Trivia: Giving new meaning to the term America's Sweetheart, Sandra Bullock won over scores of filmgoers and critics with her wholesome, exuberant portrayals of ordinary women in extraordinary circumstances. Since her breakthrough role as Speed's unwitting heroine, Bullock has enjoyed the type of popularity that was in the past reserved for actresses along the lines of Mary Pickford or Shirley Temple.Born in Washington, D.C., on July 26, 1964, Bullock was the elder daughter of a vocal coach dad and an opera singer mom. Touring through Europe with her mother, Bullock was given her first taste of show business while still a child. Back in the States, she attended high school in Virginia and was a popular cheerleader, whose classmates dubbed her the person Most Likely to Brighten Your Day. After a stint at East Carolina University, Bullock took her sunny nature to New York, where she began concentrating on an acting career. After tending bar and studying her craft with dramatician Sanford Meisner, she got her start with a number of stage productions. It was for one of these productions, the off-Broadway No Time Flat, that Bullock received a rave review for her portrayal of a Southern belle, the strength of which was enough to land her an agent. Television work followed, with a small role in the 1989 Bionic Showdown: The Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman and, after her migration to Los Angeles, Melanie Griffith's role in the short-lived television version of Working Girl. Miraculously surviving the widespread career fallout that surrounded her first starring film role in Love Potion No. 9 (1992), the actress went on the following year to star in the similarly ill-fated The Thing Called Love. However, things began to look up the same year when the struggling actress became the last-minute replacement for Lori Petty in the Sylvester Stallone action flick Demolition Man. Though her role was essentially limited to intermittent saliva exchanges with Stallone, her performance won the attention of the film's producer, Joel Silver, who in turn recommended her to Jan de Bont. De Bont, then in the process of casting his upcoming bus-with-a-bomb action film, chose the struggling actress for the part of Annie, the film's reluctant heroine. In casting Bullock against Keanu Reeves, de Bont reportedly came up against considerable resistance from studio executives, who wanted someone blonde and buxom for the part. The director persevered and, in 1994, Bullock took her place in movie history as part of Speed, one of the most successful action films ever made. The film propelled the actress to stardom, surprising no one more than Bullock herself, who later remarked, "never in a million years did I think a bus movie would open every door I ever possibly wanted open."Doors now wide open, Bullock next starred in the 1995 romantic comedy While You Were Sleeping. The film was a critical and commercial hit, and the actress followed it up with a screen adaptation of John Grisham's A Time to Kill, co-starring Ashley Judd and Matthew McConaughey. The success of that film was the last that Bullock would enjoy for a while, as she then entered something of a sophomore slump with disappointments such as In Love and War (1996), Two If By Sea (1996), and, perhaps most excruciating, Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997). Fortunately for Bullock, her audiences seemed to be inclined to forgive and forget, and she had a modest rebound with the following year's Hope Floats, which also happened to be the first project of the production company she founded, Fortis Films. The same year, Bullock also starred in another romantic comedy, Practical Magic, opposite Nicole Kidman. The film provided another modest success for Bullock, who, back in the saddle again, proceeded to do yet another romantic comedy, this time starring with Ben Affleck in Forces of Nature (1999). Although the film proved to be a critical and commercial disappointment, Bullock was back on the radar with a number of projects in 2000, including the critically disembowelled comedy Gun Shy and 28 Days, a comedy that starred the actress as a newspaper columnist forced to enter rehab after her drinking problem assumes uncontrollable proportions. Following her role in Miss Congeniality (2000) as an FBI agent forced to go undercover in the Miss U.S.A. beauty pagent in order to prevent a bombing, Bullock faced off against a more low-key menace in the thriller Murder By Numbers (2002) before returning to lighthearted drama with Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (also 2002). Her status as the reigning queen of the chick flick permanantly established, Bullock next teamed with Hugh Grant for the amiable romantic comedy Two Weeks Notice before taking a two year furlough from the big screen - during which time she would assume the duty of executive producer for the George Lopez show in addition to turning in the occasional guest appearance. In 2005, Bullock found herself at the center of Oscar talk when she essayed the role of the racist wife of a prominant district attorney in Paul Haggis' critically acclaimed drama Crash. An unflinching look at racism in the multicultural melting pot of Los Angeles, Crash defied expectations to take home best editing, best screenplay, and best motion picture at the 77th Annual Academy Awards. That same year, a return to her role as bumbling undercover FBI agent Gracie Heart in Miss Congeniality 2 found Bullock returning to familiar lighthearted territory, although the sequel performed far more poorly than the first film. With her role as a lovelorn doctor who discovers a curious rift in time in 2006's romantic fantasy The Lake House (a remake of the 2000 South Korean film Siworae), the actress marked a graceful return to swooning, romantic pictures, not to mention a reteaming with her Speed man Keanu Reeves. Determined to remain firmly planted in serious acting, Bullock singed on to play author Harper Lee in the movie Infamous which, because of its unfortunate timing, was swallowed by comparisons to the film Capote, and went largely unnoticed. Undaunted, Bullock singed on for the supernatural thriller Premonition, about a woman who experiences shifts in the events of the universe and must use the visions to prevent her husband's death.2009 turned out to be one of the popular actresses most memorable years. In addition to producing and playing the lead in the smash hit romantic comedy The Proposal, Bullock earned the best reviews of her career as a protective mother helping raise a struggling high-school football player in The Blind Side. For her work in that movie, Bullock won the Golden Globe and the Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actress, not to mention the Oscar for Best Leading Actress. Fresh off her win, Bullock next took on another dramatic film, the post-9/11 drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. She starred in 2013's Gravity, opposite George Clooney, earning herself a second Oscar nomination. In 2015, she starred in, and produced, Our Brand Is Crisis.

