Trivia: With an Oscar before the age of 30, repeated comparisons to Audrey Hepburn, and the drool of a thousand critics at her feet, Natalie Portman has emerged as one of the most promising actresses of her generation. Born in Jerusalem on June 9, 1981, to an artist mother and doctor father, Portman moved to New York when she was three. Raised on Long Island, she was discovered by a modeling agent who signed her on the spot. Her modeling stint led to an audition for Luc Besson's Leon (or The Professional, as it was called in the United States). Due to her age (she was 12 when the film was cast), Portman was initially turned down for the lead role of Mathilda, a girl who asks a hit man (Jean Reno) to train her as an assassin to avenge her brother's death and falls innocently in love with him in the process. However, she ultimately won the part and her 1994 film debut earned a number of positive notices. In interviews, Portman allowed that making her first film in the toughest sections of Spanish Harlem was frightening, but not quite so frightening, she claimed, as going back to school once shooting wrapped.Portman then took on the role of Al Pacino's step-daughter in another demanding film, Michael Mann's Heat (1995). She followed this up with lighter fare, like Mars Attacks! (1996), Everyone Says I Love You, and Beautiful Girls. After turning down title roles in both Lolita and William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, Portman took on another title role with her 1997 Broadway debut in The Diary of Anne Frank. She stayed with the show until May 1998, during which time she received positive notices for her performance. After lending her voice to The Prince of Egypt (1998), Portman took on her most talked-about role to date, that of Queen Amidala in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace (1999). Despite very mixed reviews, the film went into box-office hyperdrive, further propelling Portman toward her status as a rapidly emerging talent for the new millennium. She would end the 20th century with projects like Wayne Wang's Anywhere But Here and Where the Heart Is. Offscreen, Portman also did some growing up, enrolling for her college education at Harvard University. A psychology major, she made it clear upon her enrollment that, aside from her role as Queen Amidala in the Star Wars films, she would not accept any film roles for the duration of her education. Perhaps to the disappointment of fans, she stuck to her word, remaining absent from the screen (save Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones) until she received her degree in 2003. Luckily, upon her return to acting, it was immediately evident that it had been worth the wait.Portman's first foray following graduation was the 2003 Civil War ensemble drama Cold Mountain, alongside Renee Zellweger and Nicole Kidman. But in 2004, Portman was at the forefront of both Garden State, a moody dramedy that endeared her to fans, and Closer, a taught, intimate drama that earned her massive critical accolades, as well as her first Oscar nomination. In 2005, as the curtain finally closed on the Star Wars franchise with the release of Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Portman could be seen with a now iconic pixie haircut after shaving her head for a role in the graphic-novel adaptation V for Vendetta. The dystopic action thriller received mixed reviews, but Portman's performance, as usual, earned accolades. Per her usual M.O. as an actress, she would complete a number of independent, arthouse, or otherwise challenging projects for every blockbuster under her belt, like the 2006 Milos Forman directed period drama Goya's Ghosts, and the Wes Anderson 2007 road (or rather, train) movie The Darjeeling Limited. After appearing opposite Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana as Anne Boleyn, the famously beheaded wife of King Henry VII in the 2008 period drama The Other Boleyn Girl, Portman turned her high-brow image on its ear the very next year, playing a small town cheerleader turned army wife in the Iraq War drama Brothers. Portman had even more impressive turns awaiting her, however, as 2010 brought the lead role in the hallucinatory Darren Aronofsky film The Black Swan, about an obsessively diligent ballerina who, in order to play both the innocent and dark sides of femininity with the leading role in Swan Lake, must battle her own conflicting inner demons as a woman. Portman trained in ballet rigorously for six months to perform the role, and her efforts paid dividends. Her performance received massive adoration from critics and audiences alike, and she emerged with an Academy Award for Best Actress - which Portman accepted while five months pregnant with a baby she was expecting with fiancé Benjamin Millepied, her choreographer whom she met while filming.Professionally, Portman had a mind to keep a balance with her choice of roles. In a change of pace from the gritty material in The Black Swan, she appeared in the stoner comedy Your Highness, the rom-com No Strings Attached, and the comic-book action thriller Thor.Portman had her first child with husband Benjamin Millepied in June of 2011.

