Trivia: An actress whose first big screen gig also proved to be her breakthrough, Anne Hathaway became a familiar face to millions of moviegoers thanks to her starring role in Garry Marshall's 2001 hit The Princess Diaries. Cast as a clumsy high school girl who finds out she is the princess of a small country, Hathaway was able to prove her comedic timing opposite no less than Julie Andrews.Hailing from Brooklyn, where she was born November 12, 1982, Hathaway became involved in the theater at a young age, and as a teenager performed with the Barrow Group, a prestigious New York theatre company. She did her first industry work in the short-lived but critically praised TV series Get Real before auditioning for Marshall, who, according to legend, cast the actress as the accident-prone princess after she fell off a chair during her audition. The success of The Princess Diaries opened a number of doors for Hathaway, but she chose the one that led to Vassar College, where she enrolled in 2000, taking some time off from film.Though a supporting performance in the 2002 box-office disappointment Nicholas Nickleby offered Hathaway little chance to shine, a lead performance as the eponymous character in thefantasy-themed romantic comedy Ella Enchanted (2004) found her stepping into some big slippers for another Cinderella-style story not unlike the obligatory Princess Diaries 2 that same year. As if to anounce her acendancy out of the teen fantasy ghetto, Hathaway plunged into edgier territory with the gritty teen drama Havoc (also 2004), although the explicit film merited only a video release. It was her next two roles, however, that would announce the young actor's arrival into adulthood. As one of the two quietly suffering wives in Ang Lee's acclaimed Brokeback Mountain, Hathaway exhibited an irrepressible rodeo-girl spirit broken down over the course of a sham marriage. As the co-star of the chick-lit adaptation The Devil Wears Prada in 2006, she entered the world of contemporary, high-fashion power players, suffering the slings and arrows of a deliciously evil (and Oscar-nominated) Meryl Streep. The film played throughout the summer, becoming a bona-fide sleeper hit. Although initially cast in 2007's runaway summer comedy, Knocked Up, Hathaway backed out of the role that eventually went to Katharine Heigl. She chose instead to follow the period-romance path with Becoming Jane, a Shakespeare in Love-style speculative fiction on the life and one true love of Jane Austen.2008 turned out to be a banner year for the actress who scored a box office hit starring opposite Steve Carell in the big-screen adaptation of Get Smart, and garnered the best reviews of her career thus far for her work as a recovering addict in Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married. That role earned her a number of year-end critics awards, as well as Best Actress nominations from the Screen Actors Guild and the Academy. Hathaway would subsuquently find herself free to enjoy leading lady status, appearing in a number of iconic projects over the coming years, like the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland and a slinky Selina Kyle/Catwoman inThe Dark Knight Rises. In 2012 she landed the part of Fantine in Tom Hooper's adaptation of the phenomenally successful stage musical Les Miserable. Getting to deliver the production's most beloved song, "I Dreamed a Dream", Hathaway made the most of the small but juicy part and was rewarded with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.In 2014, Hathaway appeared in the indie film Song One and reteamed with her Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan for the sci-fi epic film Interstellar. She next starred in The Intern, opposite Robert De Niro, and reprised her role Alice Through the Looking Glass.

Trivia: The son of a publisher and a philosophy professor, handsome young British actor Hugh Dancy studied English Language and Literature at Oxford and speaks fluent French. He got his start performing in theater productions under the direction of Sam Mendes before he made his first few television guest-star appearances on Dangerfield, Cold Feet, and the miniseries Trial & Retribution II. He got his first starring role in the Hallmark Hall of Fame production of David Copperfield, which aired in the States on TNT, and he continued doing costume dramas adapted from literature with the BBC productions of Madame Bovary and Daniel Deronda. In 2000, he experimented with fantasy adventures, starring in the Three Musketeers-inspired Young Blades and appearing in an episode of Relic Hunter. He had a small role in the war drama Black Hawk Down before making the move toward romance with the straight-to-video titles The Sleeping Dictionary (opposite Jessica Alba) and Tempo (opposite Melanie Griffith). Dancy stuck with romance for his next feature, the fantasy comedy Ella Enchanted, opposite Princess Diaries star Anne Hathaway. He worked steadily in projects such as King Arthur, Basic Instinct 2, and The Jane Austen Book Club. In 2007 he began a lengthy relationship with fellow actress Claire Danes. He landed a big part in 2009's Confessions of a Shopaholic. He enjoyed a fantastic 2011 with roles in the superb comedy Our Idiot Brother, the well-reviewed indie thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene, and the period comedy Hysteria.

