertainment business by doing stand-up at comedy clubs in Los Angeles in the late 1980s. Appeared in four seasons of In Living Color, which was created by her brother Keenen Ivory Wayans. In 2007, wrote and starred in her one-woman play titled A Handsome Woman Retreats. Cowrote a series of children's books with her husband called Amy Hodgepodge. Has been a guest speaker at Camp Harmony retreat for inner-city kids in Los Angeles.

Trivia: An actor with hulking presence and a stern countenance, John Amos undercuts his ominous appearance with the kind of warm grin and fun-loving attitude that makes him a natural for comedy. More recognizable as a television actor, the former pro football player has made enough visible forays into film to earn him a reputation in both arenas.After stints in a variety of divergent career fields -- pro sports, advertising, commercial acting, stand-up comedy, comedy writing -- Amos got his big break with the role of Gordy the weatherman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970. After three years as a side player next to Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, and Ted Knight, Amos thought he'd get the chance for top billing by signing on to the gig for which he is best known: James Evans, the temperamental patriarch of Good Times. But Jimmie Walker, who played son J.J. Evans, soon gave the show a sassy youthful focus with his catchphrase "Dy-no-mite!" stealing the spotlight from Amos and Esther Rolle, who played wife Florida. Amos asked out of his contract after three years, and in 1976, James Evans was killed off in a car accident.The decision to leave a hit series did not squash Amos, as it has some others who have made that bold decision. Instead, Amos stepped into the highly celebrated and widely seen role of the adult Kunta Kinte in the 1977 miniseries Roots. The role challenged the actor's dramatic abilities like none of his previous work had, and he won praise for documenting the travails of a captured African who resists his enslavement.While continuing to turn up in TV series such as Future Cop and Hunter, Amos began making regular appearances in film in the 1980s. Among his more prominent roles were as Seth, companion to Marc Singer's title character in the sword and sorcerer film The Beastmaster (1982); Cleo McDowell, owner of a McDonald's knockoff burger chain and employer of Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall's transplanted dignitaries in Coming to America (1988); and the double-crossing Major Grant, who becomes one of the villains opposite Bruce Willis in Die Hard 2 (1990). Settling back into a career of guest shots on TV shows, Amos occupied himself during the 1990s and beyond with recurring roles on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on NBC's The West Wing.

Trivia: A Tennessee native who grew up in California, Lark Voorhies is best known for playing shopaholic Lisa Turtle on the classic teen sitcom Saved by the Bell. Voorhies was just 16 when she signed on to play the role that would come to define her career, and she stayed with the show for its entire run. She went on to appear in several films, including 1997's The Last Don, and 2001's How High, as well as several music videos including Boyz II Men's "On Bended Knee" and Dru Hill's ""These Are the Times."