Trivia: Having acquired legions of loyal female followers with his portrayal of the ever-horny and dimwitted Kelso in the popular television comedy series That 70s Show, it may come as a surprise that male model-turned-actor Ashton Kutcher ironically majored in biochemical engineering at the University of Iowa before his "discovery" in an Iowa bar and subsequent stint on the catwalk for such fashion industry luminaries as Versace and Calvin Klein.Born in Cedar Rapids, IA, along with a fraternal twin named Michael, Kutcher was bitten by the acting bug in high school. Balancing his love for the stage with his talent for wrestling before gravitating toward the former in such high school productions as Annie, Kutcher worked numerous odd jobs during his tenure at the University of Iowa before winning the Fresh Faces of Iowa contest in 1997 and heading for New York. Competing in that same year's International Model and Talent Agency competition before being signed to the next agency, Kutcher relocated to Los Angeles the following year and soon landed his breakthrough role on That 70s Show. Though he had small roles in Down to You and Reindeer Games (both 2000), Kutcher's first major big-screen role was in Dude, Where's My Car? (also 2000), in which he teamed his airheaded goofiness with that of American Pie's Sean William Scott. Breaking out of the mold with a more serious turn alongside James Van Der Beek in 2001's Texas Rangers, a return to comedy wasn't far behind with a role in My Boss's Daughter scheduled for release later that same year. Though My Boss's Daughter would ultimately be pushed back to a late February 2003 release date, Kutcher and actress Brittany Murphy (8 Mile) scored a modest hit when Just Married was released into theaters in early January of the same year. Despite receiving only a lukewarm reception from critics, positive audience turnout ensured that Just Married would nevertheless hold on to a position in the box office top-ten for nearly a month after its release. Though My Boss's Daughter failed to stir up much at the box-office, the one-two punch of his immensely popular MTV prank show Punk'd and a high-profile romance with Demi Moore (whom he later married and then divorced) shot Kutcher's celebrity stock through the roof in 2003. He subsequently closed out the year with a self-depricating role in the holiday hit Cheaper by the Dozen.2004 saw Kutcher trying his hand at drama once again with the supernatural thriller The Butterfly Effect. Though the reviews were mixed, the film had its share of fans among critics and went on to makeup its budget more than three-times over. Kutcher continued finding success on the small-screen by producing the series Beauty and the Geek. In 2005 he teamed with Bernie Mac for the racial comedy Guess Who, and 2006 found Kutcher trying his hand at more action oriented fare teaming up with Kevin Costner for The Guardian. The actor would continue to find his place in the romcom niche with 2008's What Happens in Vegas, 2010's Valentine's Day and 2011's No Strings Attached, but made particular waves with a return to television, when he famously signed on to replace Charlie Sheen on the sitcom Two and a Half Men in 2011. His movie career slowed due to his television commitments, but he did find time to play Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in the 2013 bio-drama Jobs. Two and a Half Men wrapped up in 2015, leaving Kutcher free to return to movies and producing.

