Trivia: An actress who has been noted equally for her talent and beauty, Sanaa Lathan first caught the attention of critics and audiences alike in a series of witty, thought-provoking late-'90s films about the lives of young African-Americans. Featured prominently in such ensemble pieces as The Best Man and The Wood (both 1999), Lathan won her first starring role in Gina Prince-Bythewood's widely acclaimed Love & Basketball (2000), playing a talented basketball player who finds her professional dreams complicated by her relationship with her boyfriend and her own expectations of herself. Lathan's work in the film, along with her performance that same year in Prince-Bythewood's HBO movie Disappearing Acts, announced the actress as a charismatic new talent to watch. Born on October 19, 1971, Lathan -- whose first name is Swahili for "work of art" -- was the second oldest of five children born to Broadway actress and dancer Eleanor McCoy and director/producer Stan Lathan. Surrounded by show business since day one, Lathan began training in dance and gymnastics at an early age. Following her parents' divorce, she grew up shuttling between her mother's home in New York and Los Angeles, where her father lived. During her undergraduate education at UC Berkeley, where she studied English and toyed with the idea of becoming a lawyer, Lathan became involved with the Black Theater Workshop. Thanks in part to her stage experiences with the Workshop, she was encouraged to try out for the Yale School of Drama, where she was ultimately accepted.Following her training at Yale, where she performed in a number of Shakespeare's plays, Lathan earned acclaim both off-Broadway and on the Los Angeles stage. Encouraged by her father to make L.A. her professional base, the young actress found early TV work on episodes of such shows as Family Matters, NYPD Blue, and Moesha. During that same period, she won raves and a Best Actress nod from the Los Angeles NAACP Theatrical Award Committee for her performance in To Take Arms.In 1998, Lathan earned a degree of big-screen recognition with her role as the mother of Wesley Snipes' title character in Blade. She followed this the subsequent year with back-to-back turns in The Best Man and The Wood. The former was a comedic ensemble piece starring Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau Jr., and Monica Calhoun, and featured Lathan as Diggs' girlfriend; while the latter, another ensemble piece starring Diggs, Omar Epps, and Richard T. Jones, cast her as the love interest of Epps, who also happened to be her real-life boyfriend. In 1999, Lathan played yet another girlfriend, this time Eddie Murphy's, in Ted Demme's comedy Life. Lathan and Epps were reunited onscreen in Prince-Bythewood's Love & Basketball, this time playing a couple as passionate about basketball as they are about each other. The widely lauded film served as a break-out role for Lathan, who was finally able to play a leading character instead of the girlfriend of one. Her work in Love & Basketball earned her Best Actress nominations for both the N.A.A.C.P. Image Award and the Independent Spirit Award. That same year, Lathan earned additional acclaim for her work in the multicultural comedy Catfish in Black Bean Sauce and for her second collaboration with Prince-Bythewood, Disappearing Acts. Based on a novel by Terry McMillan, the HBO movie cast Lathan as an aspiring singer/songwriter in love with a carpenter, played by her Blade co-star Wesley Snipes. For her work in the film Lathan earned an Essence Award for Best Actress, as well as the added assurance of a very busy work schedule.

Trivia: Fair-haired Australian actor Simon Baker (occasionally billed as Simon Baker-Denny, and not to be confused with the Native American performer of the same name) specialized in playing suave, cultured, and sophisticated types, with many assignments as a romantic lead. He debuted as a performer in his native country, with roles on such popular Oceanian series as E Street (1989), Heartbreak High (1994), and Naked (1995), but made the Hollywood leap opposite fellow Aussie import Russell Crowe with a small supporting role in the Curtis Hanson-directed post-noir blockbuster L.A. Confidential (1997). Taking the success of this as a cue, Baker then accepted a lead in the similar, albeit less-favorably received, outing Judas Kiss (1998). He starred opposite Val Kilmer and Carrie-Anne Moss in Red Planet (2000), and opposite Hilary Swank in The Affair of the Necklace (2001), but achieved far greater recognition and acclaim in the lead role on the CBS drama series The Guardian (2001-2004). He played Nick Fallin, a coke-addled attorney who finds redemption via child advocacy, until the series was canceled after three seasons. Successive projects included a turn in the big-budget horror sequel The Ring Two (2005); a role as Anne Hathaway's prospective suitor (whom she rejects in favor of her career) in David Frankel's The Devil Wears Prada (2006); and a part as one half of an interracial couple in Something New, opposite Sanaa Lathan. Meanwhile, at about the same time, Baker played Jeff Breen, a professional thief, on the short-lived CBS crime series Smith, starring Ray Liotta. In fall 2008, Baker headlined the new detective series The Mentalist, playing an investigator with razor-sharp obervational skills. He also took on the lead role -- as a parent who opens up a nasty Pandora's box when he searches for his missing daughter -- in director Dror Soref's supernatural horror outing Not Forgotten (2008). He earned an Emmy nomination in 2009 for his work on The Mentalist, and he appeared in the 2011financial drama Margin Call.

