Trivia: A respected actress of the stage, screen, and television, Angela Bassett has been one of the few African-American actresses to break Hollywood's color boundary. She has specialized in playing strong women familiar with adversity and has worked in genres from "chick flick" (Waiting to Exhale) to sci-fi action (Strange Days) to biography (What's Love Got to Do with It?), the last of which featured her in a star-making performance as Tina Turner.Born in New York City on August 16, 1958, Bassett was raised in St. Petersburg, Florida by her mother. Growing up in a household where money was tight, she was taught determination and independence. These values were called into service after an eleventh grade Upward Bound trip to Washington, D.C., when Bassett saw James Earl Jones in a Kennedy Center production of Of Mice and Men. Deciding that acting was her calling, she became involved in a number of local productions in St. Petersburg. She continued to act at Yale University, where she earned a scholarship; after completing a B.A. in African-American studies, she also spent three years at the Yale School of Drama. One of Bassett's mentors at Yale was the drama school's dean, stage director Lloyd Richards, who was so impressed with her talent that he cast her in two of his productions, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Joe Turner's Come and Gone. Although she enjoyed relative success on the stage, Bassett, like other African-American actors, had a difficult time finding roles in television and film.In 1986, Bassett made her screen debut in the cult favorite F/X. Following supporting roles in Kindergarten Cop (1990) and John Sayles' City of Hope (1991), she had her first significant screen role in John Singleton's acclaimed Boyz 'N the Hood, playing a struggling single mother. Two years later, after playing the wife of civil rights leader Malcolm X in Spike Lee's biopic and the Jackson Family matriarch in the made-for-TV The Jacksons: An American Dream, Bassett had her screen breakthrough as Tina Turner in What's Love Got to Do with It?, a performance that earned her a Best Actress Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe. As her newfound status allowed her to expand her range of work, Bassett went on to star in a series of diverse films. In 1995, a foray into futuristic action in Strange Days was complemented by a lead in the successful women's ensemble drama Waiting to Exhale (based on the novel by Terry McMillan), in which Bassett starred alongside Whitney Houston, Lela Rochon, and Loretta Devine. In 1998, she starred as the title character in another McMillan adaptation, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, playing a divorcee whose discontent is ably assuaged by a hunky twenty-year-old (Taye Diggs). The following year, she had a supporting role in Music of the Heart and again tried her hand at action in Supernova, a sci-fi thriller. Starring in former Orson Welles collaborator and blacklisted director John Berry's critically panned swansong Boesman and Lena in 2000, Bassett (along with co-star Danny Glover) earned praise for their sensitive performances as a troubled South African couple striving to seek stability in the face of Apartheid.Her career continued to evolve with a part in The Score in 2001. The next year she executive produced and starred in a biopic about civil rights figure Rosa Parks. She was part of the large ensemble John Sayles brought together for Sunshine State, and co-starred opposite Bernie Mac in the sports comedy Mr. 3000. In 2006 she played the mother in the spelling bee drama Akeelah and the Bee, and she continued to land parts in big-budget blockbusters such as Green Lantern and This Means War.Since 1997, Bassett has been married to actor Courtney B. Vance, whom she had known since their days at Yale.

Trivia: Though his role on what many considered to be the smartest weekly series on television (Sports Night) may have made him a household name in a perfect world, boyish but handsome actor Peter Krause found himself inexplicably unemployed following the show's unfortunately all-too-short run. Born August 12th, 1965, in Alexandria, MN, in 1965, Krause spent his youth immersed heavily in track and field and gymnastics. Following a career-ending high school pole-vaulting injury, Krause took to the stage during his education at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN, on the age-old pretense of meeting a girl. Though he wasn't thrilled with the role he essayed, Krause soon took a shine to acting and decided to pursue a career in New York University's Master of Fine Arts acting program. Working as a bartender with writer Aaron Sorkin at the Palace Theater while living in the city, Krause moved to Los Angeles following graduation and landed television roles in Carol and Company, Beverly Hills 90210, and Seinfeld thanks in part to friend and fellow N.Y.U. student Camryn Manheim. Following a turn on television's Cybill in 1995, Krause got his big feature break with a role in The Truman Show three years later. With his role as a member of a mortistically inclined family in HBO's Six Feet Under, Krause found himself a key member of yet another talented cast on yet another critically praised series.In 2004, Krause portrayed a struggling poet and professor in the critically acclaimed marriage drama We Don't Love Here Anymore, and continued to work on Six Feet Under until the series' powerful conclusion in 2005. Krause returned to television to star in ABC's prime time drama Dirty Sexy Money. The show, which lasted for two seasons between 2007 an 2009, followed Nick George (Krause), a lawyer and family man determined to investigate the circumstances surrounding his father's mysterious death. The actor also appeared in the NBC comedy drama Parenthood, and joined the casat of 2011's edgy fantasy film Beastly.

