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: Wayne Brady may have made one of his most lasting marks serenading unsuspecting audience members with love ballads on the American version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? Hosted by Drew Carey, the show featured Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles, and other regulars, who played improvisational games in front of a studio audience. Brady's brilliant interaction with the other players on the show earned him not only three Emmy nominations (one of which actually found the comic taking home the prize), but enough attention to spawn his own Emmy award-winning series, The Wayne Brady Show, in 2001.Born June 2, 1972, in Orlando, FL, Brady began performing the central Florida theater circuit when he was still a teenager. After a brief stay in Las Vegas, he relocated to Los Angeles in 1996, where he gained a lot of stage and television experience as a dramatic artist. He made appearances on several dramatic series including I'll Fly Away and In the Heat of the Night. In 1998, he hosted the VH-1 series Vinyl Justice, in addition to his late-'90s appearance on Whose Line Is It Anyway? The TV-movie musical Geppetto featured Brady in the role of a magician, alongside Whose Line host Drew Carey, who starred in the comedy.The Wayne Brady Show debuted in 2001. Written by, produced by, and starring Wayne Brady, the series showcased both his comedic and dramatic talents. A sketch comedy show that had a relatively brief run on daytime television, The Wayne Brady Show nevertheless paved the way for a similarly-titled talk show that would hit the airwaves the very same year the original Wayne Brady Show was cancelled. His popularity growing at a rapid rate thanks to his amiable, down-to-earth persona and everyman attitude, Brady proved that he had a sense of humor about his nice guy image but memorably portraying himself as a drug-dealing psychopath on a particularly memorable episode of the wildly popular Comedy Central series Chappelle's Show in 2004. Numerous appearances in a variety of television series' including Reno 911, Stargate SG-1, and Kevin Hill were quick to follow, and in February of 2006 the versitile comic would serve as host to the thought-provoking TV Land series That's What I'm Talking About; a free-flowing look at the Black lifestyle in America that featured such special guests as Spike Lee, Wanda Sykes, DL Hughley, and Paul Mooney. As a recurring role in the popular television series Girlfriends continued to keep Brady busy on the small screen, additional performances in such wide-release features as the retro-minded roller-skating comedy drama Roll Bounce and the high-stakes streetball drama Crossover found the comic's film career continuing to gain momentum as well. In 2007 he began a three-year run hosting the music-related game show Don't Forget the Lyrics, and followed that up by filling the substantial shoes of Monty Hall as the MC of the relaunched Let's Make a Deal.

Trivia: Is Jewish.Gave $100 to Jennifer Aniston for her first headshots in L.A.Made her television debut in the series finale of The Facts of Life in 1988, playing Ashley Payne.Served as music supervisor in the 1997 romantic comedy I Love You, Don't Touch Me!Feature film directorial debut was the 1999 romantic comedy Standing on Fishes.

Trivia: When the sensual and alluring African-American actress Keesha Sharp first came to national attention in the early 2000s, she did so via a series of bit roles in urban comedies and dramas, such as the goofy Lance Crouther-headlined superhero farce Pootie Tang (2001) and Laurice Guillen's ethnic ensemble piece American Adobo (2002). Following small appearances in the 2003 duds Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood and Malibu's Most Wanted, Sharp signed for her most prominent turn, that of Monica in the syndicated series Girlfriends. She could also be seen in a recurring role on the family sitcom Everybody Hates Chris starting in 2005.

Trivia: Best known for playing unapologetically mature, assertive, and intelligent adult women, African-American supporting actress Jenifer Lewis originally launched her career as a vocalist, singing in a church choir in Kinloch, MO. Lewis' passion (and gift) for singing carried her to the Great White Way, where she appeared in a number of sell-out Broadway musicals -- including Ain't Misbehavin' and Dreamgirls. She subsequently migrated to the West Coast for a string of appearances in TV programs such as Roc, A Different World, Murphy Brown, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, Touched by an Angel, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and graduated to features in 1992. The films in which Lewis has appeared run the gamut of quality, from outstanding (What's Love Got to Do With It?, 1993) to satisfactory (Sister Act, 1992; The Preacher's Wife, 1996) to downright abominable (Frozen Assets, 1992); many, however, demonstrated her fine gifts. More recently, Lewis attained some much-deserved recognition (and ascended to higher than usual billing) with her multi-season portrayal of Lana Hawkins in the prime-time medical drama Strong Medicine (2000).