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: Vivacious actress Vivica A. Fox has been attracting attention for performances that mix equal parts sass and class since making her 1989 screen debut in Born on the Fourth of July. A native of Indianapolis, where she was born July 30, 1964, Fox got her start on television with a stint on the daytime soap Days of Our Lives. After making her debut as a hooker in Oliver Stone's aforementioned Born on the Fourth of July, the actress continued to do much of her work on television while appearing in the occasional film. She first attracted notice as Will Smith's girlfriend in the blockbuster Independence Day (1996); her dynamic turn earned her -- together with Smith -- the MTV Award for Best Kiss that year. Fox subsequently appeared in a diverse array of films, ranging from the acclaimed black ensemble romantic drama Soul Food (1997), which cast her as one of three sisters (the other two were played by Vanessa L. Williams and Nia Long), to Batman & Robin (1997), in which she played femme fatale Ms. B. Haven, to Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998), which featured her in a critically lauded portrayal of one of the three wives of singer Frankie Lymon.Fox's profile declined somewhat in the new millenium, although an appearance in the battle-of-the-sexes comedy Two Can Play That Game caught the attention of Quentin Tarantino, who was casting his long-gestating fourth feature, Kill Bill. As the first victim of hired killer Uma Thurman, Fox brought a little blaxploitation-era sass to the role, making for a memorable, suburban-kitchen battle scene.In addition to her flourishing film work, Fox continued to work on the small screen, most notably as Dr. Lillian Price on Steven Bochco's predominately African American hospital drama City of Angels. 2005's one-season-only reality show The Starlet offered Fox the opportunity to pass on her actorly wisdom -- alongside head judge Faye Dunaway -- to a group of young hopefuls. The following year, she could be seen hoofing it up as a contestant on the astronomically popular ABC competition Dancing With the Stars. Though she worked steadily throughout the 2000s and continues to be active in the film industry, Fox has yet so far been unable to achieve the success she enjoyed in earlier years.

Trivia: The daughter of a high-born British military major, actress Joanna Lumley was a model before entering films with 1968's Some Girls Do. In 1976, she took on the Diana Rigg-like female lead on the British TV action series The New Avengers, costarring Patrick MacNee of the old Avengers. Joanna also costarred in two of Blake Edwards' Pink Panther movies of the '80s. Thoroughly jettisoning her previous cool-glamour image, Joanna Lumley costarred with Jennifer Saunders in the 1993 British TV sitcom Absolutely Fabulous as a pair of boozing, bawdy functionaries in the '90s fashion world (the series was picked up by the American cable network Comedy Central in 1994). So popular was Ms. Lumley's characterization of potty-mouthed, cheap-thrill-seeking Patsy that, shortly after the premiere of Absolutely Fabulous, she was being imitated in TV commercials by comic actor John Cleese!On the big screen she appeared in Cold Comfort Farm, James and the Giant Peach, and The Cat's Meow before returning to her signature role as Patsy Stone for another run of Absolutely Fabulous in 2001. After that she could be seen in Eurotrip, and provided voiceover work in both Doogal and Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. She starred in the series Clatterford, and had a prominent part in the 2011 project Late Bloomers.