Trivia: Personifying the type of teen spirit most commonly found in Noxzema ads and pep squad meets, actress Jennifer Love Hewitt has brought new meaning to the word "effervescent." The 1990s saw Hewitt go from relative obscurity to a bona fide teen queen, to say nothing of one of the most frequently enshrined actresses on the Internet.Hewitt was born on February 21, 1979 in Waco, TX. She made her first appearance on television in 1984 in the show Kids Incorporated (which, coincidentally, once guest-starred Scott Wolf, her Party of Five co-star). She also did a multitude of commercials, even doing a stint as a LA Gear spokesgirl at the age of ten. After spending the majority of the 80s working in television, Hewitt got her first film role in the 1993 film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, but it wasn't until she got her big break as Sarah Reeves on Party of Five (1994) that she began to gain recognition. More recognition came, first in the form of Trojan War (1997), and then from I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). The film, which capitalized on the growing trend in teen horror flicks catalyzed by Wes Craven's Scream (1996), proved to be immensely popular among audiences, if not critics. It was predictably followed by a sequel, the aptly titled I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998). In addition to her film work, which also included 1998's Can't Hardly Wait, Hewitt maintained her role in Party of Five and continued to star in commercials, most notably as the Neutrogena spokesgirl.

Trivia: Studied at the North London Performing Arts Centre until the age of 16. At the last minute, decided against his plan to pursue a career in economics at university, and, with encouragement from his headmaster, opted to follow his passion for acting. Honed his craft by appearing in low-budget short films and in various theater productions, most notably in the role of Eden in the Fifth Dimension Theatre Company's Fatal Excuses, for which he was hailed as "phenomenal" and "breathtaking." Made his first television appearance in a November 2011 episode of the BBC1 series Casualty, followed by roles in Luther opposite Idris Elba and NBC's Dracula starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Trivia: Took tap-dancing lessons in junior-high school. Took classes at the American Theatre of Harlem. Made her TV debut on the ABC series NYPD Blue in 2003. In 2004 earned her first small-screen regular role on The Shield. Breakthrough movie role was in the 2005 crime drama Assault on Precinct 13.

Trivia: Appeared in commercials for Priceline, Blockbuster, Mercedes-Benz and Bombay Sapphire Gin. Provides voices for the video games Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Captain America: Super Soldier. Did a lot of research on World War II for his role in 2011's Captain America:The First Avenger, and participated in stunt and weapons training. In 2011, participated in the inaugural CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) Celebrity Poker Tournament. First full-time series role was the 2013 reboot of Ironside. Is such a big fan of Chicago's Aurelio's Pizza that he has them air-shipped to his home twice a year.

Trivia: A theatrically trained actor who has subsequently made a name for himself as a valuable film and television commodity, Rockmond Dunbar is much more than just another charismatic performer -- he's also a talented producer and director. It was Dunbar's role on the mid-'90s sci-fi show Earth 2 that first served to introduce the ambitious cinematic Renaissance man to viewers, with subsequent appearances on The Practice and Felicity preceding more substantial roles on Girlfriends and Soul Food -- the latter of which found Dunbar winning over critics and viewers as a dedicated family man and hardworking entrepreneur. Additional roles in such independent films as Punks, All About You, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Dirty Laundry showed an actor who was as charismatic on the big screen as he was on the small one, with behind-the-scenes work on Dirty Laundry and the 2003 drama The Great Commission marking his arrival as a producer and director as well. In 2005, Dunbar resurfaced on the small screen in a role that couldn't have been more different than the one he previously played in Soul Food. Cast as hardened prison inmate "C-Note" on the hit Fox series Prison Break, Dunbar portrayed his most compelling television character to date. From inmate to medico, the versatile star named one of "Television's 50 Sexiest Stars of All Time" by TV Guide could next be seen as compassionate Dr. Tom Jonas on the small-screen medical drama Heartland. Dunbar continued to showcase strong TV work in the coming years, with guest roles on Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice and the Closer and long recurring arcs on The Game, The Mentalist and Sons of Anarchy.