Trivia: Mike Epps' name has become synonymous with a particular style of humor, through his appearance with several other African-American artists in the same genre. Epps earned a large portion of his fame through his credits in several Ice Cube films, including Next Friday (also starring Chris Tucker), How High (with Redman and Method Man), Friday After Next, and All About the Benjamins. Aside from featuring Ice Cube, the common thread of these films was the hilarious prominence of marijuana-smoking comic characters like the ones portrayed by Epps.Born in Indianapolis, IN, into a large family, Epps' natural comedic ability was encouraged at an early age, and he began performing standup as a teenager. He moved to Atlanta where he worked at the Comedy Act Theater, before moving to New York City to star in Def Comedy Jam in 1995. His first major film role came just two years later when he starred in Vin Diesel's Strays, a dramatic portrayal of relationships and drugs. In 1999, he made an appearance on the HBO mafia series The Sopranos.In addition to his aforementioned film work with Ice Cube, Epps had several other feature-film appearances. In 2000, he was featured in Bait, starring Jamie Foxx and David Morse, and in the jail-comedy 3 Strikes. He performed the voice of Sonny in Dr. Dolittle 2, starring Eddie Murphy, in 2001. As he gained more recognition, his comedic talent began to blossom, as demonstrated in his two 2002 features: Kevin Bray's All About the Benjamins, an action-packed comedy, and the sequel-to-the-sequel, Friday After Next, in which he starred as Day-Day. He took over the part of Ed Norton in the big-screen remake of The Honeymooners, and had a major supporting role in the Petey Green biopic Talk to Me. He had a part in the smash 2009 comedy The Hangover, had a big part in Next Day Air, and a turn in Lottery Ticket. In addition to his acting, he kept churning out comedy specials.In 2012 he was one of the stars of Whitney Houston's last movie Sparkle, and played a teacher in the comedy Mac + Devin Go to High School. He reprised his role in The Hangover Part III and played the love interest in the HBO film Bessie. Epps also had a presence in TV, appearing in series like Survivor's Remose and Being Mary Jane, and playing the title role in the remake of Uncle Buck.

Trivia: Comedic actor Donald Faison began his acting career with bit parts in gritty urban dramas like Juice and Sugar Hill before breaking through with a supporting role in the hit 1995 comedy Clueless. A year later, he was one of the few cast members to make the leap to the film's TV spin-off and stuck with the show throughout its three-year run. After Clueless bowed, Faison wasted little time before joining the cast of the popular drama Felicity. But it was in 2001 that he would land his most noteworthy role, that of surgeon Dr. Christopher Turk on the hit NBC medical-sitcom Scrubs. When Scrubs ended in 2010, Faison immediately jumped to another show, the TV Land sitcom The Exes.

