Trivia: With her memorably statuesque figure and alluring countenance, African-American model-turned-actress Tracee Ellis Ross (the daughter of chanteuse Diana Ross and Robert Ellis Silberstein) plunged headfirst into print and fashion work with such enthusiasm and vigor that she became a frequent presence on the covers of such magazines as Essence, Jet, and Vibe Vixen, posing for such legends as Herb Ritts and Francesco Scavullo. Within this arena, Ross commandeered attention to rival any of her runway contemporaries. Ross segued into acting in the mid- to late '90s, with contributions such efforts as the low-key, ensemble-oriented psychological drama Far Harbor (1996, her cinematic debut) and Jim Yukich's romantic comedy A Fare to Remember (1999), and hosted the Lifetime talk program The Dish, before making her biggest splash as thirtysomething attorney-turned-restaurant proprietor Joan Clayton on the blockbuster UPN sitcom Girlfriends -- which enjoyed a lengthy run, maintained exemplary ratings, and netted more than a few industry awards for Ross. In 2007, the actress teamed up with writer/director Tyler Perry and actress Gabrielle Union for the big-screen romantic comedy Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls. A recurring role on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation followed in 2011, and that same year Ross starred opposite Cosby Show alumni Malcolm-Jamal Warner in the BET sitcom Reed Between the Lines, which followed a psychiatrist and a professor as they struggled to balance their careers with their roles as parents to three multi-racial children.

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: Texas-born African-American actress and print model Jill Marie Jones (not to be confused with the musician/singer/songwriter Jill Jones, of Prince fame) first landed in the national spotlight for her regular role on the prime-time comedy drama Girlfriends, as Toni Childs, a slightly narcissistic and vociferous mother. Jones also starred in the 2007 black comedy Redrum, as a young woman who learns that she can pep up her flaccid marriage by committing cold-blooded murder. In terms of modeling, Jones maintained her highest profile gracing billboards and print ads for the Bailey's Irish Cream "Serve Chilled" campaign.

Trivia: To the millions who tune in to get their music information from MTV, he's the solemn voice who has delivered the good, the bad, and the ugly on celebrities. News correspondent Kurt Loder has withstood the obnoxious Jesse Camp trend, the out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new trend, and everything in between. Loder started at MTV in 1988 as anchor of the music news program The Week in Rock, which evolved into 1515, and has covered various teen-culture topics such as drug abuse and neo-Nazi bands. Not to be pigeonholed as merely a spouter of news reports, Loder has also interviewed everyone from Madonna to the Who. Raised in New Jersey, he spent three years in the U.S. Army and, before coming back to the States, was a journalist in Europe. After his return, he wrote for Circus Magazine in the late '70s and then spent nine years as a writer/senior editor at Rolling Stone, to which he still contributes. Loder has also written for Esquire, Details, and Time. He also does daily news reports for MTV Radio Network. The result of his writing talents not only earned him a New York Times best-seller, but a major motion picture as well. His biography on the tempestuous life of Tina Turner during her years with abusive husband Ike, I, Tina, was the basis for the movie What's Love Got to Do With It starring Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne. He has also written liner notes for the 1990 Led Zeppelin box set and the various-artists We Will Fall: The Iggy Pop Tribute, among others, and has played himself in a few movies, including Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 and Airheads.