Trivia: One of the most versatile and respected actors of his generation, Kevin Kline has made a name for himself on the stage and screen. Equally comfortable in comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of those rare actors whose onscreen characterizations are not overshadowed by his offscreen personality; remarkably free of ego, he has impressed both critics and audiences as a performer in the purest sense of the word.A product of the American Midwest, Kline was born in Saint Louis, MO, on October 24, 1947. He became active in theater while growing up in the Saint Louis suburbs, performing in a number of school productions. He continued to act while a student at Indiana University at Bloomington, and following graduation, moved to New York, where he was accepted at the Juilliard School. In 1972, Kline added professional experience to his formal training when he joined New York's Acting Company, led at the time by John Houseman. He toured the country with the company, performing Shakespeare and winning particular acclaim for his portrayals of Romeo and Hamlet. This praise translated to the New York stage a few years later, when Kline won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for his role in the 1978 Broadway production of On the Twentieth Century. Three years later, he earned these same honors for his work in the Broadway production of The Pirates of Penzance (he later reprised his role for the musical's 1983 film adaptation). After a stint on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow, Kline made his film debut in Alan Pakula's 1982 Sophie's Choice. It was an inarguably auspicious beginning: aside from the wide acclaim lavished on the film, Kline earned a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of Nathan Landau. The following year, he again struck gold, starring in The Big Chill, Lawrence Kasdan's seminal exploration of baby-boomer anxiety. Two years later, Kline and Kasdan enjoyed another successful collaboration with Silverado, an homage to the Westerns of the 1950s and '60s. After turning in a strong performance as a South African newspaper editor in Cry Freedom, Richard Attenborough's powerful 1987 apartheid drama, Kline won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his relentlessly hilarious portrayal of dimwitted petty thief Otto West in A Fish Called Wanda (1988). The award gave him international recognition and established him as an actor as adept at comedy as he was at drama, something Kline again proved in Soapdish; the 1991 comedy was a major disappointment, but Kline nonetheless managed to turn in another excellent performance, earning a Golden Globe nomination.The '90s saw Kline -- now a married man, having wed actress Phoebe Cates in 1989 -- continue to tackle a range of diverse roles. In 1992, he could be seen playing Douglas Fairbanks in Chaplin, while the next year he gave a winning portrayal of two men -- one, the U.S. President, the other, his reluctant stand-in -- in Dave, earning another Golden Globe nomination. Kline then appeared in one of his most high-profile roles to date, starring as a sexually conflicted schoolteacher in Frank Oz's 1997 comedy In & Out. His portrayal earned him another Golden Globe nomination, as well as a number of other accolades (including an MTV Award nomination for Best Kiss with Tom Selleck). Further praise followed for Kline the next year, when he turned in a stellar dramatic performance as an adulterous family man in 1973 Connecticut in Ang Lee's The Ice Storm. He then turned back to Shakespeare, portraying Bottom in the star-studded 1999 adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. His work in that film was so well received that it helped to overshadow his involvement in Wild Wild West, one of the most critically lambasted and financially disappointing films of the year.2001 found Kline returning to straight drama in the introspective Life as a House. The actor continued in this niche the following year, starring as an unorthodox prep school teacher in The Emperor's Club. After playing songwriter Cole Porter in the 2004 biopic De-Lovely, Kline began work on his return to comedy, a remake of the classic The Pink Panther, with him cast opposite Steve Martin.Kline played Guy Noir in Robert Altman's film adaptation of the radio program Prairie Home Companion, and fulfilled the hopes of Shakespeare enthusiasts around the world when he appeared in the Kenneth Branagh directed adaptation of As You Like It, marking the first time the two respected Shakespearean performers collaborated on a work by the Bard. Over the next several years, Kline woudl continue to remain a charismatic force on screen, appearing in films like De-Lovely, Definitely, Maybe, The Conspirator, No Strings Attached, Darling Companion, and TV shows like Bob's Burgers.