Trivia: Handsome actor Blair Underwood was born into a military family and studied at Carnegie-Mellon University before moving to New York to pursue his career. Guest-starring work on The Cosby Show earned him a part on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, followed by a reoccurring role on the short-lived series Downtown. In 1985 he made his film debut as a record producer in the rap comedy Krush Groove. This was followed by the successful TV docudramas Heat Wave and Murder in Mississippi. His breakthrough finally came about on L.A. Law, playing attorney Jonathan Rollins from 1987 to 1994. Supporting roles followed, as an accused rapist in Just Cause, a well-to-do love interest in Set It Off, and baseball legend Jackie Robinson in the HBO original movie Soul of the Game. Also during the '90s, he tried his hand at screenwriting and producing with the short film Second Coming, a contemporary take on Christ's second coming starring himself as a dread-locked Jesus accused of insanity. In 2000, he starred in the CBS medical drama City of Angels, followed by supporting roles in the military courtroom drama Rules of Engagement, as well as Steven Soderbergh's Full Frontal, and the teen movie Malibu's Most Wanted. He consistently found work on the small screen in a variety of TV shows including LAX, the short-lived Dirty Sexy Money, and as a haunted military pilot in the first season of HBO's In Treatment. On the big-screen he could be seen in Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, Something New, and The Art of Getting By. He and wife Desiree DaCosta (two-time executive assistant to Eddie Murphy) have three children.

Trivia: Actor, dancer, and choreographer Wendy Raquel Robinson is best known for her role on The Steve Harvey Show, but her career in fact spans far outside television and onto both the big screen and the stage. She appeared in several plays such as The Vagina Monologues, Black Woman's Blues, Agnes of God, A Midsummer's Night Dream, The Colored Museum, and Vanities, all of them receiving rave reviews, and she was also a co-founder of the Amazing Grace Conservatory in South Central Los Angeles, a theatrical training institute for teens. She appeared in movies such as A Thin Line Between Love and Hate and Rebound, and in 2007, she joined the cast of the series The Game.

Trivia: The lithe and alluring African-American actress Golden Brooks began life in San Francisco in late 1970, and grew up in both the Bay Area and the City of Angels. As a young woman, she attended the University of California at Berkeley as a sociology major, later earning her master's degree from Sarah Lawrence College. Brooks first broke into films in the mid-'90s, with a small role in Spike Lee's phone sex-themed comedy drama Girl 6 (1996); the 2000 series Girlfriends, however, brought Brooks her first recognition in the American press. This rabidly popular sitcom -- which reeled in critical kudos and maintained a broad fan base -- constituted the pet project of Frasier star Kelsey Grammer and producer Mara Brock Akil. It told of four African-American female friends in the Los Angeles -- all white-collar women -- struggling to balance personal and professional demands. Brooks played an assistant at a legal firm and the only woman in the ensemble with a happy marriage and a growing family. After scattered roles in acclaimed features through the first several years of the new millennium, Brooks made the pivotal decision to join the cast of the Queen Latifah-starrer Beauty Shop, about the colorful proprietors and denizens of an Atlanta-based hair salon. The following year, she also starred in Sanaa Hamri's acclaimed dramedy Something New.

Trivia: Washington, D.C., native Taraji P. Henson didn't always know that her smoldering charisma and beautiful face would make her a professional actress. On the contrary, she originally studied electrical engineering when she enrolled at North Carolina Agric & Tech. She later transferred to Howard University, where she attended classes while working as a secretary at the Pentagon, and as a singer and dancer aboard a cruise ship. She eventually changed her academic focus to theater and graduated in 1995. Henson's career began with appearances on Homicide: Life on the Street and ER, but it really took off when she was cast in a major supporting role in 2001's Baby Boy and 2004's Hustle & Flow, in which she also showcased her vocal talents, singing on the track "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" for the movie's soundtrack, which took home the Best Song Oscar that year. Henson later moved on to take major roles in Smokin' Aces and Talk to Me. Henson made the most of her work as the mother of the backward-aging man in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and her performance garnered Best Supporting Actress nominations from both the Screen Actors Guild, and the Academy. She became an in-demand character actress after that success and appeared in a series of films including Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys, the remake of The Karate Kid, Date Night, and Larry Crowne. In 2012, she was part of the ensemble in the hit comedy Think Like a Man, and later reprised her role in the sequel, Think Like a Man Too. Henson returned to television on the CBS crime drama Person of Interest, playing an NYPD detective. Her character was dramatically killed off in the third season, with Henson claiming she wanted to focus on her film career. However, she quickly took a role on the FOX musical drama Empire, playing breakout character Cookie Lyon.

