Trivia: Raven-haired Julianna Margulies may have become an award-winning TV star on NBC's phenomenally successful ER in the 1990s, but she was ready to exit the series to pursue movies and theater full time by decade's end. Born in Spring Valley, NY, Margulies spent part of her childhood living abroad before settling back in her hometown for a bohemian life with her free-spirit mother. Though she earned a B.A. in art history from Sarah Lawrence College, Margulies performed in college plays and decided to pursue an acting career. Margulies landed her first movie role in 1991, playing a prostitute in the Steven Seagal flick Out for Justice. With no more movie roles forthcoming, Margulies made a living with theater work and TV guest star stints on Law and Order and Homicide in the early '90s. Margulies subsequently landed a role in the pilot for Michael Crichton's new hospital drama ER in 1994, but her character was slated for death after that single episode. Due to a positive audience response, however, Margulies' compassionate Nurse Hathaway survived the pilot. During her six seasons on the most popular TV drama of the 1990s, Margulies won the Emmy and the SAG Award and became a perennial nominee. Buoyed by her TV fame, Margulies returned to films during her hiatuses, starring as the would-be victim of Bill Paxton's Irish con in Traveler (1996), a POW alongside Glenn Close and Cate Blanchett in the ensemble drama Paradise Road (1997), and as Matthew McConaughey's girlfriend in Richard Linklater's Western-esque bank robber saga The Newton Boys (1998). Continuing to avoid glossy big budget Hollywood fare in favor of a more independent sensibility, Margulies also appeared in Boaz Yakin's A Price Above Rubies (1998) and Gurinder Chadha's multiethnic Thanksgiving tale What's Cooking? (2000). Margulies finally took on a blockbuster of sorts when she voiced one of the pre-historic reptiles in the animated Dinosaur (2000). Despite an offer that would have made her one of the highest paid actresses on TV, Margulies announced in 2000 that six years of ER was enough. While Hathaway departed to a future with George Clooney's Dr. Ross, Margulies moved back to New York to hit the off-Broadway stage with Donald Sutherland in Ten Unknowns (2001). Margulies returned to the small-screen for the female-centric version of the King Arthur legend The Mists of Avalon, before appearing in The Man from Elysian Fields, and opposite Pierce Brosnan in the drama Evelyn. After an appearance in the horror film Ghost Ship, Margulies would not appear in another widely released motion picture until she landed one of the main parts in the 2006 summer phenomenon known simply as Snakes on a Plane. Three years later, the veteran actress was back on the small screen as the lead in The Good Wife -- a popular CBS series about a former litigator who returns to work following a public scandal involving her state attorney husband. Though her performance in the series earned Margulies a Best Lead Actress Emmy in 2010, the award that year went to Kyra Sedgwick for The Closer instead. But fans of the actress had good reason to hold out hope that she'd be a strong contender the next year as well, and indeed when the 2001 Emmy winners were announced Margulies emerged the victor.

Trivia: A veteran of film and television, Chris Noth is probably best known for his work on Law and Order and HBO's Sex and the City, the latter of which featured him as the charming but terminally untrustworthy Mr. Big, erstwhile boyfriend/bad habit of the series' heroine, Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker). Hailing from Madison, WI, where he was born November 13, 1954, Noth moved around a lot throughout his childhood, living in England, Yugoslavia, and Spain. Returning to the States, he studied with the storied acting coach Stanford Meisner before being accepted into the prestigious Yale School of Drama.Noth got his start on the stage and in television performing at the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, CT, and appearing in productions with theater companies across the country, including the Manhattan Theater Club and Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum. Working in television beginning in 1982, he did a number of shows before breaking into film with small parts in Off Beat (1986) and the Diane Keaton comedy Baby Boom (1987). Noth's big break came in 1989, when he was chosen to play Det. Mike Logan on Law and Order. Noth portrayed the young policeman for five seasons, winning both critical nods and fans, many of whom were saddened when his Law and Order contract was not renewed in 1995. Noth continued to work on television and did minor work in films such as Naked in New York (1994) before getting his next big break in the form of Sex and the City (1998). As Big, he was one of the few male characters who could hold his own in the presence of the series' strong female protagonists, played by Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall, and Kristin Davis. The show proved to be an enormous critical and commercial hit, in the process winning Noth more fans. He would reprise the role for subsuquent big screen adaptations of the show, in addition to other films like My One and Only and Lovelace. Noth would also enoy successful turns on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, The Good Wife, and Titanic: Blood and Steel.

