Trivia: A successful standup comedian, the headliner of one of television's most popular sitcoms, a movie star, and a best-selling author, Tim Allen spent much of the '90s being a "Male Pig," a source of pride for countless men, and a franchise unto himself. He was born Timothy Allen Dick, in Denver, CO, one of ten brothers and sisters. Mercilessly teased by his peers because of his last name, Allen developed a keen sense of humor to protect himself. His father died in an auto accident in 1964 when Allen was 11, and his mother later married an old high school flame who had also lost his wife in a car crash. Eventually the family moved to a suburb of Detroit. In 1976, Allen graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in television production and went on to work in a sporting goods store and then in an advertising agency. He made his debut as a standup comedian at Detroit's Comedy Castle in 1979 after accepting a dare from a good friend, but his career was cut short when he was arrested for dealing cocaine and sentenced to 15 months in federal prison. Following his release, Allen decided to turn over a new leaf and concentrate on his standup career. His early comedy routines were characterized by their vulgarity, and Allen did not find success until he perfected his "Men Are Pigs" routine. A glorious celebration of the masculine mystique centering on the joys of big block engines and tools (especially power tools), punctuated by his trademark manly grunting, the routine made him a hot property on the nightclub circuit and led to a series of televised specials on the Showtime cable network in the early '90s. While constructing his career, Allen moonlighted in television commercials, including spots as Mr. Goodwrench. It was while performing for a Showtime special that he got his break in series television. Jeffrey Katzenberg, the chairman of Disney Studios, saw his act, liked it, and with Walt Disney Company chairman Michael Eisner, offered him the lead in a couple of planned series based on popular films; but Allen didn't feel they were right and suggested instead that they do a series based on his comedy character. They agreed, and Home Improvement, the continuing saga of bumbling TV handyman (whose show somewhat resembled This Old House) Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor and his brood, debuted on the ABC television network in September 1991. It quickly went on to become one of the most consistently highly rated shows on television. Allen made his starring feature film debut in 1994 with the box-office busting The Santa Clause. That same year, he also published a best-selling book, Don't Stand Too Close to a Naked Man. In 1995, he provided the voice for the heroic toy astronaut Buzz Lightyear in Disney's computer-generated extravaganza Toy Story, and the following year published his second book I'm Not Really Here, a more philosophical look at his life, his fame, and his family. In 1997, he starred in the largely panned Jungle to Jungle, and could not be seen on the big screen again until 1999. That year -- the same year Home Improvement ended its highly successful run -- he reprised his Buzz Lightyear role for Toy Story 2 and starred in the sci-fi spoof Galaxy Quest. Though his next film, Big Trouble, was pulled from its original release date and delayed by Touchstone (the studio thought audiences may find the plot involving a missing nuclear bomb distasteful after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks), fans could still get their fill of the popular funnyman with the release of Joe Somebody in late 2001.When Big Trouble and Joe Somebody proved to be box-office duds, Allen returned to familiar territory in 2002, starring in the sequel The Santa Clause 2. With the success of that sequel under his belt, Allen stuck with the holiday genre for his next starring role. Playing opposite Jamie Lee Curtis, Allen filled the lead for 2004's adaptation of John Grisham's Skipping Christmas, Christmas with the Kranks; in what was becoming a pattern in his career, the movie was reviled by critics, but did well at the box-office. Allen fared slightly better with his first 2006 effort, a remake of Disney's The Shaggy Dog. Summer 2006's superhero-school comedy Zoom came and went; a second Santa Clause sequel, entitled The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, did modest business considering the franchise. The early-2007 weekend-warrior comedy Wild Hogs -- in which Allen joined Martin Lawrence, John Travolta and William H. Macy -- may not have seemed like a good bet on paper, but its surprise success did much to establish Allen in a new, non-holiday franchise.Allen went outside his comfort zone to play a spoiled Hollywood superstar in David Mamet's Redbelt in 2008, and a couple of years later he directed Crazy on the Outside. He reliably returned to voice Buzz Lightyear in a third Toy Story film, as well as in a handful of shorts created by Pixar featuring the character. In 2011 he returned to the small-screen as the star of Last Man Standing, and the next year he narrated the Disney nature film Chimpanzee.

Trivia: The ever-fascinating Nancy Travis excelled in edgy, neurotic characterizations during the 1990s; she sounds like a chain-smoker or Valium-popper even when not playing one. Graduating with a BA degree from New York University, Travis apprenticed at Circle in the Square, acted in the touring company of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs, and starred on Broadway with Judd Hirsch in I'm Not Rappaport. As a means of continually recharging her creative batteries, she helped found the Naked Angels, an off-Broadway acting troupe. After laboring in virtual anonymity in such TV movies as Malice in Wonderland (1985), Travis was afforded top billing in the 1986 two-parter Harem, lending a little artistry and dignity to an otherwise trivial affair. Her movie breakthrough was in the role of the errant, unmarried British mother Sylvia in Three Men and a Baby (1987) and its 1990 sequel Three Men and a Little Lady. More complex roles came her way in Internal Affairs (1992), The Vanishing (1993) and Chaplin (1993); in the latter film, she appeared as the real-life Joan Barry, whose spiteful and unfounded paternity suit against Charlie Chaplin (Robert Downey Jr.) was the beginning of the end of The Little Tramp's Hollywood career. Even when playing comedy in So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993), Travis retained her ticking-bomb, "don't turn your back on me" aura. Nancy Travis' television credits of the 1990s include her gravelly voiceover work as Aunt Bernice on the animated weekly Duckman (1993- ) and her starring stint on the so-so 1995 sitcom Almost Perfect.

