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: American character actor Khalil Kain built a varied and substantial resumé from the early '90s onward, in a dazzling combination of films and television series. Though he debuted as Raheem in director Ernest Dickerson's urban crime drama Juice, Kain quickly broke the mold of roles traditionally offered to young African-American males by branching off into some unusual and variegated arenas. He followed up his Dickerson work with a turn as Private Roosevelt Hobbs in the Penny Marshall-directed, Danny DeVito-headlined service comedy Renaissance Man (1994), then landed guest appearances in such sitcoms as Suddenly Susan and Friends, and a plum role as porno star Venus, in Dan Ireland's romantic triangle-themed erotic dramedy The Velocity of Gary (1998). Kain returned to urban material (albeit unconventional urban material) opposite rapper Snoop Dogg in Dickerson's gruesome haunted-house movie Bones (2001). He also played Gene in the mockumentary Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys (2005), headlined by columnist Barry, actor John Cleese and footballer Dan Marino, and played Darnell Wilkes in the sitcom Girlfriends.

Trivia: A dedicated actress who has transcended her meager beginnings to become a valuable onscreen commodity, Terri J. Vaughn did her best to keep off of the streets while growing up in San Francisco's Ridgeview Terrace Housing Project -- and one look at her impressive film credits shows that all of the hard work most definitely paid off. The daughter of a hardworking secretary and department-store employee, Vaughn divided her time between studying, singing in the church choir, modeling, and working at McDonald's early on. And while all of this served well to instill the ambitious young woman with a solid sense of self and purpose, her peers weren't always so impressed. It was during this period in her life that Vaughn became a frequent target for neighborhood bullies, which helped her to realize just how hopeless some of her peers truly felt. Later, Vaughn was determined to purchase her own car and go to college -- a goal she ultimately achieved by working as an operator and a post-office employee in order to pay both her car payments and her tuition at California State University. At a friend's request, Vaughn participated in the Miss Black California Pageant while a senior at CSU. Her reading of a passage from Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf marked a turning point when she earned a spot in the Los Angeles finals and one of the judges asked her to appear in a play he was producing. Soon spirited away on a 20-city tour of Tellin' It Like It Tiz, Vaughn had finally found her calling in life. Numerous stage roles were quick to follow, with a brief appearance on the hit television series Living Single marking her arrival as a film and television actress. Throughout the 1990s, Vaughn's career gained momentum thanks to parts in such films as Friday, Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood, and 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag, with subsequent television roles in The Steve Harvey Show, Soul Food, and All of Us showing that the rising starlet was equally comfortable on screens both large and small. In 2006 and 2007, respectively, Vaughn could be seen in the independent comedy drama Dirty Laundry and the Tyler Perry drama Daddy's Little Girls. In addition to her acting work, Vaughn has shown her commitment to bettering the lives of young girls growing up in public housing and foster care by founding the Take Wings Foundation -- which aims to motivate, uplift, and inspire adolescents aged 13 to 18 by encouraging them to be positive, productive, and successful.