Trivia: Wanted to be a professional baseball pitcher, but suffered a shoulder injury in college. Started as a model, doing print ads and commercials for brands like Old Navy, Abercrombie & Fitch and Reebok. Had no formal dance training before booking the lead in Step Up Revolution. Did a semi-nude photo shoot for Cosmopolitan UK in 2015 to raise awareness for Cancer Research UK.

Trivia: A leading and supporting actress of television and feature films, willowy, green-eyed, red-haired Connie Britton may be best known for playing Nikki opposite Michael J. Fox in the ABC sitcom Spin City. Prior to that, she had a semi-regular role on the network's comedy Ellen. Born in Boston, she has a fraternal twin sister (whom she claims is her exact opposite). They were raised in Lynchburg, VA, after the age of seven. Britton's interest in acting developed at a young age, something her parents avidly supported. While majoring in Asian studies at Dartmouth, she still found time to participate in theatrical productions. For a while she studied Chinese in Beijing, an exercise she states helped her as an actress because it broadened her view of the world. Following graduation, she spent two years studying under Sanford Meisner at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse and another two years appearing on the New York stage. Movie director Ed Burns was responsible for her film debut playing Molly in his acclaimed The Brothers McMullen (1995). The film was a hit at Sundance and won two major awards. Shortly thereafter, she moved to Hollywood, obtained an agent, and before long found herself joining the cast of Spin City. She would go on to star in series like 24, Friday Night Lights, and American Horror Story.

Trivia: Despite her efforts to be taken seriously as an actress, Brooke Shields has been unable to escape her youth, during which time she found herself in the precarious position of simultaneously being idolized as a late-'70s icon of adolescent wholesome virginal innocence and being constantly photographed in manners verging on the mildly pornographic. Shields' early career was managed and pushed by her mother, Teri Shields, a small-time actress who placed her daughter in front of the camera before she was even one. As the Ivory Snow baby, Shields was once hailed as the "most beautiful baby in America." After spending many years hawking products, she was in such demand that her mother started marketing her under the logo "Brooke Shields & Co." Shields made her feature film debut in Alice Sweet Alice (1976), but did not become a bona fide star until French director Louis Malle cast her as a 12-year-old New Orleans prostitute who becomes the romantic obsession of a much older painter in Pretty Baby (1978). The film was released amidst great controversy because of the scenes in which Shields (or a body double representing her) appeared nude. But while she did participate in some adult scenes, those moments were handled with taste and discretion by Malle and his cinematographer, Sven Nyquist, and the general consensus was that Shields was not exploited in the film. Thus far, her acting in Pretty Baby remains Shields' best. Through her teens, Shields was among the world's top fashion models and her countenance was everywhere. Controversy again stirred when she did some provocative ads for Calvin Kline in which she was seen wearing a too tight pair of jeans and cooed, "Nothing comes between me and my Calvins." This was in contrast to her other ads in which she advised young girls to abstain from sex and a different campaign against smoking. At the peak of her fame, Shields appeared three times on the cover of Life magazine and once on the cover of Time. Her film career picked up around this time with appearances in such venues as King of the Gypsies (1978) and Wanda Nevada (1979), but her best-known film is the so-bad-it's-good The Blue Lagoon (1980) in which she and teenage hunk Christopher Atkins find themselves shipwrecked for years on a desert island. Ostensibly, the film is a tender tale about innocence and true love, but it's primarily a titillating romp filled with plenty of flesh shots of Shields and Atkins' taut, tanned, and partially clad bodies. In 1981, Shields tried her hand with a more serious role in Franco Zeffirelli's tepid teen romance Endless Love, but did not succeed. Shields decided it was time for college and so enrolled in Princeton, where but for the occasional appearance on a Bob Hope television special, made-for-TV movie, or other special event, she immersed herself in college life. While there, she majored in French Literature and also became interested in the theater, gaining experience in two regional productions of Love Letters. Shields graduated from Princeton with honors. Upon her graduation, Shields returned to acting full time and appeared in films that can most kindly be described as mediocre. In 1996, Shields was given her own situation comedy on NBC network's Suddenly Susan, where she played a single career girl struggling to reassemble her life following her breakup with her wealthy fiancé. Though never among the most natural and relaxed of actresses, Shields gradually grew into her role and proved to be a competent, charismatic comedy actress, turning in guest appearances on popular television shows such as That 70s Show, Nip/Tuck, Two and a Half Men, and Hannah Montana after Suddenly Susan went off the air in 2000. Meanwhile, on Broadway, Shields could bee seen in revivals of Grease, Cabaret, and Chicago before taking over the role of Morticia Addams in the Broadway musical version of The Addams Family. In 1997 Shields married tennis great Andre Agassi, but the union only lasted two years and in 2001 she was wed to television producer Chris Henchy.