Trivia: The handsome blonde actor Cary Elwes (pronounced El-Ways) was born in London to a portrait painter and an interior designer. He moved to the U.S. to study at Sarah Lawrence College, but made his film debut in the U.K. with the coming-of-age drama Another Country (1984), co-starring alongside fellow handsome young actors Rupert Everett and Colin Firth. He soon started a pattern of appearing in historical dramas and other period pieces, first with Lady Jane (1985), opposite Helena Bonham Carter, and then as the lead role in Maschenka (1986), based on the book by Vladimir Nabokov. However, he didn't make his international film breakthrough until 1987 with Rob Reiner's classic adventure fairy tale The Princess Bride. He seemed to possess a timeless quality essential for the role of Westley, the sensitive-yet-daring farm boy who becomes the swashbuckling Dred Pirate Roberts and gallantly fights for his love. Continuing with historical films, he capably handled a Southern accent for the Civil War drama Glory and then tried a one-time stint as associate producer for the little-seen drama Leather Jackets. Next, he made a successful jump to broad comedy with lead roles in Hot Shots! (1991) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993). Switching to darker themes, he played Lord Arthur Holmwood in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) and Alicia Silverstone's object of obsession in The Crush (1993). The following year, he briefly returned to adventures for The Jungle Book before moving on to playing authority figures in the thrillers Twister and Kiss the Girls. In the late '90s, he voiced cartoons and appeared in a few made-for-TV movies and miniseries until 1999, when he transformed his usually slender frame for the role of portly producer John Houseman (Orson Welles' colleague) in Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock. He continued portraying cinematic legends in his next few films, including the German cinematographer Fritz Arno Wagner in Shadow of the Vampire and pioneering producer Thomas H. Ince in The Cat's Meow. In 2001,he played a reoccurring role on The X-Files as FBI Assistant Brad Follmer and returned to romantic comedy adventures as Prince Regent Edgar in Ella Enchanted (2003).He was the lead in the infamous 2004 slasher movie Saw, and had a lead part in the 2006 National Lampoon comedy Pucked. In 2007 he appeared in the ill-fated Lindsay Lohan movie Georgia Rule. He came back for Saw: The Final Chapter in 2010. 2011 turned out to be a busy year for Elwes with parts in the comedy No Strings Attached, the Spielberg-directed The Adventures of Tintin, and the ensemble romantic comedy New Year's Eve.

Trivia: Though she began her career with playwriting ambitions, Greta Gerwig soon skirted to fame as one of the preeminent actresses in "mumblecore" films. As led by the Amerindie filmmakers including Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha), Jay and Mark Duplass (The Puffy Chair), and Joe Swanberg (Hannah Takes the Stairs), this movement of early-21st century American cinema relied on shoestring budgets and characterized itself via such elements as shaky, handheld photography, loosely strung narratives, and ultra-informal, from-the-hip dialogue that sustained the illusion of complete spontaneity. Gerwig -- a graduate of Barnard College and a longtime resident and habitué of Brooklyn, NY -- first made her presence known in Swanberg's 2006 LOL (as a girl who sends pictures of herself to an admirer via cell phone), but only rocketed to fame the following year, as the lead in the same director's Hannah Takes the Stairs. In that feature, she fully evoked the complexities and contradictions of a young woman drifting through a long, hot Chicago summer and blithely but unsuccessfully attempting to fulfill her romantic yearnings. The picture (like LOL) immediately became a sensation and turned Gerwig into a screen favorite among enthusiasts of grassroots independent filmmaking. In many ways, however, 2008 represented Gerwig's breakthrough year -- the year that witnessed her essaying supporting roles in two additional mumblecore features (Yeast and Baghead) and posing a triple threat as lead actress, screenwriter, and co-director (alongside Swanberg) on Nights and Weekends. This off-center romantic comedy stars Gerwig and Swanberg as two geographically estranged lovers grappling with the impracticalities of a long-distance relationship.In 2010, Gerwig received rave reviews and critical acclaim as the female lead opposite Ben Stiller in Noah Baumbach's Greenberg. The next year, she moved to mainstream films, appearing in No Strings Attached and with Russell Brand in the remake of Arthur, and in 2012, played a supporting role in Woody Allen's To Rome With Love. Gerwig also continued to star in smaller movies, playing the title role in Lola Versus and reteaming with Baumbach for Frances Ha.