Trivia: An actor of seemingly boundless range, New York-born Hector Elizondo began his career as a dancer. His initial training was at the Ballet Arts school of Carnegie Hall, from which he moved on to the Actors Studio. After several years' stage work, Elizondo made an inauspicious movie debut as "The Inspector" in the low-budget sex film The Vixens (1969). He was shown to better advantage in his next film, Hal Ashby's The Landlord (1970), which he followed up with strong character parts in such Manhattan-based productions as The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) and Thieves (1977). With Young Doctors in Love (1982), Elizondo began his long association with director Garry Marshall, who has since cast the actor in all of his films, in roles both sizable (Matt Dillon's dad in The Flamingo Kid [1984], the cafe owner in Frankie and Johnny [1991]), and microscopic (Overboard [1987]). Elizondo's screen roles have run the gamut from scrungy garbage scow captains to elegant concierges (Pretty Woman). In addition, he has been a regular on several mediocre television series: Popi, Freebie and the Bean, Casablanca (in the old Claude Rains role of Inspector Renault), a.k.a. Pablo, Foley Square, and Down and Out in Beverly Hills, In 1994, Elizondo took on a co-starring role as a demanding chief of surgery on the popular TV medical drama Chicago Hope. Other non-Marshall highlights in his filmography include Tortilla Soup, Overboard, Necessary Roughness, and Music Within.

Trivia: Started acting while at musical-theater camp when she was a child. Worked as a model. Her first TV role was on the Fox sitcom The Grubbs. Appeared on Lost as the teenage Eloise Hawking.

Trivia: Began taking classes at the Dallas Young Actors Studio at age 9. Took classes in gymnastics, ballet and skating, and played soccer before her parents let her begin acting. Was discovered by an agent during a talent showcase. Once ate a huge amount of chicken snacks during a long fast-food restaurant ad shoot and had "the time of my life."

Trivia: Made professional debut at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA. (where she grew up) at age 13. Was nominated for a Philadelphia Barrymore Award as Little Red Riding Hood in a 2000 production of Into the Woods and for a New York Drama League Award for the same role in 2002 (her Broadway debut). Made her movie debut in the 2008 comedy College Road Trip. Costarred in the horror movies Paranormal Activity 2 and 3. Starred in a 2010 production of The Diary of Anne Frank at Connecticut's Westport Country Playhouse.

Trivia: Once played six characters in the same play, a production of A Christmas Carol at the Flat Rock Playhouse in North Carolina. Decided to pursue an acting career at age 16 and appeared in commercials before landing a role in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006). Considered becoming an engineer and studied drafting at Blue Ridge Community College in North Carolina. Hobbies include surfing and riding motorcycles. Is an Eagle Scout.

Trivia: New York native Jamie-Lynn Sigler started acting at the tender age of seven, appearing in regional theater productions and eventually working her way up through the professional ranks. In 1999, she added on-camera acting to her repertoire when she was cast as Meadow Soprano, daughter of mob boss Tony Soprano on the smash-hit HBO Mafia series The Sopranos, but she didn't take stage acting off her list of priorities. By 2001, the 20-year-old actress had nabbed the lead role in a touring production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, opposite Eartha Kitt, and by 2002, she was starring as Belle in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast. The Sopranos became a cultural phenomenon and Sigler became a household name. She took the opportunity to try out other projects, like the 2004 TV movie Call Me: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss, in which she played the title role. She also got married to her agent, A.J. DiScala, in 2003 and changed her name to Jamie-Lynn DiScala, saying that she was a traditional girl and had always planned to take her husband's name. Unfortunately, their marriage came to an end in 2006, and the young actress went back to her maiden name. As The Sopranos approached its sixth and final season in 2007, Sigler had a number or projects waiting in the wings. She'd already signed on to appear in two comedies slated for release later that year: New York City Serenade, with Freddie Prinze Jr., and Homie Spumoni, with Whoopi Goldberg.

Trivia: First acting experience was as the lead role in his elementary school's production of The Polar Express. Began taking acting classes at John Robert Powers Modeling, Acting Agency & Finishing School in seventh grade. Cites Shia LaBeouf's performance in Even Stevens as the reason he became interested in acting. Performed in his high school's stage productions of Footloose, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Guys and Dolls. Has performed at the Fringe Festival.

Trivia: Started his acting career in television commercials for many brands, including Google, Walgreens, Subway, Meijers Department Stores and Shriner's Hospital.Joined Last Man Standing in the second season, replacing twins Evan and Luke Kruntchev, as Boyd Baxter's age jumped three years.Was replaced in the seventh season of Last Man Standing by actor Jet Jurgensmeyer.Supports the autism charity, Act Today.Best known for playing Boyd Baxter in the sitcom Last Man Standing.

Trivia: Is the daughter of a retired police chief. Did print modeling work as a child. Directed a 2011 production of the play This Is Our Youth in Los Angeles. Joined the cast of the show Last Man Standing after its first season, becoming the second actress to play the role of Kristin. Hobbies include traveling and photography. Considers 27 to be her lucky number.

Trivia: Comes from a family of actors, having Danny, Christopher and Alanna Masterson as siblings. Made guest appearances on his brothers' TV series That '70s Show and Malcolm in the Middle during the early 2000s. Supporter of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights.