Trivia: The career of funny girl Mo'Nique began in her early twenties, when she took to the improv comedy stage on a dare from her brother. The impulsive decision met with success, and she began to pursue a career in standup comedy, eventually performing on such renowned shows as Def Comedy Jam, Showtime at the Apollo, and Snaps. Mo'Nique's big break came in 1999, when she landed her own sitcom, starring on UPN's The Parkers as a single mom attending college alongside her daughter. She was 32 years old, and the days when she was working at the phone company in her hometown of Baltimore were about to seem very far away. The critical and commercial success of The Parkers led to a slew of awards and movie roles, including Two Can Play That Game, Baby Boy, Half Past Dead, Shadowboxer, Domino, and Soul Plane. Despite having her pick of scripted roles, Mo'Nique was still itching to get back to her standup roots. She joined Adele Givens, Sommore, and Laura Hayes for a hugely successful comedy tour called The Queens of Comedy, which was captured on film and released by Paramount Home Entertainment and the Showtime network in 2002. Never shying away from her status as a full-figured woman, Mo'Nique has used her notoriety and her famously sarcastic wit in order to advocate for voluptuous women everywhere. Her funny and empowering book Skinny Women Are Evil became a best-seller in 2003, and she soon afterward began working with the Oxygen network on a beauty pageant for full-figured women called F.A.T. Chance -- an acronym for "fabulous and thick." She also starred in the movie Phat Girlz in 2006, playing a struggling fashion designer looking for love and success in a world of "hot bodies." Later that same year, the large-and-in-charge star could be seen onscreen with the Broken Lizard comedy troupe in the alcohol-chugging chuckler Beerfest. In 2009, she began hosting her own talk show on BET, The Mo'Nique Show.It was Mo'Nique's harrowing turn as an abusive mother in Precious, however, that made people aware of the full range of her talents. Her blistering portrayal won her the Best Supporting Actress award from a great many critics groups, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Hollywood Foreign Press. She went on to win the Oscar in that category as well.

Trivia: The spunky and pretty (if unconventional) supporting actress Jenna von Oÿ won the hearts of younger Gen-X viewers -- particularly girly girls -- with her role as Six LeMeure, the ever-present, capped pal of Blossom Russo (Mayim Bialik) on the popular sitcom Blossom (1991-1995). The actress' career far predates that series, however; a connate performer, she first hit the stage at age five, as Molly the orphan in a local rendition of Annie -- and virtually walked away with the production. Taking this as a cue, von Oÿ's parents began shuttling their eager pint-sized daughter off to casting auditions, and within two years, she landed a commercial for Northern bathroom tissue...then a miniseries...then soaps. By 1989, the then-11-year-old actress scored her first huge break: as the young version of Susanne, a childhood friend of Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise) in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July. (According to the press, Stone originally selected von Oÿ for another role, but the actress's father forbade it because it required some "indecent" behavior onscreen.) Blossom producers launched their series in January 1991, and scored favorable ratings up through the program's penultimate season. Several years later -- after Blossom wrapped -- von Oÿ shifted gears somewhat, voicing Stacey in the Disney animated picture A Goofy Movie and its 2000 sequel, An Extremely Goofy Movie. The actress found a second incarnation of Blossom by playing Stevie, best friend of main character Nikki Parker (Mo'nique) on the UPN sitcom The Parkers (1999-2004). In a dramatic change of pace, (von Oÿ) also played Shelby Blake, a sorority pledge who dies by falling from a clock tower during a pledge, in the 1997 made-for-television feature Dying to Belong.

Trivia: As an advocate of black comedians' talent, D.L. Hughley worked to support their careers, leading by example. After years of experience in the standup circuit, Hughley took on the role of host of BET's Comic View in 1992, in addition to various other television appearances on comedy programs and sitcoms. He was born on March 6, 1963, named Darryl Hughley, and raised in Southern California, where he would spend the majority of his performing life as well. On February 22, 1986, he wed his wife LaDonna, with whom he had three children.Once Hughley had gained some attention as a standup comedian, he appeared on an HBO special, which led to his status as host of Comic View. In 1995, he played Marlon on the TV series Double Rush, and starred in his self-monikered sitcom The Hughleys as himself in 1998. The following year, he performed the voice for the Gadgetmobile in the live-action film Inspector Gadget (starring Matthew Broderick), inspired by the 1980s cartoon series of the same name.He appeared in the Spike Lee documentary The Original Kings of Comedy, which also featured several other accomplished black comedians including Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, and Bernie Mac. In 2001, Hughley expanded his performance horizons with his role in the dramatic comedy The Brothers, a film by Gary Hardwick exploring the realms of friendship and marriage. After The Hughleys wrapped in 2002, he continued to remain a constant fixture in the comedy scene, appearing in additional films like 2004's Soul Plane. He also took on the recurring role of Simon Stiles on the critically acclaimed but short-lived Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip in 2006 and 2007 as well as the comedy series Glory Daze in 2011. Venturing back into film, Hughley signed on to appear in the action comedy Cat Run later that same year.