Trivia: The bewitching Lake Bell was born and raised in New York City, later heading across the state to Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs before making the leap across the pond to transfer to Rose Bruford College in London, England. It was there that she began to get her acting feet wet, appearing in numerous stage productions including The Pentecost and The Seagull. Bell returned to the States to begin her onscreen career, appearing on two episodes of the long-running drama ER and alongside Jeff Goldblum in the TV movie War Stories. In 2004, she took on the recurring role of Sally Heep on The Practice. When that series was canceled, she continued the role on its spin-off, Boston Legal, and stayed with the show as a regular until 2006. Bell also appeared as a main cast member on the shortlived series Miss Match and Surface before making the transition to the big screen. In 2008, she played a woman being haunted by the ghost of her boyfriend's ex-fiancée in Over Her Dead Body, alongside Paul Rudd and Eva Longoria Parker. In the years to come, Bell would maintain her position as a successful actress, appearing in movies like No Strings Attached, and movies like How to Make it in America and Childrens Hospital. She also stepped behind the camera, writing and directing the comedy In a World....

Trivia: Actress Olivia Thirlby accepted one of her earliest on-camera roles when she signed to work for director Paul Greengrass on his acclaimed docudrama United 93 -- and thereby delivered a haunting onscreen evocation of the late Nicole Carol Miller, 21-year-old college student and victim of one of the September 11th hijackings. Thirlby subsequently tackled supporting roles in such productions as David Gordon Green's explosive small-town drama Snow Angels (2007) and Jason Reitman's seriocomedy Juno (2007), then teamed up with Lili Taylor and X-Files stalwart David Duchovny for Vincent Perez's supernatural thriller The Secret (2007). The following year Thirlby made her stage debut in the 2008 off-Broadway production of Farragut North, and in 2009 she played the recurring role of Suzanne, Jonathan's ex-girlfriend, on HBO's Bored to Death. A supporting appearance in No Strongs Attached preceded a leading role in the sci-fi dud The Darkest Hour, and after lending her voice to David Gordon Green's animated comedy series Good Vibes, she landed the plum role of a young artist who upsets the delicate balance of a California household in the low-key drama Nobody Walks. But that was all talk, and Thirlby fans who craved a bit more action got exactly what they were looking for when she teamed with Karl Urban to battle a vicious gang of futuristic drug dealers in Dredd -- a feature adaptation of long-running comic strip that originated in the British science fiction comic 2000 A.D. (and was previously adapted for the screen in a 1995 Sylvester Stallone vehicle).

Trivia: One of a number of hip-hop musicians to successfully tackle a career in movies as well, Ludacris began his career as a humble radio DJ working in Atlanta, GA. He used the job as an opportunity to hone his skills as a musician and rapper, eventually hooking up with talents like super-producer Timbaland and getting signed to a subsidiary of Def Jam in 2000. He shortly thereafter released his first album, Inconegro, and soon became a household name, not to mention one of the most important forces in hip-hop. His fame was only boosted when, in 2002, he was signed to do a promotional deal with Pepsi, but the sponsorship was terminated when right-wing TV news shock-jocker Bill O'Reilly complained that Ludacris' image promoted violence. The controversy created much debate and attracted substantial attention, possibly more than the promo contract would have earned on its own, and the rapper's album sales continued to rise.It wasn't long before Ludacris' notoriety had movie directors tapping him to make appearances in their films. After a small role in 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious, he was cast in the 2005 film Hustle & Flow, a movie starring Terrence Howard as Djay, an aspiring rapper trying desperately to make it. Ludacris played Skinny Black, a world-famous hip-hop star who started out in Djay's hometown of Memphis. The movie became a critical success, and Ludacris followed it up with a 2006 appearance on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as the stepson of cast member Ice-T. His booming music career didn't make it easy, but Ludacris couldn't help signing onto another project in 2007, parodying his own street-tough image as a disgruntled elf in the Christmas comedy Fred Claus.

Trivia: Actor Jake Johnson began his career in the virgin territory of the Internet, appearing in the popular Michael Cera web series Clark and Michael in 2006. He would go on to make appearances on Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Unit, as well as in the David Mamet film Redbelt, before collaborating with Cera once again for 2009's Paper Heart. He appeared in the comedy Get Him to the Greek, and had a very busy 2011 with parts in No Strings Attached, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas, and a major part in the new FOX sitcom New Girl. He also appeared in the comic big-screen version of 21 Jump Street the next year.

