Trivia: A source of perpetual inspiration to millions of young hopefuls, African-American pop diva-turned-actress Jennifer Hudson proved -- with glorious bravado -- that the most gifted and determined young talents can bounce back from a painful and public rejection and land squarely at the pinnacle of success, transcending even what they might have accomplished had the initial rejection never occurred. Born September 12, 1981, in Chicago, IL, Hudson was blessed with an astounding vocal range of six octaves and a perfect musical ear as a young girl, and rigorously trained as a chanteuse from the age of seven, initially in her Baptist church choir, then in dozens upon dozens of stage musicals and talent shows during adolescence. After high school, she briefly attended college but dropped out not long after. In 2002, 21-year-old Hudson landed a job as featured vocalist on the Disney Wonder cruise ship. Circa 2004, with American audiences deep in the throes of reality television, Hudson auditioned in Atlanta, GA, for the third season of Fox's American Idol series, made the cut, and quickly moved along to the semifinalist round. Her songs as a participant in the series included Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing," Elton John's "The Circle of Life," and Martha & the Vandellas' "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave." Though Ryan Seacrest later indicated that Hudson received a higher number of votes than any performer from a previous episode, Hudson was unceremoniously eliminated from the running. Reigning judge Randy Jackson -- a highly respected music producer -- brought Hudson back in the "wildcard" round to join the finalists, but with seven contenders remaining, Hudson was booted off of the series -- despite the well-publicized fact that her range and ability clearly outflanked those of her competitors. That decision infuriated millions; Elton John -- a previous guest judge on Idol -- accused Simon Cowell and others of stark racism, while other commentators, acknowledging that two of Hudson's competitors were also African-American, suspected a deliberate decision to split the contenders demographically. Regardless of the reason, Hudson quickly overcame her disappointment. In late 2005, Hudson auditioned among 783 hopefuls for the lead role of Effi "Melody" White, a female vocalist unfairly ousted from the ranks of a three-member female pop group in the early '60s -- because, ironically, her "look" isn't right -- in Chicago scribe Bill Condon's hotly anticipated late 2006 film musical Dreamgirls, an adaptation of the early '80s Tony award-winning Broadway hit. An ecstatic Hudson landed the part while cutting her first album (roundly trumping the 2004 Idol winner, Fantasia Barrino, in the process), and had to gain almost 25 pounds to perfect Effi's "look" onscreen. Production commenced in January 2006. A media blitz surrounded Hudson's triumph in the role that lifted her into the limelight even months prior to the stateside release of Dreamgirls in December 2006. This buzz included a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination and widespread comparisons to Jennifer Holliday, who originated the Effi role on Broadway in 1981. These predictions began to come true, starting with a win for Best Supporting Actress at that year's Golden Globes awards. The Cinderella story materialized in full on Oscar night when she captured the Best Supporting Actress trophy. The press helped Hudson land a record deal with Clive Davis' J Records, which slated the release of her premiere album for January 2007, mere weeks after the stateside debut of Dreamgirls. Her acting career continued in the 2008 period drama The Secret Life of Bees, and that same year she joined the cast of Sex In the City for their big-screen debut. In 2011 she starred in a biopic of Winnie Mandela, and tried her hand at comedy with the 2012 farce The Three Stooges.

Trivia: One known for straddling careers as a model, singer and actress, performer Milla Jovovich sported an utterly unique square-jawed look and the starkest of features that betrayed her Eastern European origins. Born to a Russian actress and a Yugoslavian doctor in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev on December 17, 1975, Jovovich moved with her family to Sacramento, CA, when she was five. She began her professional modeling career at the age of 11, spending most of her teen years displaying her exotic, blue-eyed beauty on the covers of numerous magazines and in service of countless products.While pursuing a successful modeling career, Jovovich also began acting, appearing in Zalman King's softcore Two Moon Junction (1988) as Sherilyn Fenn's little sister and Return to the Blue Lagoon, the 1991 sequel to the endearingly awful Brooke Shields flesh-fest Blue Lagoon (1980). Following a role in Richard Linklater's high-school slacker opus Dazed and Confused (1993), Jovovich took a break from acting and also put her modeling career on hold. She turned instead to music, recording an album, The Divine Comedy, that received surprisingly good reviews. After touring for a few months, Jovovich returned to California and revived her acting career with the help of French director Luc Besson, who cast her in The Fifth Element in 1996. An incredibly stylish sci-fi chase film set in the 23rd century, it featured Jovovich as a tangerine-haired alien, speaking in gibberish and wearing little more than artfully placed ace bandages designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier. The film put her back on the Hollywood radar, something given further assistance by Jovovich's marriage to Besson (married in 1997, the two divorced in 1999). The following year Jovovich had a substantial role as a prostitute in Spike Lee's He Got Game, and, in 1999, she again stepped in front of the camera for Besson, this time to play the title role in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. She received strong notices for her work, although the film itself earned less than a warm reception. The following year, Jovovich appeared in Wim Wenders' futuristic The Million Dollar Hotel as a mental patient in the titular establishment. In 2001, Jovovich once again stepped into the lead, this time battling the undead in the action-oriented film version of the popular survival horror video game Resident Evil (2002).As the years progressed, that assignment would continue to color and define Jovovich's choices, as she soon agreed to headline each of the follow-ups, Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). The films received critical excoriation for their mindless, effects-heavy setups and nearly incoherent premises, but no matter: the franchise caught on with the public in a big way and turned Jovovich into an A-list action star, paving the way for the lead role in the nearly indistinguishable outing Ultraviolet (2006). In the meantime,Jovovich occasionally tackled varied material. She delivered a particularly off-beat and quirky performance as a singer who drifts into a Yiddish music career in the comedy-drama Dummy (2004), and in the role of Drusilla in director Gore Vidal's remake of Caligula.She worked alongside Robert DiNiro and Edward Norton in 2009's psychological drama A Perfect Getaway, and returned to the Resident Evil series in 2010 with Resident Evil: Afterlife. Jovovich played Milday de Winter in 2011's The Three Musketeers, and headlined yet another Resident Evil in 2012, Resident Evil: Retribution. In 2014, she appeared in an updated version of Shakespeare's Cymbeline.