Trivia: First gaining notoriety as Sookie on the hit sitcom Gilmore Girls, actress Melissa McCarthy began her onscreen career with a bit part on her cousin's The Jenny McCarthy Show. Minor film and TV roles followed before she landed the aforementioned part of Sookie St. James, a role she would play throughout Gilmore Girls seven-season run on The WB/CW. In 2007, McCarthy was cast in a supporting role alongside Christina Applegate on the ABC comedy Sam I Am.She found genuine success with the sitcom Molly and Me, playing one-half of a weight-challenged couple opposite Billy Gardel and earning an Emmy nod for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. However, it was her supporting turn in the R-rated comedy Bridesmaids that brought her a taste of mass adulation as well as an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Trivia: The handsome, ruddy-faced, and often bespectacled Latino actor Demián Bichir debuted before the cameras from the age of 14 and launched himself as a telenovela star in his native Mexico in the '80s and '90s, prior to his slick and seemingly effortless transition into internationally oriented films during the early 2000s. Bichir became instantly known for his ability to combine rugged and exotic appeal with depth-signaling intelligence and articulation.Although Bichir officially debuted in a U.S. production circa 1983 -- with a turn in the telemovie Choices of the Heart (a biopic of ill-fated Irish missionary Jean Donovan [Melissa Gilbert], set in El Salvador) -- at that time he failed to draw significant attention in the American press as anything more than a footnote. (In fact, a New York Times review of that picture, from 1983, misspells his name as "Denian Bicher.") Bichir continued to score as a well-respected actor in Mexico, however, and did additional Hollywood crossover work from time to time -- usually in American features with predominantly Hispanic casts, such as Cliff Osmond's 1988 romantic drama The Penitent, starring Armand Assante and Raul Julia. Bichir signed for one of his most prominent and popular roles in the 1999 Mexican erotic drama Sexo, Pudor y Lágrimas, as Tomas, a housewife's former lover who pays a most unexpected visit to that woman and her husband (and impedes the already strained, cracking marriage).In 2000, Bichir lent a memorable performance to the Mexico/U.S. co-production In the Time of the Butterflies, a Showtime original movie, directed by Mariano Barroso, about a plantation owner's daughter from the Dominican Republic (Salma Hayek) who courageously rebels against a Central American despot. Though not a starring role per se, the turn marked Bichir's first significant American breakthrough. It brought the actor much-deserved attention and second billing in an American film, when he played an insanely jealous boyfriend and pasta sauce entrepreneur, opposite Chelsea Altman, in Rudolph Gerber's eccentric soap opera comedy/murder mystery Heartbreak Hospital (2002). Unfortunately, that picture bombed with critics and the public and disappeared almost instantly -- which could partially explain why Bichir reverted to south-of-the-border films for his next several projects. The first of those pictures, Ciudades Oscuras -- Fernando Sariñana's memorably dark Altmanesque tale of intertwined urban lives, with Bichir at the center (as a bartender who has the film's individual stories told to him) -- scored with Mexican viewers. Bichir followed it up with the lead in the 2004 Spanish-language biopic Zapata, essaying the role of the famous Mexican bandit played by Marlon Brando 50 years prior.Bichir then signed for dual roles in 2006. He played Malboro, a young man who reunites with his younger brother and sets off on a long trip to explore their family's heritage, in Mexican director Javier "Fox" Patron's moody, contemplative festival drama Beyond Heaven (Fuera del Cielo, aka Chilango Blues), and a Bolivian dad wildly desperate to reconnect with his child in Miami (even if it means breaking multiple laws) in Juan Carlos Valdivia's hyper-stylized American Visa. Though these features received limited bookings and returns in the United States, they drew significant international attention for Bichir that far exceeded any notice engendered by his early telenovelas or U.S. network telemovies.Bichir continued to work steadily, landing a part in Steven Soderbergh's two-part biopic about Che Guevara, and he was cast in a recurring role on the Showtime series Weeds. 2011 proved to be a breakthrough for the hard-working thespian when his work in Chris Weitz's immigration drama A Better Life garnered him Best Actor nominations from both the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy. In 2012, the actor played a supporting role in director Oliver Stone's Savages, a crime thriller based on Don Winslow's best-selling novel of the same name.