Trivia: Designer label-clad force of nature, neurotic diva, and the owner of one of the most expansive mouths in the free world, Christine Baranski is one of the more distinctive actresses working on the stage and screen today. Known to television audiences for her portrayal of Cybill Shepard's brassy and unapologetically arrogant best friend on the sitcom Cybill, Baranski has also made a name for herself on the New York stage, where she has won a number of awards, and has worked as a character actress on a variety of films.Born in Buffalo, New York, on May 2, 1952, Baranski was influenced from a young age by her Polish grandparents, who were both actors. After studying acting at Julliard, she began working on the New York stage and on various TV shows, and made her film debut in 1982. The stage proved to be a particularly good medium for Baranski's talents; a staple of many New York productions, the actress earned Tony Awards and a number of other honors for her work in the Broadway productions of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing and Neil Simon's Rumors. Usually cast as a supporting player onscreen, Baranski has done particularly notable work in Jeffrey (1995), in which she played a New York socialite; The Birdcage (1996), which featured her as the brassy mother of Robin Williams' grown son; and Cruel Intentions (1999), in which she did another hilarious turn as a New York socialite. In one of her rare excursions as a lead, Baranski gave a memorable performance as a struggling actress in Bowfinger (1999), sharing the screen with the likes of Steve Martin, Heather Graham, and Eddie Murphy.In 2002 Baranski appeared in the Best Picture Oscar winner Chicago, and she continued to work steadily on TV, in movies, and on stage appearing in projects as diverse as Eloise at the Plaza, Welcome to Mooseport, and the smash hit adaptation of the ABBA musical Mamma Mia! In 2009 she began work on the well-respected CBS drama series The Good Wife opposite Julianna Margulies.

Trivia: Endowed with the kind of dark, puppy-eyed, lanky looks that have often gotten him cast as sensitive, shy young men, actor Josh Charles first became known to audiences as sensitive, shy prep school boy Knox Overstreet in Dead Poets Society (1989). A native of Baltimore, where he was born September 15, 1971, Charles made his entrance into acting through stand-up comedy, which he began performing at the age of eight. He made his film debut in fellow-native son John Waters' Hairspray (1988), and following the success of Dead Poets Society the next year, earned a reputation as a member of the '90s version of the Brat Pack.Charles' subsequent film appearances were sporadic and in projects of wildly varying quality; ranking among his better-known work are Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991), Threesome (1994), and the made-for-television Norma Jean and Marilyn (1996). In 1998, Charles was cast as one of the leads in the highly acclaimed TV show Sports Night, a sitcom revolving around the goings-on of a late night cable sports news program. Though Sports Night did indeed gain positive critical notice and a loyal fanbase for its smart writing and multi-dimensional characters, it was unfortunately cancelled before it really had a chance to fully develope. Hollywood did however take notice of Charles' talents as an actor, and the quality and substance of the roles he was being offered slowly began to rise. Following a pair of low-key roles in such indie dramas as Meeting Daddy (2000) and Our America (2002), Charles was cast in the high-profile action thriller S.W.A.T. Over the next several years, Charles would remain active on screen, appearing on TV series like In Treatment and The Good Wife and films like The Ex and Weakness.

Trivia: Grew up in Johnson City, TN. In 1998, he won the Mr. College of Charleston pageant. Captain of his college tennis team. Made his TV debut in a 2000 episode of Freaks and Geeks. Dated Kate Bosworth for two years. Appeared in People Magazine's 2011 Sexiest Man Alive issue. Says his last name is pronounced "Z-O-O-K-RIE."

