Daisy Fuentes made TV history in the late 1980s as the first person to do double duty as a veejay on both MTV and its Spanish-language sister network MTV Latino. The tall, attractive TV personality was born in Cuba and spent part of her formative years in Spain before her family arrived in the USA and settled in New Jersey in the early 1970s. A neighbor employed in fashion asked a 16-year-old Fuentes to serve as a substitute for a sick model at a photo shoot, launching a career as a print model. While still a college student and not yet out of teens, she landed a gig as a weather girl at Manhattan's Univision affiliate (WXTV Channel 41). Switching to rival Telemundo, she graduated to news reader. Hired in 1988 as the host of "MYV Internacional", a one-hour Spanish-language music show aired in Latin America and the USA, Fuentes moved to MTV, where she achieved name recognition as one of that network's more popular hosts and soon was courted by companies to be a spokesmodel.

Whether it was a sexy role in “Summer School” (1987), a smart role on “Ally McBeal” (Fox,1997-2000) or a troubled role on “Melrose Place” (Fox 1992-97), earthy blonde beauty Courtney Thorne-Smith delighted fans for almost twenty years, providing her own wit, depth and charm to “good girl” parts, which in lesser hands, could have come across as thankless and bland.

Thorne-Smith was born on Nov. 8, 1967 in San Francisco, CA and later graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, CA. She realized her love of acting while performing in a kindergarten production of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Her father, a computer market researcher, and her mother, a therapist, divorced when she was seven years old, leaving her to live with one or both of them at different stages of her childhood and teenage years. She began her career with the Ensemble Theatre Company in Mill Valley, CA while still a student in high school.

Since her debut in the little seen "Little Witches", (1996) prolific actress Clea DuVall has racked up an impressive number of film credits in a short time. The sandy-haired, freckled player gave a spirited comic performance as the star of the quirky independent feature "How to Make the Cruelest Month", which made the festival circuit in 1998. As Bell Bryant, a young woman desperate to fall in love and determined to quit smoking who reaches a crossroads in her life that coincides with the new year, DuVall won acclaim for her work as the intensely neurotic heroine. Generally cast in roles that downplay her average looks, DuVall, like many enduring actresses before her, has made a name based on her skill and dynamic presence rather than her pretty face.

 While still in his twenties, the likeable and low-key Casey Affleck, who enjoyed a slow and steady rise as an actor, saw the show business mechanics from the inside out while watching his older brother Ben Affleck gain meteoric Hollywood success – as well as the inevitable and subsequently vicious backlash. Still, the younger Affleck saw himself on another path, eschewing studio-produced Frankenstein projects in favor of eclectic character parts. The promise of his early work in “To Die For” (1995) and “Good Will Hunting” (1997) did eventually lead him to the blockbuster types like “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001) and its star-packed sequels. While nestled comfortably into one of Hollywood’s most entertaining ensembles, Affleck still found a way to comfortably transform in a variety of projects, creating a witty, quirky onscreen persona along the way.

A petite attractive performer with large expressive eyes, energetic and versatile actress Brittany Murphy shot to stardom as Tai, the fashion-challenged brunette transfer student whom Alicia Silverstone's Cher takes under her wing, in the hit comedy "Clueless" (1995). The New Jersey native was already an established veteran, though, having begun her performing career at age two. Murphy was singing and dancing as the lead in a regional production of "Really Rosie" at age nine and had relocated to L.A. by age 13.

This multi-talented performer shot to fame when she conquered Broadway with her galvanizing stage presence in the musicals, "I Can Get It for You Wholesale" (1962) and "Funny Girl" (1964), in the latter as the gawky but gifted Fanny Brice. Streisand next powered a number of popular albums ("My Name Is Barbra") and award-winning TV specials ("Barbra Streisand: A Happening in Central Park"; "My Name Is Barbra", which was based on her hit album and won five Emmys) before moving into films.

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It was difficult to say whether Shannen Doherty was best known for her acting or her off camera antics. As Brenda Walsh, twin sister to Brandon and the resident Midwestern girl putting down roots in Beverly Hills, Doherty made her mark on pop cultural history with her four-year stint on Fox's iconic TV hit, “Beverly Hills, 90210” (1990-2000). At the same time she played virginal Brenda, Doherty began attracting media attention – both tabloid and mainstream – for her perceived temperamental behavior off screen.

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When it came time to find a young actress to assume the role of the twins (originated by Hayley Mills) for the 1998 remake of the film "The Parent Trap," an exhaustive casting search occurred throughout the USA, Canada and even in London. Perhaps because the behind-the-scenes figures opted to avoid the obvious and cast the Olsen twins, thousands of girls were considered. After three callbacks and a screen test with stars Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson, freckle-faced Long Islander, Lindsay Lohan, won the role.

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On the Disney Channel series “Hannah Montana” (2006- ), Miley Cyrus played a perky, charming middle-school student who just happened to lead a double life as the pop queen Hannah Montana, disguising her true identity by means of a wig. While the premise was the definition of hokey TV fabrications, it was actually not too far removed from Cyrus’ own life.

BIOGRAPHY

A bubbly, blonde pop music sensation who built a fan base with a girl-next-door sweetness, catchy tunes, flashy dance moves and a magnetic sexual appeal, Britney Spears went from a small-town Louisiana girl to the veritable heir to Madonna's media saturation crown, beginning with the release of her first single in 1998 and holding fast well into the next millennium – and much like Madonna, the attention quickly shifted away from her artistry and focused squarely on her personal dramas.