Trivia: Intense, versatile African-American actress Alfre Woodard attended Boston University, then made her stage bow in 1974 with Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage. After a few minor appearances in films like Remember My Name (1978) and H.E.A.L.T.H (1979), the Tulsa, OK, native was nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Geechee in 1983's Cross Creek. She went on to further television acclaim during the decade, appearing on St. Elsewhere and winning Emmys for her recurring roles on Hill Street Blues and L.A. Law, and an ACE award for the made-for-cable Mandela (1987). In film, the actress consistently shone in roles that featured her as unconventional women who usually had a troubled past; after a memorable appearance in Miss Firecracker (1989), she went on to star in such films as Lawrence Kasdan's Grand Canyon (1991) and John Sayles' Passion Fish (1992), for which she won a Golden Globe nomination. Other notable film appearances included those in Rich in Love (1993), Crooklyn (1994), and Maya Angelou's Down in the Delta, in which Woodard played a single mother with drug and alcohol problems who returns to her family's southern hometown. In 1999, the actress starred in two films, Funny Valentines and Mumford, Lawrence Kasdan's tale of a small-town psychologist.Woodard has also continued to work in television, earning considerable acclaim for her performances. In 1995, she won an Emmy nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Best Actress Award for her performance in the The Piano Lesson, and two years later won an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a SAG Award for her portrayal of the title character of Miss Evers' Boys, a nurse who consoled many of the subjects of the notorious 1930s Tuskeegee Study of Untreated Blacks with Syphilis. In addition, she has done a fair amount of narration, lending her voice to a variety of television documentaries.The actress reteamed with HBO in 2003 for the film Unchained Memories, and took on a starring role on ABC's Desperate Housewives in 2006. In addition to appearing on a variety of popular television shows (Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, The Practice, Homicide: Life on the Street). Woodard played the part of a woman falsely accused of drug trafficking in the 2009 drama American Violet, and was nominated for yet another Emmy in 2010 for her work on HBO's hit drama True Blood.

Trivia: Made his TV debut in Robert Altman's 1988 political satire Tanner '88, co-starring Sex and the City's Cynthia Nixon. First feature-film appearance was a small role in 1989 dramedy The Unbelievable Truth, which also featured The Sopranos' Edie Falco in a bit part. Has appeared on numerous police-themed shows, including Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, NCIS, NYPD Blue, Third Watch and Without a Trace. Wife Cas is an assistant director; the two have worked on several films together.

Trivia: Though bloodline practically obligated her to make a brief attempt at a career as a screenwriter, actress Katharine Towne (daughter of famed Chinatown scribe Robert Towne), soon realized that though she had been going through the motions of a writer, her true calling was in acting. Dropping her pen and enrolling in acting classes, Towne soon began to realize and refine her ambitions, making her debut in one of her father's few directorial efforts, Without Limits, in 1998, and launching a successful career as an actress.Born in Hollywood, in July 1978, and raised in Los Angeles, Towne (married to Queer As Folk star Charlie Hunnam) turned to television in 1999, with a role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Appearing the same year in such popular teen films as She's All That and Go, and the following year in The In Crowd, Towne appeared as Harrison Ford's daughter in the supernatural thriller What Lies Beneath (2000) before returning to television for a stint in M.Y.O.B. and The Near Future. After getting laughs in Evolution (2001), Towne took a turn for the surreal in director David Lynch's Mulholland Drive.

Trivia: Supporting player Russell Hornsby joined the casts of numerous features and television series during the 1990s and 2000s. He made his first significant appearance in the Jada Pinkett Smith urban comedy Woo (1998), then followed it up with scattered, multi-episode roles in such series as Law & Order, Gideon's Crossing, and Playmakers, and parts in the movies After the Sunset (2004), Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005), and Something New (2006). Hornsby attained greater recognition and a higher profile with his lead role of Eddie Sutton in the ABC series drama Lincoln Heights. Over the coming years, Hornsby would appear on TV series like In Treatment and Grimm.