Trivia: Raven-haired actress Archie Panjabi claimed a unique, exotic, and alluring look that spoke to her Indian ancestry -- and that opened up a myriad of doors in Hollywood productions, usually in a supporting capacity. Raised in Britain, Panjabi first broke through to international acclaim as tomboy Meenah in the Damien O'Donnell-directed Miramax comedy East Is East (1998), then graced the cast of one of the preeminent sleeper hits of 2002, the soccer comedy Bend It Like Beckham. Additional assignments included a small supporting turn in Fernando Meirelles' political thriller The Constant Gardener (2005), a portrayal of Gemma in the Russell Crowe/Marion Cotillard-headlined, Ridley Scott-directed romantic comedy drama A Good Year (2006), and a role in the grueling docudrama A Mighty Heart (2007) as Asra Nomani, a journalist and friend of the Pearl family, who helped in the investigation of his disappearance and murder. In 2006, Panjabi signed with the BBC to portray Maya Roy in the sci-fi-tinged police drama series Life on Mars. In 2008, she appeared opposite Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce in the summer thriller Traitor. She was cast in the CBS drama The Good Wife, in the part of Kalinda Sharma, and that well-reviewed award-winning show kept her busy for a few years.

Trivia: Made his stage debut in a production of Annie, when he was still in kindergarten. Has sung with the New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. Appeared on Broadway in the musicals 13 and A Christmas Carol. First major big-screen appearance was in the 2007 comedy Evan Almighty. Landed his first series-regular role in 2009, playing the son of Julianna Margulies' character on CBS drama The Good Wife.

Trivia: Is half Colombian. Made her big-screen debut in the Nicolas Cage dramedy The Family Man (2000), for which she won a Young Artist Award. Has landed series-regular roles on ABC sitcom the Geena Davis Show and CBS drama The Good Wife.

Trivia: Trained as an opera singer at Northwestern University. Performed with the Metropolitan and New York City Opera Companies. Appeared on Broadway in such shows as Nine, Sunday in the Park With George and The King and I, for which she received a Tony nomination. In 1971, originated the role of Alma in the stage production of Summer and Smoke, based on a Tennessee Williams play. A 1982 TV production of the work also featured her in the same role; the New York Times called her TV work "superb." Has appeared in the TV series Dawson's Creek and The Good Wife. In 2010, performed in the stage production of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. The following year, was in the stage cast of Follies. She took on that role while also filming her scenes for The Good Wife.