Trivia: The youngest member of what may arguably be the funniest family in show business, Marlon Wayans may also be working his way up to becoming funniest member of the funniest family in show business. Regarding the formidable task of living up to the humorous standards set by his siblings, Marlon takes a healthy and positive attitude, considering his family an important exemplary support system rather than an ominous shadow casting impossible expectations.Born in 1972 in New York City, Marlon graduated from the School of Performing Arts in New York before moving on to study film and arts at Howard University. Following the lead of eldest clan member and brother Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon was inspired to pursue a career in show business. After taking a small role in brother Keenen's blaxploitation spoof I'm Gonna Git You Sucka! (1988), Marlon joined the cast of Keenen's groundbreaking and trend-setting hip-hop variety show, In Living Color. A natural knack for comedy found Marlon quickly gaining momentum among the cast and refining the skills that would eventually lead him to bigger roles in both film and television. With his role in brother Damon's con-artist comedy Mo' Money, Marlon continued to display his talents for comedy with more substantial roles. Teaming with brother Shawn for television's The Wayans Bros. (1995), Marlon began to expand his responsibilities. Taking on numerous roles -- from writer to director and, of course, star -- Marlon learned the virtues of multi-tasking that would lead him to become a key creative force behind such spoofs as Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood (1996) and Scary Movie (2000). Wayans gained the majority of positive press earned by the otherwise run-of-the-mill comedy Senseless, and a few even compared him to the likes of Jerry Lewis, thanks to his talent for rubber-limbed humor. Yet Marlon began to seek out more serious roles. "I would do straight dramatic stuff. I'm trained as a dramatic actor," he said. "A lot of people just think I'm funny and crazy all the time, but I went to a performing arts high school, so I'm trained in the dramatic arts. I just happen to be funny." Though Marlon got deadly serious for his role as Jared Leto's drug-addicted friend on a collision course with disaster in Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream, he continued to display his exceptional gift for comedy by hosting the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards with brother Shawn, and developing the follow-up to his runaway hit Scary Movie.The early 2000s were less benevolent to Wayans. Critics singled out and excoriated him for his foolhardy appearance as Snails in the 2000 bomb Dungeons & Dragons: The Movie. Cited as one of the most wretched films of its year - or any year, by almost everybody, Dungeons barely made half of its thirty-five million dollar budget. USA Today wrote, "Marlon Wayans' performance as a cowardly thief would have seemed in bad taste a half-century ago." As Gawain McSam in the lackluster Coen brothers remake The Ladykillers, Wayans similarly did little more than reinforce an ignorant, filthy-mouthed, jive-talking ghetto stereotype; moviegoers responded slightly more favorably than critics.Perhaps sensing the need to return to his roots for a fresh success, Marlon spent 2004 and 2006 in two family vehicles: the raunchy comedies White Chicks and Little Man, respectively In the former, he and brother Shawn play African American federal agents who go undercover as blonde Caucasian sorority girls to bust a kidnapping scheme. This film climbed the charts to become a top weekend and summer grosser. Little Man, directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and released in July 2006, uses trick photography and sight gags to turn Marlon into the dwarfish thief Calvin Simms, who attempts to retrieve a fenced jewel by posing as an infant and hiding out in the home of aspiring parents. Once there, he relentlessly torments his would-be adoptive father (Shawn Wayans).