Trivia: The daughter of actress Demi Moore and actor Bruce Willis, Rumer Willis debuted onscreen with two roles opposite her mother: a bit part at the age of six in the ensemble seriocomedy Now and Then (1995, billed as Willa Glen), and a more substantial supporting role as Moore's onscreen daughter in the notorious (but lucrative) Andrew Bergman farce Striptease (1996). Willis' show-business activity grew prolific in the late 2000s; the summer of 2008 witnessed her debut as a jazz vocalist at Teddy's on Hollywood Boulevard, and at around the same time, the then-19-year-old actress graced the casts of several films, including a supporting role in the comedy The House Bunny, opposite Anna Faris. Willis then signed for another supporting turn in a teen comedy, Dana Lustig's Wild Cherry (2009). She then took a on a recurring role on the CW's teen soap 90210, playing the love interest of Jessica Lowndes' character, Adrianna. Willis continued to work in TV, nabbing guest roles on shows like Hawaii Five-0 and Pretty Little Liars. In 2015, she won season 20 of Dancing with the Stars, with pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy.

Trivia: Of Indonesian and Chinese descent.Was discovered by an agent in a mall when she was 7.Was in her high school choir.Co-starred in the web series Junior Eye with her sister Haley.The second Asian American actress featured in the TV series Liv & Maddie.

Trivia: Moved to Lewes, England from Hong Kong with his family when he was 9. Performed opposite Kevin Spacey in the Bridge Project's stage production of Richard III. Was named one of Backstage Magazine's 30 Actors on the Brink of Stardom in 2012.

Trivia: African-American supporting actress Tracie Thoms first arrived on the Hollywood scene in the early 2000s, and worked steadily thereafter, landing a covetous string of roles in many of Hollywood's most hotly anticipated films. She played Andrea in the riotous Tribeca-produced frat-boy comedy Porn 'n Chicken (2002), then tackled the role of Mahandra, the acerbic best friend of the even more acerbic Jaye Tyler (Caroline Dhavernas), on the short-lived cult fantasy series Wonderfalls (2004). In 2005 and 2006, respectively, Thoms tackled sizeable roles in the Chris Columbus-directed musical Rent and the David Frankel-helmed box-office smash The Devil Wears Prada. Additionally, in 2006, Thoms got promoted from a previously recurring role to a regular character -- Kat Miller -- on the hit detective series Cold Case. She then geared up for Death Proof, Quentin Tarantino's half of the Grindhouse double-bill, as the garrulous Kim, one of three no-nonsense female vigilantes who take on Kurt Russell's psychopath Stuntman Mike.

Trivia: Has worked as a contributor for Showbiz Tonight and Access Hollywood Live.Has worked as a writer and director at Funny or Die.Creator and host of the Webby Award winning video series That's Gay.Alumni of The Groundlings' Sunday Company.Co-creator and co-host of Throwing Shade.Performs live on tour with Throwing Shade Live and at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles.

Trivia: Is an alumnus of the improvisational and sketch comedy group Upright Citizens Brigade.Is reportedly left-handed.Co-founded the production and media strategy company Motiv Creative.Creates content for political advocacy groups, such as Represent.Us, with his brother.Is a supporter of One Love Foundation whose aim is to educate youths about healthy and unhealthy relationships to help them identify and avoid abuse, and learn how to love better.

Trivia: Best known for playing Mickey, Edward Woodward's trusty assistant in the television series The Equalizer, Keith Szarabajka was also a feature film supporting actor who made his debut in Marshall Brickman's Simon (1980). He then divided his time between feature films and television movies such as Nightlife (1989).