Trivia: Scottish, versatile, and for a long time underappreciated, Alan Cumming is chameleon-like in both his choice of roles and his ability to inhabit them convincingly. Born January 27, 1965, in Perthshire, Scotland, Cumming studied drama at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama before embarking on a career that would have its roots on the stage. For years, Cumming worked steadily in the theater as a member of repertory companies, such as the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1992 he had his film debut in the largely unheard of Prague, which was essentially a historical overview of the city. In 1994 American audiences were introduced to the sound of Cumming's voice thanks to his role as the narrator of Black Beauty, but it wasn't until 1995 (Cumming's other 1994 film, Second Best notwithstanding) that they actually saw him, this time via his small but memorable role as a Russian computer programmer in Goldeneye.Wider exposure followed, thanks to two successful films. The first, Circle of Friends (1995), featured Cumming as Minnie Driver's slimy, unwelcome suitor, and the second, 1996's Emma, saw Cumming playing yet another unwelcome suitor, this time to Gwyneth Paltrow. More sympathetic roles followed in For My Baby, Buddy, and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (in which he played a sweetly awkward nerd with a crush on Lisa Kudrow), all released in 1997. Work in Spice World came next in 1998, as did the stage role that was to give Cumming critical acclaim, a host of awards, and the wider respect he deserved. That role was Cabaret's Emcee, and Cumming managed to make the character -- previously the sole territory of Joel Grey -- all his own, giving a wickedly delicious performance that was unabashedly dark, sly, androgynous, and altogether terrifying. His performance won him all three New York theater awards: a Tony, a Drama Desk, and an Outer Critics Circle. This triumph resulted in a new range of opportunities for the actor, one of which was the chance to be a part of what was to be Stanley Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Although Cumming's role as a hotel desk clerk was a small one, the actor turned in a sly and insinuating performance that reflected his ability to make the most out of even the most limited opportunities.Cumming was subsequently given almost unlimited opportunities to showcase his flamboyance in Julie Taymor's Titus, her 1999 adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. In his role as the queen's (Jessica Lange) debauched lover, he gave a performance that was as over-the-top and rococo as the film itself, leading some critics to say his portrayal had a little too much in common with a Christmas ham.Fortunately, Cumming surprised critics and audiences alike when he directed, with Jennifer Jason Leigh, The Anniversary Party (2001), a marital comedy-drama that starred him and Leigh as a husband and wife whose anniversary party exposes the many flaws of their fragile marriage. Featuring a cast that included Kevin Kline, Phoebe Cates, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. Reilly, and Jennifer Beals, the film, which was shot on digital video, earned a fairly warm reception from critics, many of whom praised Cumming for his work both behind and in front of the camera.Cumming took the part of the bad guy in the first Spy Kids movie, a role he would repeat in the film's first two sequels. He also played the evil corporate manipulator in Josie and the Pussycats. He appeared in the musical remake of Reefer Madness in 2004, and that same year voiced a cat in the live action Garfield the movie. He worked steadily in a variety of projects including Gray Matters, Eloise: Eloise in Hollywood, and Dare, but found his biggest critical success on the small screen as part of the cast in the highly-respected CBS drama The Good Wife which began its run in 2009.

Trivia: An actor whom you've probably seen in more films than you realize, Zach Grenier possesses the rare ability to take the smallest of roles and transform them into memorable appearances that stick with audiences long after the credits have finished -- even if his frequently unsympathetic characters have often met an unpleasant demise. It was this ability and skill that found Grenier steadily building a career with appearances in such blockbusters as Cliffhanger (1993), Donnie Brasco (1997), Shaft (2000), and Swordfish (2001). Born in February 1954, Grenier's family lived a somewhat nomadic existence in his early years, moving 18 times before the worldly teen graduated from high school, where, in his junior year, the young man discovered his love of the stage while performing in a production of Shakespeare's Henry V. Continuing to hone his acting skills and frequently appearing on-stage following graduation, Grenier appeared in such other plays as Talk Radio and A Question of Mercy, and made his film debut in the 1987 drama The Kid Brother (aka Kenny). Soon appearing in such films as Working Girl and Talk Radio in 1988, and See No Evil, Hear No Evil the following year. The actor's parts may have been small, but his talent was growing and appearances memorable; his roles continued to expand throughout the '90s, and viewers saw the rising star in Twister and Maximum Risk (both 1996), among several other movies. A turn as Joseph Goebbels in that year's Mother Night gave him a chance to prove his dramatic skills in front of the camera, and a subsequent role in David Fincher's cult hit Fight Club (1999) found him holding his own well against the film's talented leads. Alternating between television and movies in subsequent work, Grenier starred in the little-seen thriller Chasing Sleep (2000) and joined the cast of the popular weekly suspense series 24 in 2001.