Trivia: First part of her name, "Quven," is a combination of parts of her parents' names. Lied about her age when she auditioned for Beasts of the Southern Wild; the casting call was for 6-to-9-year-olds and she was only 5. Became the youngest actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress with her nomination for Beasts of the Southern Wild in 2013.

Trivia: Australian-born actor Sam Worthington got his first break in the Belvoir Street Theatre production Judas Kiss, shortly after graduating from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art. He eventually made the transition to the screen, appearing in the Australian movie Bootmen. Worthington earned small roles in other films such as Hart's War, and eventually won the lead in the drama Dirty Deeds opposite Toni Collette. He later earned a prominent role in the critically acclaimed Somersault, which won a slew of awards, including an AFI for Worthington in the category of Best Actor. In 2006, he joined many young men of the acting community in going up for the role of James Bond, and while the legendary part went to Daniel Craig, Worthington took the title role in a modern retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth, garnering the 30-year-old actor a lot of attention. He caught the eye of director James Cameron, who cast Worthington as the lead in his sci-fi thriller Avatar. That film would become one of the biggest box-office successes in movie history and he would follow up that newfound celebrity with turns in another effects-laden extravaganza Clash of the Titans, as well as the indie drama Last Night. In 2012 he returned to the role of Perseus for Wrath of the Titans, and starred in the thriller Man on a Ledge. In 2013, he appeared in the Australian film Drift, followed by another Australian film, Paper Planes, in 2014. The following year, he appeared in Cake, opposite Jennifer Aniston, and in the disaster film Everest.

Trivia: Best known for his individualistic promulgation of jazz-rap during the 1990s -- a decade when gangsta rap threatened to take over much of the urban music scene -- underground rapper Common attained recognition for the sophisticated lyrics and ever-present political subtexts in his raps. Something of a critics' favorite, Common also achieved commercial success with such albums as Can I Borrow a Dollar? (1992, his debut), Like Water for Chocolate (2000), Electric Circus (2002), and Be (2005). During the first 15 years or so of his career, the Chicago native's filmed activity remained generally confined to music videos, performance films, and also urban and rap-themed documentaries such as the 2003 Soundz of Spirit, the 2004 Letter to the President, and 2005's jubilant Dave Chappelle's Block Party. By 2007, Common began branching out into dramatic roles. That year, the rapper landed supporting parts in such films as Joe Carnahan's darkly comic action thriller Smokin' Aces and Ridley Scott's period crime drama American Gangster.In 2008 he appeared in Wanted, and the next year he landed a role in the high-profile sequel Terminator Salvation. He played the part of an scary bad guy in the comedy Date Night in 2010, the same year he played the lead opposite Queen Latifah in the romantic comedy Just Wright. He was one of the many members of the ensemble cast in 2011's New Year's Eve, and lent his vocal talents to Happy Feet Two that same year. In 2012 he appeared in the family fantasy film The Odd Life of Timothy Green.

Trivia: Something of an old standby -- a stalwart -- whenever Hollywood needed to call on an Asian-American character actor during the '70s, '80s, '90s, and 2000s, James Saito made countless guest appearances on such blockbuster programs as M*A*S*H, The Fall Guy, and The A-Team, often without even so much as a character name. (The M*A*S*H appearances list him only as "South Korean" or "Korean Soldier.") From the early '80s onward, Saito's resumé started to incorporate a number of feature films; per the experiences of most character players, these pictures varied substantially in quality -- from the depths of Hot Dog... The Movie! (1983) to the heights of Buckaroo Banzai (1984) and Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995). In 2007, Saito landed one of his first regular series roles, as Dr. Chen on the spiritual drama Eli Stone.