Trivia: Within four years of his film debut in Zebrahead (1993), Michael Rapaport (born March 20th, 1970) became one of Hollywood's hardest-working and most versatile supporting/character actors. He began as a standup comedian, but turned to acting after landing a guest-starring role in a 1990 episode of the ABC television drama China Beach. Rapaport's portrayal in Zebrahead of a Jewish teen struggling to survive in an African-American-dominated Detroit neighborhood while romantically involved with a black girl earned him considerable acclaim and a nomination for an Independent Feature Project Spirit Award. After that, he did a bit more television work and his career remained low-key until the following year, when he suddenly burst back onto the screen in four major films: True Romance, Point of No Return, Money for Nothing, and Poetic Justice. Some of Rapaport's notable subsequent roles include that of a college student who mistakenly attempts to find his niche by becoming a skinhead in John Singleton's Higher Learning (1995) and that of a slightly dim prizefighter set up for a blind date with a goodhearted hooker in Woody Allen's Mighty Aphrodite (1995). In 1998, Rapaport co-starred in the Showtime cable network's black comedy series about the zany world of substance abuse recovery programs Rude Awakening. That year, Rapaport also appeared in the films Palmetto and Some Girls. Rappaport worked in film sporadically throughout the 2000, but found some success in Metro, Deep Blue Sea, and Higher Learning. However, the actor is much more recognized for his work in the television shows Boston Public, Prison Break, and the War at Home.

Trivia: Famed for (and lucky enough to be) one of Saturday Night Live's original Not Ready for Primetime Players, Jane Curtin made her debut in 1975 among such heavies as John Belushi, Chevy Chase, and Gilda Radner. Together they formed the sketch comedy troupe that wrote a new chapter in American comedy. Curtin is different from many of her famous SNL cohorts in that she left the show without being easily identified with a single character. Audiences loved her as Mrs. Conehead and as the co-anchor of Weekend Update with Dan Akroyd, but Curtin remained as understated as someone could be with a two-foot cone on her head.After her two Emmy nominations from Saturday Night Live, Curtin went on to star in a number of other series. In the 1980s, viewers empathized with her as Allie Lowell in Kate and Allie (for which she won back-to-back Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmys in 1984 and 1985); in the 1990s, she kept audiences in stitches with her wacky characterization of Dr. Mary Albright, the anthropologist love interest of John Lithgow on 3rd Rock From the Sun. As the 2000's unfolded, Curtin would remain active in a vareity of roles, appearing most notably in comedies like I Love You, Man and on TV series like the crime drama Unforgettable.

Trivia: Was a member of the Chi Phi fraternity at Florida State University. Performed for five years with the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago. Is a founding member of the improv groups ZUMPF, 4 Square and Train Wreck. Voiced the character of Raiden in the video game Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.

Trivia: Appeared in movie Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult when he was 12 years old. TV credits include The Amanda Show and Scrubs. In 2001, became the youngest cast member of MADtv at age 19. Became a member of the main company of Los Angeles improvisational group the Groundlings in April 2010. Started on Saturday Night Live in September 2010.

Trivia: Thomas F. Wilson studied international politics at Arizona State University, then switched his career focus by becoming a summer stock actor. In 1979, the 20-year-old Wilson returned to his native Philadelphia to begin his career as a standup comic, studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts between nightclub gigs. While on the bumpy road to fame, he shared an apartment with two other aspiring funnymen, Yakov Smirnoff and Andrew Dice Clay. He finally struck paydirt in the role of thick-eared, thick-skulled high school bully Biff ("Why don't you make like a tree...and go away?) in the first two Back to the Future films. In Back to the Future Pt. 3 (1988), he offered a fascinating variation of this character in the role of Biff's splendidly stupid great-grandfather, gunslinger Buford Tannen. What could have been a one-note characterization -- Biff/Buford wound up covered in manure in all three films -- was enlivened by Wilson's comic nuances and split-second timing. Computer game fans know Thomas F. Wilson best as Major Todd "Maniac" Marshall, star of the interactive CD-ROM Wing Commander series.

Trivia: Early jobs included high-school teacher and copywriter. Performed with sketch comedy groups Upright Citizens Brigade and Naked Babies. Was a member of New York City punk band Egghead. Starred with a hand puppet in a series of commercials for Ford.

