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: If there's one word that can best describe Brandy, it's synergy. Dominating pop charts wasn't enough for the young R&B singer, so she followed in the footsteps of Madonna, Charo, and many a one-named diva and began to take more acting and modeling gigs. Brandy was born in McComb, MS, on February 11, 1979, but grew up in Carson, CA, with her parents and younger brother Ray-J, another aspiring musician. She declared precociously at age four that she would sing professionally and drew attention performing with youth groups in her middle-class neighborhood.Brandy made her acting debut in 1993 with a supporting role on ABC's short-lived television series Thea. Shortly after Thea's demise in 1994, the 15-year-old released her self-titled first album, which went triple-platinum and featured hit singles like "I Wanna Be Down" and "Baby."But interestingly enough, music sat on the back burner while Brandy pursued her acting career. She won the title role in UPN's family drama Moesha in 1996 and starred a year later as Cinderella in ABC's star-studded TV-movie version of the fairy tale. During breaks from these and other projects, she recorded Never S-A-Y Never, the eagerly awaited follow-up to her first album. Powered by "The Boy Is Mine," her duet with fellow teen star Monica, the 1998 album sold extraordinarily well and also produced the hits "Have You Ever" and "Almost Doesn't Count." 1998 and 1999 were busy years for her. In addition to Moesha, she starred in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer with Jennifer Love Hewitt and starred and executive produced Double Platinum, a TV-movie feature with Diana Ross. Brandy also spent time touring in support of her album, performed on VH1's Divas Live, and became a spokesmodel for Cover Girl cosmetics. It's a wonder she had time to go to the prom with future basketball star and good friend Kobe Bryant.But it was all due to catch up to her. In November 1999, amid rumors that she was addicted to diet pills and squabbling with producers on her TV show, Brandy collapsed and was hospitalized three days for dehydration. Moesha ended its run in 2001 and Brandy focused her energies on attending classes at Pepperdine University.In 2006, she served as a judge on America's Got Talent for one season, and had a recurring role on One on One. She appeared on her brother's reality show, For the Love of Ray J, before the two had their own show together, Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business. She also competed on season 11 of Dancing with the Stars in 2010. She joined BET sitcom The Game in 2012 as a recurring character before being bumped up to a series regular.