Trivia: Enjoys hobbies such as bungee jumping and wine tasting. Did video-game voice-over work for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Blur and the White Knight Chronicles saga. Supports Habitat for Humanity.

Trivia: Born June 24, 1979, comedian and actress Mindy Kaling's portrayal of airhead Kelly Kapoor on the hit series The Office is so good, it's easy to forget that in real life, her considerable brain power has gone into producing and writing the show as well. Kaling graduated from Dartmouth College in 2001, but not before leaving her mark on the school's improv troupe The Dog Day Players, creating a comic strip in the Dartmouth newspaper called Badly Drawn Girl and portraying none other than male actor Ben Affleck in a satirical play that she co-wrote entitled Matt & Ben. The play went on to make Time Magazine's "Top Ten Theatrical Events of the Year" for 2003. Kaling joined the cast and crew of The Office in 2005. She also began appearing in feature films, starting with a cameo in Steve Carell's The 40-Year-Old Virgin and later appearing in Office co-star John Krasinski's romantic comedy License to Wed. Kaling left The Office at the beginning of the show's ninth season to produce and star in her own sitcom, The Mindy Project, on FOX.

Trivia: A longtime television actress who has also branched out into film, brunette beauty Talia Balsam also gained Hollywood recognition for her brief marriage to a pre-superstar George Clooney. Born to actors Martin Balsam and Joyce Van Patten in New York City in 1960, the young aspiring actress received her education at the Treehaven School in Tucson, AZ, before making her bid for the big-time shortly thereafter. In the late '70s, Balsam warmed to television audiences with recurring roles in the small-screen hits Happy Days and Taxi and feature roles in such made-for-TV films as The Survival of Dana and Sunnyside (both 1979) proved a testament to her dramatic range. A dizzying onslaught of similar television features followed, and the 1980s found Balsam becoming something of a staple in such made-for-TV efforts as Kent State (1981) and The Ladies (1987). Endearing roles on Family Ties and Punky Brewster provided just the right balance to such feature screamers as The Supernaturals (1986) and The Kindred (1987); by the time the 1990s rolled around, Balsam was married to up-and-comer Clooney and turning heads on Murder, She Wrote, thirtysomething, and Law & Order. Despite the fact that her most successful roles came with dramatic small-screen roles, Balsam continued to prove that she was an actress of little pretense by appearing in such quirky feature efforts as Coldblooded (1995) and Camp Stories (1997). Married to John Slattery following her divorce from Clooney in 1993, Balsam was later seen in the TV series L.A. Doctors and the feature Valerie Flake (1999).

Trivia: At 12 years old, lied and said she was 14 so she could book her first professional job on The Wilsons. Attended the Young Blood Theater Group with Carey Mulligan. Based her west-coast American accent on American movies and soap operas, and practiced it before moving to Los Angeles. Did tongue-twisters to warm up for the vocally-demanding role of Pippi Pepenopolis in Mr. Popper's Penguins. Taped an audition with her mom for Elementary; was offered the role 24 hours later.

Trivia: Made his acting debut at the age of 12. Starred on the Sydney stage in such productions as The Graduate and Stag. Was nominated for a Logie Award for Most Popular New Male Talent in 2007, for the Australian soap Neighbours.

Trivia: South African-born actor Adhir Kalyan first caught the eye of stateside television viewers when cast in the as a Pakistani Muslim exchange student who came to live with a typical suburban American family in the CW sitcom Aliens in America. Though he had previously appeared in episodes of such U.K. television dramas as Spooks and Holby City, Kaylan's part on Aliens in America was his first regular small-screen role on either side of the pond. In 2009 Kalyan joined the cast of the David Spade sitcom Rules of Engagement, but continued to juggle a feature career with bit roles in such films as Up in the Air, High School and No Strings Attached.