Trivia: Specializing in roles as cranky authority figures and unassuming mothers, longtime character actress Lee Garlington has the kind of familiar face that makes people wonder, "Where have I seen her before?" With numerous roles on some of the most popular television series of the past 20 years -- including Family Ties, Seinfeld, NYPD Blue, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and CSI -- most TV viewers probably have seen her face before, though wading through her exhaustive list of credits to find out where might be a daunting task. In addition to a busy television career, Garlington found a steady stream of work in features. Averaging about three films per year since her debut in the 1983 sequel Psycho II. The actress turned up again opposite Anthony Perkins three years later in Psycho III, and parts in Some Kind of Wonderful (1987), The Seventh Sign (1988), and Field of Dreams (1989) rounded out the decade. Though Garlington had a featured role in the 1989 Seinfeld pilot, her character was replaced by Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) when the series came to fruition the following year. Throughout the '90s, Garlington frequently alternated between the big and small screens, and though most of her TV appearances were only guest spots, she had a rare recurring role in the 1996 series Townies. Garlington became an increasingly familiar supporting player over the next few years in such features as Evolution (2001), American Pie 2 (2001), One Hour Photo (2002), The Sum of All Fears (2002), and The Hot Chick (2002). In 2003, the longtime actress once again returned to weekly television with a role on the popular evening drama Everwood.

Trivia: Emigrated to the United States with her family in 1979 after the death of her father. Originally wanted to be a teacher. Hosted radio shows like El Caldero de Tonita and Carlitos y Toñita on the Southern California radio station 1330 KWKW. Hosted a wide variety of Spanish language talk and morning shows on the Super Estrella Network.

Trivia: A frequent presence in both film and television from the 1970s onward, African-American character player Earl Billings moved from landing one- and two-shot bit roles in prime-time series programs and low-profile movies to signing for supporting roles in some of Hollywood's most acclaimed comedies and dramas. This stocky, heavyset player demonstrated a knack for playing black everymen -- often essaying the parts of police officers, detectives, and security guards. Billings first began receiving onscreen credit around 1976, with a single-episode contribution to Norman Lear's sitcom Good Times. Soon after that, the actor appeared in the recurring role of Rob on What's Happening!! Following a turn in the little-seen Sounder, Part Two (1976) and credit as a parole office worker in the gentle yet profane Richard Pryor comedy Bustin' Loose (1981), Billings acted in several telemovies. After a cinematic lapse of several years, Billings rebounded with an appearance in the blockbuster 1987 John Badham crime comedy Stakeout. A consistent string of supporting turns in A-list productions followed, including (but not limited to) Jimmy Hollywood (1994), Crimson Tide (1995), American Splendor (2003), Thank You for Smoking (2005), and Something New (2006). Billings augmented this success with occasional work on such prime-time series as Ally McBeal and ER. In 2008, he took on his first regular TV role, playing Principal Huffy on the sitcom Miss Guided, starring Judy Greer as an earnest high-school guidance councilor, but the series was unfortunately very short-lived.

Trivia: One who bills herself alternately as "more than just a comedian" and "The Queen of Comedy," the assertive and ebullient comic-turned-actress Sommore first started turning heads when her behind-the-mike routines helped her reel in the Richard Pryor Comic of the Year Award in 1995. A subsequent appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, along with astounding record sales and a CNN article exploring Sommore's enduring impact on the comedic landscape helped ensure her celebrity. She performed alongside Mo'nique and others in the Queens of Comedy standup film, appeared on BET ComicView, and landed bit parts in such farces as Friday After Next (2002) and Soul Plane (2004). In 2006, Sommore tackled a supporting role in the gender-bending comedy drama Dirty Laundry.

Trivia: Attended Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire on a basketball scholarship. Auditioned for roles while working at a financial-management firm in his hometown, Stamford, CT. Lived in the attic of the LaMama Theater Company for four months after moving to New York City. Made movie debut in the 1994 Tupac Shakur basketball drama Above the Rim and TV debut in a 1994 Saturday Night Live basketball skit, replacing injured NBA star Derrick Coleman. Named one of the 50 Sexiest Stars of All Time by TV Guide in 2002. Has a twin sister who's a casting director.

Trivia: Raised in Yonkers, NY, with five brothers, and admits to growing up a tomboy. Began modeling as a teen. Worked as a bartender in Hollywood. Enjoys traveling, hiking, cooking and boxing. Originally thought she would be playing a basketball player on Showtime's The L Word, instead of a captain in the National Guard. After The L Word ended in 2009, she took a role on NBC's crime drama The Chase in 2010.