Trivia: Displaying talent both for acting and for appearing at awards ceremonies wearing dresses that attract more attention than the awards themselves, Minnie Driver rose from almost complete obscurity to her position as one of the most visible British actresses of the 1990s over the course of just a few years. Born Amelia Driver in London on January 31, 1971, she was christened "Minnie" by her sister, who was too young to pronounce her little sister's name correctly. Raised in Barbados and schooled in locales as diverse as Paris, Grenoble, and Hampshire, Driver attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London, where she studied drama.Driver got her start on the stage and on television and made her big-screen debut in Circle of Friends in 1995. Playing the film's protagonist -- a "big, soft girl," as one of the film's characters calls her -- she was required to gain over 20 pounds for the role. She won critical acclaim for her performance, but had trouble finding more work until she lost the weight. Once she was revealed to be a statuesque beauty in the James Bond film GoldenEye (1995), she soon was being written up in a number of magazine articles that hailed her as one to watch. Critical appreciation for her work in Sleepers and Stanley Tucci's Big Night followed in 1996, and the next year, Driver proved herself capable of handling both comedy and a convincing Midwestern accent in Grosse Pointe Blank. That same year, she had what was possibly her most high-profile role to date in Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting. Starring as Matt Damon's brilliant girlfriend (a role she reportedly played offscreen as well), she earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance.In 1998, Driver could be seen in The Governess and At Satchem Farm, a romantic comedy she executive produced with her sister, Kate, and actor Nigel Hawthorne. She also ventured into the action realm with Hard Rain. Driver then put her voice to lucrative use, voicing characters in Disney's Tarzan, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut in 1999, and Lady Eboshi in the 1999 English dubbed release of the Japanese film Princess Mononoke. That same year, she took a swing at Oscar Wilde, starring in Oliver Parker's adaptation of Wilde's An Ideal Husband with Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, and Jeremy Northam. Driver then shed her corset and donned an American accent for her starring role in Bonnie Hunt's Return to Me (2000), a romantic comedy that cast the actress as a woman who falls in love with a widowed architect (David Duchovny) and discovers a surprising secret about the identity of his dead wife.Driver returned to television in 2007, when she co-starred with Eddie Izzard for the FX Network's The Riches, a series following a family squatting in an upscale suburban community. The role earned her nominations for an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series in both 2007 and 2008. In 2010, Driver joined actress Hilary Swank in Conviction, a film chronicling the real-life story of a single mother who obtains a law degree to represent her brother, who was wrongfully convicted of murder. The same year, Driver joined Paul Giamatti for which she would earn a Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress. The actress co-starred with a cast including Vera Farmiga and Will Arnett in the 2011 comedy Goats.

Trivia: Has five siblings. Failed his first audition for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but was accepted to the school the following year. Played Richard III in a season-long staging of Shakespeare's history plays called This England: The Histories by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2000. Appeared in a 2011 production of The School for Scandals in London.

Trivia: Patrick Bergin is a versatile actor who has yet to make it big in Hollywood. The son a trade union activist and founder of a political theater, Bergin was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, but left for London when he was only 17. There he worked at different jobs and eventually set up an experimental theater group. Originally a high-school drop out, Bergin returned to night school and by his early 20s had become a school teacher. He worked as an educator for five years and then quit to go on an extensive tour of Europe. Upon his return to Britain, he began working in repertory theater, and occasionally on television before appearing in a short British Film School production. Bergin made his feature-film debut in 1988 with The Courier; that year he also won acclaim for his role as an IRA informer in the TV movie Act of Betrayal. His success with the latter film lead director Bob Rafelson to cast him as Sir Richard Burton in his epic Mountains of the Moon (1990). While in Britain, Bergin typically played heroes, but in Hollywood he is usually cast as a villainous lowlife. He was particularly nasty as the obsessed, abusive husband in Sleeping with the Enemy (1991).

Trivia: British actress Lucy Punch began learning her craft with the National Youth Theatre in 1993, when she was 16. She would spend the next four years with the troupe, before briefly attending the University College London. Punch would cut her stint at the school short to pursue a professional career, and soon was cast in the 1998 British TV movie The New Adventures of Robin Hood. Steady work would follow over the coming years, with roles in films like Greenfingers, Ella Enchanted, and Hot Fuzz, as well as a regular part on the British TV series Doc Martin. After establishing herself as a familiar face in England, Punch would soon transition into American movies, as well, appearing in more and more stateside projects, like 2010's Dinner for Schmucks, and 2011's Bad Teacher.