Trivia: Started acting in 2005, after serving 5 years in prison for intimidation.Studied acting at Media Performance Institute and The Studio at CP.Worked as a General Manager and Operations Director at Davy's Locker restaurant in New Bedford, Massachusetts.Volunteered with the organization Do Time, speaking to at-risk youth about the importance of goals and education.In 2017, started working as a Film Acting Instructor at Boston Casting, Inc.

Trivia: A native of Portland, OR, who honed her passion for the stage by studying theater at the University of Oregon, Kaitlin Olson moved to Los Angeles after earning her degree and quickly aligned herself with the improvisational comedy specialists at the Groundlings Theater. A coveted spot in the Sunday Company proved the catalyst that would help Olson to secure roles in the hit HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm (in which she played Cheryl's sister Becky), and the hit sitcom The Drew Carey Show (in which she played Mimi's nemesis Traylor). Later, after joining Carey's "Who's Line Is It Anyway?" troupe at the Melrose Improv, Olson joined her bespectacled co-star for a USO tour and entertained troops in Bosnia, Kosovo, and Norway. While The Drew Carey Show would go off the air in 2004, Olson wasn't out of work for long, and next turned up as part owner of a popular Irish pub in the twisted FX series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. In 2007, Olson remained busy on the small screen with a recurring role on the Emmy-nominated series The Riches.

Trivia: After graduating from Stanford, decided to move to New York City to focus on acting. After struggling a few years, he turned his attention to the finance world. Was part of the comedy group "House of Floyd" with future Bridesmaids costars Melissa McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone. Appeared in the Reba McEntire video for "I'd Rather Ride Around With You" and the sequel "What If It's You" as the singer's love interest. Landed a "life imitates art" role on the NBC series The Office—his character is CFO for the fictional Dunder-Mifflin, while Buckley is a wealth-management adviser for an investment bank.

Trivia: Is the youngest of nine children, as well as the youngest member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Performed in community theater as a child. Was recruited to join New Kids on the Block and replace original member Jamie Kelly, who exited the group before they got famous. Recorded his debut solo album, Stay the Same, in 1998. Met his wife while she was working as a real-estate agent—he was her first client. Competed on the first season of Dancing With the Stars in 2005. Ran the Boston Marathon in 2013, the year a bomb exploded at the event, and returned the following year to run it again. Is an advocate for several medical causes, including hearing problems (he's the father of a hearing-impaired son) and Alzheimer's (his mother has the disease).

Trivia: Did 300 stand-up shows a year early in his career. Voice is featured in the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV. In 2009, was the first stand-up comedian to appear on The Tonight Show With Conan O'Brien. Joined comics Robert Kelly and Joe DeRosa to produce, write and star in a 2011 comic short called Cheat, which was a hit at the Tribeca Film Festival. Received the 2011 Comedian of the Year Award from the Boston Comedy Festival. Contributed material to the 2011 and 2012 ESPYs. With fellow comedian Al Madrigal, launched Allthingscomedy.com in 2012, which features a selection of podcasts by stand-up comics. Given the Alumni Award of Distinction by his alma mater Emerson College in 2013.

Trivia: Trained and performed at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles. Worked with Amy Poehler as both a writer and voice actor for her Nickelodeon series The Mighty B! from 2008 until 2009. Appeared in the online parody The Real Housewives of South Boston. Is half of the comedy duo Ronna and Beverly, a stage show turned podcast and TV series. Acted in several Paul Feig films alongside Melissa McCarthy, including The Heat, Spy and the 2016 remake of Ghostbusters.

Trivia: Started performing at Second City while attending college.From 2000 to 2001, was a correspondent on The Daily Show.Her face is blurred in Jon Glaser Loves Gear.Known for her comedic acting and improvisation.Continues to perform but is also a teacher.

Trivia: Participated in community theater throughout Southern Illinois. Scored paid gigs on camera as a youth, through his father's production company, PoleStar Productions. Performed annually in a sketch-comedy show on New Year's Eve in Springfield, Illinois, with his brother and father. Wrote songs for the animated series The Looney Tunes Show. Performs with the Groundlings improv troupe, where he met wife Melissa McCarthy.

Trivia: Has been a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company comedy troupe. Member of the improvisational sketch-comedy troupe The Stepfathers. Taught improv at Columbia University and Duke University. Had a recurring role on The Office, and was promoted to full-time cast member for the 2010-11 season. Is a writer and performer for the Cutman Films production company.