Trivia: Multi-talented teen star Nick Cannon was born in San Diego, CA, in 1980. He was introduced to the entertainment industry as a dancer on Soul Train and as a standup comedian in Los Angeles. Like many of his teen-star brethren, Cannon quickly found a home on the Nickelodeon cable channel. During the 1998 season, he joined the cast of the teen sketch comedy show All That. During this time, he could be seen all over the channel, from Snick show host to series writer on Cousin Skeeter and Kenan & Kel. Also a songwriter and rapper, Cannon's cover of "Parents Just Don't Understand" (originally recorded by DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince) appeared on the soundtrack to the Nickelodeon animated feature Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. After a few bit parts in the feature films Whatever It Takes and Men in Black II, he got ready to make his media breakthrough in film, television, and music.Cannon's first starring role came in the 2002 musical drama Drumline. He played Devon, a percussionist from Harlem who joins the competitive show-style marching band at Atlanta A & T University. His song "I'm Scared of You" appeared on the soundtrack. The same year, he created The Nick Cannon Show (along the same lines as The Amanda Show for his All That co-star Amanda Bynes). He then gained a lot of exposure with the romantic comedy Love Don't Cost a Thing (with a story borrowed from the '80s romantic comedy Can't Buy Me Love). On the soundtrack, he performs with Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, and Chingy for the song "Shorty (Put It on the Floor)." In December of 2003, he released his self-titled debut album on Jive Records. He collaborated with several big names, including R. Kelly on the hit single "Gigolo." Film projects for 2004 include the feature films Shall We Dance? and The Underclassman. In 2006 Cannon would strap on his rollerskates for the retro-minded comedy drama Roll Bounce, and after appearing alongside an impressive cast of players that included Forest Whitaker, Kelsey Grammer, and Danny DeVito in the gambling drama Even Money, the fast-maturing actor would earn his first voice credit as the titular hopper in The Adventures of Brer Rabbit. His voice well-suited to the world of animation, Cannon would step back into the recording booth to provide the voice for trigger-happy Office Lister in the computer animated family comedy Monster House. Next, Cannon took direction from Emilio Estevez with a role in the actor turn director's Robert F. Kennedy biopic Bobby, before doing a turn in the zombie horror flick Day of the Dead in 2008. Cannon's star would rise considerably the next year, as he not only took on hosting duties of the competitive reality show America's Got Talent, but also married pop star Mariah Carey. The very public couple soon became very public parents to a pair of twins, and soon Cannon's professional life was reflecting his personal life, as he took on a recurring role in the parenthood themed sitcom Up All Night in 2011. After the series ended, Cannon continued to work as a producer, host and occasional actor.

Trivia: Rarely do beauty and talent combine in a form so complimentary to each other than in the case of actress Zoe Saldana. Whether gracefully gliding across the stage in dance, pounding the boards in a play, or lighting up the screen in such popular films as Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the multi-faceted Saldana seems capable of achieving anything she puts her mind to. The New Jersey native was raised in Queens until the age of ten, when her family relocated to the Dominican Republic. The move proved a fateful blessing when young Saldana discovered her love of dance and enrolled in the ECOS Espacio de Danza Academy shortly thereafter, where she would study ballet, jazz, and modern Latin dance. Following her sophomore year in high school, Saldana and her family returned to the U.S. It was while completing her primary studies stateside that Saldana became involved with the Faces theater troupe, whose aim was to make a positive impact on teenage audiences by performing improvisational skits on such issues as substance abuse and sexuality. Involvement with another troupe, the New York Youth Theater, provided more traditional stage experience through such productions as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, and it was while performing with that troupe that a talent agent recognized great potential in the burgeoning actress. In 1999, Saldana received what seemed to be the ideal first film role when she was cast as a talented but snippy dancer vying for a spot at the fictional American Ballet Company in the dance drama Center Stage. Other film roles followed, including Get Over It, Snipes, and a featured part in the Britney Spears teen drama Crossroads, which offered Saldana's first major theatrical release. Widely panned by critics but performing moderately at the box office thanks to legions of Spears fans, Crossroads proved just the fuel needed to get Saldana's struggling feature career running. The following year, she was back on the big screen in Drumline, which found her once again utilizing her dance skills as a college dance major and love interest of the talented but conflicted protagonist. Though her subsequent role as the sole female pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean offered little screen time, her performance as the only woman able to cast a spell over Johnny Depp's charismatic Jack Sparrow offered one of the film's most memorable comic scenes. Back on the indie circuit, Saldana headlined the 2003 rock musical Temptation as a talented singer facing hard times. A brief turn as a by-the-books customs officer in Steven Spielberg's The Terminal found the charming Saldana slowly warming to an immigrant stuck in bureaucratic limbo (played by Tom Hanks).She was the female lead in Guess Who in 2005 and continued to work steadily. However, in 2009 she broke through in a big way when she was cast as Uhura in J.J. Abrams Star Trek reboot, and later that year she was the female lead in James Cameron's mega-smash Avatar. She followed that up with the action film The Losers in 2010, and was front and center in another action spectacle, Columbiana, the year after that. She reprised her role in the sequel Star Trek Into Darkness in 2013, and played Gamora in the 2014 smash Guardians of the Galaxy, ensuring her place in yet another action franchise.