Trivia: A distinctly alluring English actress of Indian descent (whose parents emigrated to Britain in the '60s), Parminder K. Nagra received her international breakthrough role as Jesminder "Jess" Bhamra, the lead character of Gurinder Chadha's delightful teenage soccer comedy Bend It Like Beckham (2002). That movie's status as an instant cult hit lifted Nagra sky-high and brought her legions of U.S. fans. She could soon be seen again in stateside cinemas in a warmly received supporting performance as Areida in the adolescent fantasy Ella Enchanted (2004), starring Anne Hathaway. Nagra's next major role was her multi-season portrayal of Dr. Neela Rasgotra (starting in season ten) on the blockbuster prime-time medical drama ER -- a role she would continue to play until the series ended its 15 year run in 2009. Three years later, Nagra was back on the small screen opposite Sam Neil and Lost's Jorge Garcia in the enigmatic FOX drama Alcatraz.

Trivia: Was head boy of his high school in his final year. Left the University of Sussex after two years to join a fringe theatre group called the Brighton Combination. Performed with the Madhouse Company of London, a comedy troupe, during the 1970s. Attended a circus school in New York during the 1970s, where he learned to walk the tightrope, ride a unicycle, juggle and perform magic. Met wife Imelda Staunton when they were both cast in a 1982 production of Guys and Dolls at the Royal National Theatre in London. They later worked together in a production of The Wizard of Oz; he was the Cowardly Lion to her Dorothy. Serves as chairman of the Hampstead Cricket Club.

Trivia: A supermodel with the savvy to create her own empire, Heidi Klum hit gold with a perfect amalgam of high fashion and reality TV. Born in Germany, Klum began modeling when she was just a teenager, after submitting photos to a German modeling agency on a whim. She toured Europe as a model, eventually coming to the United States, where she found even greater success -- cemented by her posing for the coveted cover of Sports Illustrated in 1998. Klum became a spokesmodel for Victoria's Secret, and also began taking some small roles in films, like 2000's Blow Dry. In 2004, she became the executive producer and host of a show on Bravo called Project Runway, in which fashion design hopefuls were presented with a variety of challenges and judged on their talent and ability, facing an elimination in every episode until a winner was crowned. The show was a huge hit, and Klum became even more of brand in and of herself, hosting for many seasons to come.Klum was married to celebrity hairstylist Ric Pipino in 1997, though the couple divorced in 2002. She also had a relationship with Formula One manager Flavio Briatore, and though it did not last, the couple had a daughter together, Helene (aka "Leni"). In 2005, Klum married singer and musician Seal, who Klum raised a family with, but the couple separated in 2012.

Trivia: Widely known for her role on NBC's prime-time series Sunset Beach, Susan Ward actually began her career as a model long before she was an actress. Born on April 15, 1976, she was raised in Monroe, LA, and signed with the Ford modeling agency in New York when she was just 13. The huge-eyed, beautiful blonde would be published in a lot of print work while spending time between New York and Louisiana as a teenager. Acting lessons would come along as well, although after high school Ward decided to continue with her formal education. She attended Northeast Louisiana University as a psychology major for one full year before deciding to turn her attention again back to her show business career. Before her network stardom on Sunset Beach, she had other dramatic television roles, beginning with a part on the daytime series All My Children. In 1996, she had a starring role on the short-lived Aaron Spelling teen series Malibu Shores, featuring Keri Russell. Ward also made appearances on episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess, The X Show, and Men, Women, and Dogs. In 1997, she broke into the big-screen world with a small part in Poison Ivy: The New Seduction. She then starred in her first feature in 2000's The In Crowd, a creepy and dramatic teen thriller. Mainstream cinema experience continued with supporting roles in comedies like the Farrelly brothers' Shallow Hal starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black, and also in the role of Wendy in Going Greek, both in 2001. Perhaps finding more resilience as an actor in comedy, she would make a major motion-picture splash in 2002 starring in Tom Sheppard's Would I Lie to You?