Trivia: Few aspiring actresses could ever hope to experience the early career success of Ugly Betty starlet America Ferrera. In the scant four years after earning a Sundance Jury Award, an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and a Young Artist Award nomination for her role as a first-generation Mexican-American girl teetering on the cusp of womanhood for Real Women Have Curves, the hardworking actress rose quickly through the ranks to become one of television's brightest young stars.A Los Angeles native and the youngest of six siblings born to Honduran parents, Ferrera, born April 18, 1984, was raised by her mother in Woodland Hills, CA. Though at first hesitant to pursue a career on camera, the natural-born actress and high school valedictorian displayed an instinctive talent on the stage that seemed to signal she had found her true calling. It was during this time that Ferrera began working as a waitress to fund her classes and pay for headshots, and shortly thereafter she made her screen debut as a cheerleader in the Disney Channel feature Gotta Kick It Up! (2002). Later, while attending summer theater camp at Northwestern University, Ferrera taped an audition for Real Women Have Curves; after six auditions, she was ecstatic to learn that she had been cast as first-generation American Ana Garcia. It was the perfect role for the emerging actress, as she too was among the first of her family to be born in America.In the following two years, Ferrera appeared in a number of film and television projects while studying International Relations and Theater at the University of Southern California, with high-profile roles in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Lords of Dogtown helping to form a solid foundation for an enduring career. Roles in the addiction drama 3:52 and the working-class drama Steel City were quick to follow, and in 2006 Ferrera became a small-screen sensation with her role as an unattractive secretary working for a popular fashion magazine in ABC's Ugly Betty. An Americanized remake of the popular Columbian comedy drama Yo Soy Betty, la Fea, Ugly Betty was produced by screen star Salma Hayek and became an immediate hit with viewers. When the Golden Globes were handed out in early 2007, young star Ferrera was visibly thrilled to be bestowed with a Best Actress award for her work on the series. She also won a the Screen Actors Guild Award for Female Actor in a Comedy Series shortly thereafter. That same year, Ferrera would expand her resumé to include the role of producer for the dramatic crime thriller Towards Darkness -- in which she also starred as a girl who shares a sensitive relationship with a young kidnapping victim.2008 saw Ferrera with a starring role in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and the actress would voice the role of Astrid in 2010's animated hit How to Train Your Dragon. The same year, Ferrera appeared in The Dry Land; the film premiered at te Sundance Film Festival in 2010, and won the Filmmaker Award for Best Narrative Feature at the Dallas International Film Festival. Ferrera will co-star alongside Rosario Dawson in Chavez, a biopic depicting the life of labor activist Cesar E. Chavez slated for release in 2013.

Trivia: Received the Drama Division's highest honor, the Michel and Suria Saint-Denis Prize, while attending the Juilliard School. Appeared in the off-Broadway production of The Gingerbread House. Landed the lead role in his first television series, Outsourced, in which he plays the manager of a call center in India.

Trivia: Australian actress Melissa George was born in Perth on August 6, 1976, the second of four children. As a child, she developed an interest in dancing and began studying jazz, tap, ballet, and modern dance at the age of seven. George's enthusiasm for dance eventually evolved into a passion for roller skating, and, after skating competitively in Australia, she represented her nation in several international events. At 16, George left skating behind when she quit school and began exploring the world of modeling; she was soon named Western Australia's Teenage Model of the Year. As a result of this honor, she auditioned for a role in the popular Australian soap opera Home and Away, and, in 1993, was cast as Angel Brooks. George's performance won her a sizable following in both Australia and Great Britain, but, after three years with the series, she left to pursue other projects. After appearing in several made-for-TV movies (and posing in the Aussie edition of Playboy), the actress landed a small role in the sci-fi thriller Dark City, and was cast as the female lead in an offbeat television pilot, Hollyweird, which, unfortunately, failed to sell. After a brief appearance in Steven Soderbergh's The Limey (as Terence Stamp's ill-fated daughter), George landed her first significant American role in the teen comedy Sugar & Spice, in which she played Cleo, a cheerleader-turned-criminal who has an unquenchable enthusiasm for Conan O'Brien; she also played a small but important role as mob-connected ingénue Camilla Rhodes in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive, and appeared in the pilot of HBO's short-lived series adaptation of L.A. Confidential. In 2001, George was cast opposite John Stamos in the leading roles of the television series Thieves; despite positive reviews, however, the series lasted only three months. She got another chance to prove her mettle on American television in 2003, when she was cast in an American version of the popular British sitcom Coupling. Unfortunately, she only got to act in an unaired version of the pilot episode before her part was recast. The show failed anyway and George rebounded quickly, landing a prominent role in the 2003-2004 season of the popular spy series Alias as Lauren Reed, the new wife of Agent Vaughn (Michael Vartan) and romantic rival of Sydney Bristow (series star Jennifer Garner).After appearing the 2005 reboot of The Amityville Horror, George co-starred with Clive Owen and Jennifer Anniston in the psychological thriller Derailed (also 2005). The actress took another turn for the grisly Turistas (2006) to play part of an unlucky group destined to involuntarily donate their organs to a mad doctor. She found more success for her role in Music Within (2007), an inspirational biopic starring George as the free-spirited girlfriend of the film's subject, celebrated public speaker Richard Pimentel (Ron Livingstone). In 2008 she played an anesthesiologist who became romantically interested in her psychiatrist on the first season of HBO's lauded series In Treatment, and the same year was cast in 11 episodes of the fifth season of Grey's Anatomy. In 2011 she could be seen in the UK thriller A Lonely Place to Die, the TV movie Bag of Bones and on the Australian TV series The Slap. In 2012, she starred in the Cinemax series Hunter, and in 2013, joined CBS drama The Good Wife in a recurring role. She starred in the Australian miniseries The Slap in 2012, and reprised her role in the American remake in 2015.

