Trivia: Brash and brassy comedian Roseanne is a one-of-a-kind talent who during her career has undergone many substantial changes that have transformed her from trailer-trash queen to one of the most powerful women in Hollywood. Around age 18, Roseanne Barr moved to a Colorado hippie commune where she met Bill Pentland. They married in 1973 and moved to Denver, where they struggled to support their three subsequent children. By the mid-'70s, Roseanne was working as both a cocktail waitress and a window dresser to help feed her family. Impressed by her quick, caustic wit and funny insights into women, men, and domestic life, friends and patrons suggested she take her stories on-stage at a local comedy club. It was on-stage where she honed her famous characterization of the dumpy, domineering, and earthy "Domestic Goddess." Within a few years, Roseanne had become one of the most popular standup acts in Denver, and in 1983 she headed for Hollywood to further her career. She quickly landed a gig at The Comedy Store and then appeared on the ABC television special Funny. During rehearsal, she was spotted by a talent scout from The Tonight Show, who promptly booked her for an appearance. It was a great success. In 1988, her innovative and distinguished television sitcom, Roseanne, debuted on ABC and centered on the struggles of an overweight, domineering mother and her raucous, working-class family that is often on the brink of financial and personal crisis but always manages to somehow hang together. Roseanne and her brood were real people facing real problems that weren't always neatly solved in 30 minutes. The shows were often simultaneously poignant and hilarious; until its last two seasons, Roseanne topped the ratings, and won numerous awards and honors. During the course of the show, the many changes in Roseanne's personal life were reflected on the air. When she underwent breast-reduction surgery, her character did too. When she married Tom Arnold in 1990, he became a part of her show and she proudly billed herself as Roseanne Arnold. When the marriage broke up, he disappeared and she began billing herself only as Roseanne. She eventually married her bodyguard Ben Thomas and at the age of 43 had herself impregnated via in vitro fertilization. Her character, Roseanne Conner, also got pregnant. Even the plastic surgeries she has had on her face have received some treatment on the show, in this case via the opening credits, wherein her photographs from the past nine seasons reflect her change from the frowzy to the almost glamorous. Her series ended in May 1997. Though best known for her television work and live performances, Roseanne has also made periodic stabs at a movie career; she made her debut as a vengeful housewife opposite Meryl Streep in the comedy She-Devil (1989). The film received decidedly mixed reviews, and Roseanne's subsequent film appearances have been in cameos or small supporting roles. Over her career, Roseanne has received numerous awards, including an Emmy, several People's Choice Awards, Golden Globes, and an American Comedy Award. She was the fourth woman ever to become the star attraction at a Friar's Club celebrity roast. Back in the late '80s through the early '90s, Roseanne's tumultuous personal life, her often public and ill-timed abrasive nature coupled with her phenomenal popularity made her a favorite target of tabloid newspapers. Never one to shy away from such issues, she tells her own story in two books, the best-selling My Life As a Woman (1989) and My Lives (1994). She has also been frequently skewered by critics and wags who have difficulty accepting the fact that through sheer force of will, she has been able to overcome all obstacles to become a powerful and successful woman.

Trivia: A native of the Virgin Islands, black leading man Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs began popping up with regularity on American TV and movie screens in 1974. His earliest credits include the Diahann Carroll film Claudine (1974) and a well-distributed TV public service announcement produced by the United Negro College Fund. In 1975, Hilton-Jacobs was cast as wisecracking "sweathog" Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington on the TV sitcom Welcome Back Kotter; he won the role on the strength of his work in the 1975 theatrical feature Cooley High. During the long Kotter run, Hilton-Jacobs was one of several prominent black performers to appear in the groundbreaking miniseries Roots (1977). Like most of the rest of the Kotter cast, Hilton-Jacobs found the going a bit rough after the series was cancelled in 1979. His subsequent work has included a major role in the 1989 pilot film for the Fox Network series Alien Nation, and the part of Joseph Jackson in the top-rated 1992 TV biopic The Jacksons: The American Dream. Turning to directing in the early 1990s, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs has helmed such productions as Angel of the City (1990) and Sweetfire (1991).

Trivia: A master of several Japanese martial arts, Steven Seagal is a popular action movie hero whose films combine spiritual concepts and social/environmental consciousness with high-voltage violence. Born in Lansing, MI, on April 10, 1951, Seagal traveled to Japan at the age of 17. There, he taught English, studied Zen, and perfected his martial arts, earning black belts in Aikido, karate, judo, and kendo. Afterwards, he became the first Westerner to open a martial arts school in Japan. During this time, Seagal occasionally choreographed fight scenes in movies and coached such stars as Sean Connery and Toshiro Mifune. He also became interested in Eastern religion: in a November 1997 interview for the Shambala Sun, he stated that his relationship with Tibetan Buddhism resulted from his study of acupuncture. According to Seagal, several ailing Tibetan lamas, suffering from malnutrition, exhaustion, and the effects of Chinese torture, were sent to him for treatment, which led him to become a director of secret security operations and setting up special safe houses. Regarding other incidents from his past, Seagal has remained secretive, though he was allegedly a bounty hunter and occasionally has hinted about involvement with the CIA. Further speculation has surrounded the work he did on behalf of Tibetan freedom fighters, and it was not until 1997 that he mentioned the large amounts of money he claimed to have donated to various religious organizations. Seagal spent about 15 years in Asia before returning to the States, where he opened a new martial arts academy and also worked as a celebrity bodyguard. His clients included his future (now ex-) wife Kelly LeBrock and Hollywood agent Michael Ovitz. With help from Ovitz, Seagal contracted to make martial arts films for Warner Bros. For his first film, he and cinematographer-turned-director Andrew Davis carefully refashioned an average police drama into Above the Law (1988), which stressed characterization and plot as well as high-energy action scenes. It was well received and Seagal found himself an instant star among action aficionados. His next film, Hard to Kill (1989), overflowed with chop-socky violence, casting him as a cop who wakens from a coma and sets out for revenge against those who sent him to the hospital. Seagal attracted mainstream appeal in 1992 when he starred in the Davis-directed hit Under Siege, his most popular movie. In 1994, he made his directorial debut with the environmentally conscious but critically panned On Deadly Ground, in which he single-handedly attempts to save Alaska and the Eskimos from an avaricious oil tycoon. Subsequent action attempts included 1996's Executive Decision and 1998's The Patriot. In 1999, Seagal turned to producing with Prince of Central Park, an uncharacteristically gentle film about a young boy living in the titular park. Following a rollicking time in the corrupt cop thriller Exit Wounds (2001), Segal shook things up behind bars in Half Past Dead (2002). The coming years would find Segal continuing to star in low proifle action fare like Urban Justice and Flight of Fury. He'd also find success starring on the TV series True Justice.In 1997, Seagal publicly announced that one of his prime Buddhist teachers, His Holiness Penor Rinpoche, had proclaimed him a tulku, the reincarnation of a Buddhist lama. Seagal's announcement met with some cynicism, but Penor Rinpoche backed him up with a formal statement at Colorado's Naropa Institute. In subsequent interviews, Seagal has presented himself as a serious student of Buddhism who spends many hours meditating, studying, and practicing the tenets to help him become a teacher and healer.