Trivia: Actor Brian Dierker took one of his first onscreen bows with a memorable character portrayal: that of Rainey, a middle-aged hippie who becomes one of two parental figures for lost soul Christopher McCandless (Emile Hirsch), in the harrowing Sean Penn-directed biopic Into the Wild (2007). For that picture, Dierker, Hirsch, and the rest of the cast gleaned a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Trivia: Left college to join the cast of Saturday Night Live; was the youngest female cast member in the show's history. Third generation of the Elliott family to be featured on Saturday Night Live: her father Chris was a cast member during the 1994-95 season, and her grandfather Bob Elliott appeared in a 1978 episode.

Trivia: Received a basketball scholarship to Brandeis University, but dropped out of school. By the time he graduated college at San Diego State University, he was 31 years old. Met his wife in 1969; eventually they set off for 14 months of globetrotting with a dog named Ubu, which later became the name of his production company. They didn't marry until 1990. Once lived with his future wife and dog in a cave in Greece. Starred in the 1972 Israeli TV series The Adventures of Scooterman, which helped teach children language arts. Steven and Elyse Keaton, the parents in his series Family Ties (1982-89), were based on him and his wife. Originally wanted Matthew Broderick for the role of Alex Keaton on Family Ties, but the casting director pestered him until he finally agreed to hire Michael J. Fox. In 2008, published his memoir, Sit, Ubu, Sit: How I Went From Brooklyn to Hollywood With the Same Woman, the Same Dog, and a Lot Less Hair.

Trivia: Comedian Nasim Pedrad was born in Iran, but grew up in Irvine, CA. She attended UCLA's School of Theatre before moving on to appear in the Groundlings, Improv Olympics, and Upright Citizen's Brigade. In 2009, Pedrad's sketch comedy skills were put to the test when she joined the cast of Saturday Night Live. She appeared in the romantic comedy No Strings Attached, and provided a voice in The Lorax.

Trivia: Met her husband when they were both backup dancers for Latin pop singer Chayanne in 2006. Joined the High School Musical tour in 2006. Danced in Cher's Las Vegas show for a year. Chosen as a principle dancer for Michael Jackson's This Is It tour; subsequently appeared in the 2009 documentary of the same name. Was paired with Bill Nye for her first season on Dancing with the Stars in 2013.

Trivia: Attended the Acting Corps L.A.Is the principal dancer in Beyoncé's music video "Run the World (Girls)."Avid dancer in many styles including tap, ballroom and hip hop.Special skills include yoga, running, gymnastics, rollerblading, bowling and cheerleading.Appeared in television, film, theater, commercials, music videos and print advertising.

Trivia: As a child actor, Tim Matheson was billed under his fuller family name of Matthieson. His first weekly TV co-starring assignment was opposite Robert Young in the 1961 "dramedy" Window on Main Street. The young actor's voice became familiar to a generation of cartoon fans via his "role" as the title character in Hanna-Barbera's Jonny Quest. The handsome Matheson appeared on-screen during his maturation years on such western series as The Virginian, Bonanza, and The Quest. He remained busy in films during this period, scoring his biggest 1970s success as party animal Otter in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). Matheson also kept his hand in the voiceover business, providing the truculent mutterings of "Blood" the dog in Harlan Ellison's A Boy and His Dog (1975) and recording the narration for the 1985 revival of Disney's Fantasia. His adult TV appearances have included weekly stints on the TV series Tucker's Witch (1982), Just in Time, (1988) and Charlie Hoover (1991). Turning to directing in 1985, Matheson has been active in episodic television, music videos and direct-to-cassette movies. In 1989, he became CEO of the National Lampoon Company, though he still manages to find time for the occasional acting assignment, appearing in everything from the theatrical feature Drop Dead Fred to the live-action prologue for one of the "thrill rides" at Disneyworld.

Trivia: Moved to Florida from Chicago with her family when she was 6 years old. Won a Young Artist Award for her work in the film Flipped (2010). Released her first EP, New Girl in Town, in 2009. Is an ambassador for Cookies for Kids Cancer.