Trivia: Was raised in Denver, Colorado.Got interested in performing at a young age.Was always supported by his parents to pursue a career as an actor.Played lacrosse and soccer while he was at school.Started acting in the local theatre in Denver while he was in high school.

Trivia: Thanks in large part to the independent film movement of the late '80s, the boyishly handsome James LeGros went from being an underrated bit player in Hollywood schlock to a well-respected character actor. A Minnesota native, LeGros found steady work when he migrated to Los Angeles after college in the early '80s, popping up as a guest star in such TV series as Knight Rider, and in Danny DeVito's directorial debut, the made-for-cable satire The Ratings Game (a.k.a. The Mogul). Sci-fi made up the bulk of LeGros' early feature-film roles, including the dreadful post-apocalyptic teen flop Solarbabies (1986) and the thriller sequel Phantasm II (1988).It was director Gus Van Sant who afforded LeGros the opportunity to show his skills with a meaty supporting role in 1989's much-acclaimed Drugstore Cowboy. As part of a quartet of drifters stealing their way across the Pacific Northwest, the actor held his own against the iconic Matt Dillon as well as newcomer Heather Graham. More challenging parts followed in the early '90s, including the psychological drama The Rapture (1991), Cameron Crowe's ensemble romantic comedy Singles (1992), and a pair of firearm-obsessed indies, Guncrazy and My New Gun (also 1992). Pairing with director Todd Haynes for his 1995 sophomore feature Safe, LeGros garnered more acclaim as a confidante/romantic interest for the mysteriously ailing character played by Julianne Moore. That same year, he hilariously sent up a narcissistic Hollywood actor -- not-so-secretly based on Brad Pitt -- in director Tom DiCillo's satire on the perils of indie filmmaking, Living in Oblivion.As the millennium drew to a close, LeGros would re-team with Moore in the ensemble dramedy The Myth of Fingerprints (1997), playing an eccentric New England townie who has a crush on Moore's icy, cosmopolitan yuppie. With the film, LeGros began a long-standing collaboration with the film's writer-director -- and Moore's real-life beau -- Bart Freundlich, who would go on to cast LeGros in his subsequent films, including the road movie World Traveler (2001), the family film Catch That Kid (2003), and the screwball relationship comedy Trust the Man (2006).In the intervening years, LeGros made a successful return to the medium that gave him his first break: television. He was exposed to perhaps his widest audience to date in 1998 on the venerable medical drama ER, and then on the popular series Ally McBeal, in 2000 and 2001. A starring role on Showtime's gritty, controversial terrorist drama Sleeper Cell followed in 2005.