Trivia: A comic actor who began his Hollywood career working behind the scenes, Orlando Jones is more than just the popular pitch man exhorting the 2000-2001 TV audience to "Make 7-Up Yours." Raised in South Carolina, Jones discovered acting when he was cast in a school play while attending the College of Charleston. Aiming to make it in show business one way or another, Jones also formed Homeboy's Productions and Advertising while in college. Jones got his break, however, when a Hollywood visitor in Charleston saw him perform and signed him up, leading to a writing job on the Cosby Show spin-off A Different World. Jones then wrote for the sitcom Roc in 1991 and became a producer on The Sinbad Show in 1993. Jones finally got to act as well as write when he was cast in Fox's sketch comedy show Mad TV in 1995. After two seasons, Jones left the series and moved to films with a small part in Seinfeld co-creator Larry David's first feature Sour Grapes (1998). Jones managed to work consistently in movies from then on, with bit parts in Mike Judge's comedy Office Space (1999) and Paul Thomas Anderson's Magnolia (1999), as well as a starring role in Barry Levinson's praised but little-seen nostalgia piece Liberty Heights (1999). In 2000, Jones made his mark in TV advertising as the humorously incompetent advocate for 7-Up, enhancing his potential as a comic draw. Jones' lead role as one of the hapless scabs in The Replacements (2000) and a multi-character turn in Harold Ramis' version of Bedazzled (2000) further revealed his goofy versatility. After his action-comedy vehicle Double Take was a January 2001 washout, Jones was poised to team with Ivan Reitman for the latter's summer 2001 sci-fi comedy Evolution.Still, Jones retired as 7-Up's pitch man in early 2002, and would spend the 2000's nurturing his film and TV career, appearing in Runaway Jury and Drumline, as well as TV shows, like The Adventures of Chico and Guapo and Rules of Engagement.

Trivia: Heroes star Leonard Roberts was certainly no stranger to television before being cast on NBC's hit fantasy series. A prolific small-screen presence since the mid-'90s, Roberts had already essayed recurring roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Providence, and Smallville by the time he joined the cast of Heroes as fugitive D.L. Hawkins, who never settled in one place for too long while attempting to elude authorities. In addition to his series work, Roberts has also appeared in such features as Love Jones, Hoodlum, Drumline, and Joe and Max -- the latter of which found the actor cast in the role of legendary heavyweight champion Joe Louis.

Trivia: Don't be fooled by the formidable and highly memorable one-armed push-ups actress Candace Carey so effortlessly executed in the 2002 sleeper hit Drumline -- there's much more to this budding actress than a strong arm and a pretty face. A Florida native whose screen debut found the quick-footed eight-year-old jumping rope in the 1986 action feature Band of the Hand, the talented youngster subsequently appeared in numerous commercials before moving on to appear in such features as Winner Takes All and Big Trouble. As the aspiring actress moved into her teens, education became a priority, though time spent away from the spotlight only fed Carey's hunger for success. By the time she finished school, Carey was prepared to fully explore her onscreen potential, and just a few years after appearing in advertisements for Mastercard and Pepsi, she returned to the big screen to impress movie lovers with a winning performance in Drumline. In April of 2003, the philanthropic actress was awarded the Proclamation of Honor in her home state of Florida for her efforts and contributions to various charities and volunteer organizations. Determined to hang on to her success and good fortune the second time around, Carey was soon back on the screen facing off against the malevolent spirit of H.H. Holmes -- America's first serial killer -- in the 2005 horror film The Evil One.

Trivia: Studied at Denmark Technical College in Denmark, South Carolina.Started his career in comedy after performing a routine in a gong show contest at a local nightclub in Atlanta, Georgia.In 1989, moved to Los Angeles to work on television and started working as a writer.In 1993, was awarded a Peabody Award and a NAACP Image Award.Is a tailor by trade and wanted to be a clothing designer.Owner of the J. Anthony Brown Comedy Store, the J. Anthony Brown Collection and the J. Spot Clothing Store.

Trivia: Character actor Afemo Omilami built a career out of portraying gritty, urban types in Hollywood features, often with an aggressive edge, such as taxi drivers, longshoremen, barkeeps, drill sergeants, and angry spouses. Omilami debuted onscreen in the late '70s and evolved into an increasingly common screen presence as the years passed. The dozens of projects in which he appeared include the Tom Hanks-Shelley Long disaster comedy The Money Pit (1986), the Sydney Pollack-directed legal thriller The Firm (1993), Best Picture winner Forrest Gump (1994) (as a screaming drill sergeant), and the Ray Charles biopic Ray (2004). In 2007, Omilami joined the cast of director Deborah Kampmeier's rape-themed period drama Hounddog.

Trivia: Best known for his longtime tenure as a sports anchor on the ESPN cable network (particularly on its SportsCenter series), Stuart Scott drew both fans and detractors for his vociferous, street-smart, urban mentality that made heavy use of slang and demonstrated no attempt to present varnished opinions in commenting on various sporting events. He made a number of guest appearances -- usually in cameos as himself -- in A-list feature films. These included the Bernie Mac-headlined sports comedy Mr. 3000 (2004), the Lindsay Lohan-starring Disney sequel Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005), and the Rock-headlined sports comedy The Game Plan (2007). Stuart died in 2015, at age 49.