Career: Williams started out as a stand-up comedian, making his TV debut in 1977 on The Richard Pryor Show. His big break came playing the alien Mork in Happy Days, and its hugely successful spin-off Mork and Mindy. Movie success was difficult to come by, despite starring roles in Popeye and The World According to Garp. His first box-office hit was 1987's Good Morning Vietnam. Success in Dead Poets Society, The Fisher King, Awakenings and Mrs Doubtfire followed. He was also the voice of the genie in Disney's popular animated film Aladdin. He went on to win an Academy Award for Good Will Hunting in 1997. He followed that up with critically acclaimed fare such as Insomnia and One Hour Photo, and a one-man Broadway show. His other film credits include the Night at the Museum franchise. He returned to TV in 2013 in the sitcom The Crazy Ones. After a long battle with depression, he took his own life on August 11, 2014, at the age of 63.

Career: Hoffman spent 10 years trying to get decent roles, making ends meet by teaching and appearing in commercials and TV series. In 1967 he landed the lead role in The Graduate which made him a star and secured his first Oscar nomination. He gained further nods from the Academy for Midnight Cowboy, Lenny, Tootsie and Wag the Dog, and has won twice for Kramer vs Kramer and Rain Man. Other notable films include Straw Dogs, Little Big Man, Sleepers, Runaway Jury, Finding Neverland, I Heart Huckabees, Meet the Fockers and Stranger Than Fiction. More recent projects include Last Chance Harvey, Little Fockers, the short-lived TV series Luck and Esio Trot. He also directed the BBC-backed film Quartet.

Career: After attending Georgia State University, Julia moved to New York to begin her career. She also did some modelling. Her first role was in Blood Red, alongside her brother, in 1986, although it wasn't released for three years. Mystic Pizza was her first notable project in 1988, and a year later she received her first Oscar nomination for Steel Magnolias. Pretty Woman made her a massive star. Hits since then include Flatliners, Sleeping with the Enemy, My Best Friend's Wedding, Notting Hill and Ocean's Eleven. She won an Oscar for Erin Brockovich, becoming Hollywood's highest paid actress in the process.

Career: Smith rose to prominence on stage during the 1950s thanks to regular West End roles. Her first film, 1956's Child in the House, didn't set the box office alight, but she eventually gained international acclaim thanks to her role in Othello nine years later. She won an Oscar for 1969's The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and has since appeared in such acclaimed productions as California Suite (for which she picked up another Academy Award), A Room with a View, and Gosford Park. She became a Dame of the British Empire in 1990. More recently, Smith gained a new fan base thanks to her role as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter movies, appeared in the films Ladies in Lavender and Keeping Mum, and TV series Downton Abbey. She has also battled breast cancer.

Career: Small parts in TV productions and films during the early 1970s led to him landing his breakthrough role in Dennis Potter's 1978 miniseries Pennies from Heaven. Violent thriller The Long Good Friday followed in 1980, cementing his stardom. Other offerings, including The Cotton Club, Brazil, Mona Lisa and A Prayer for the Dying followed, but he found global fame in 1988's effects-laden Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Subsequent Hollywood movies included Mermaids and Hook, but he also worked in the UK on A Christmas Carol, Made in Dagenham, TwentyFourSeven, Last Orders and The Street. His final film, Snow White and the Huntsman, was released in 2012. He died of pneumonia on April 30, 2014.

Career: After appearing in several plays, she made her movie debut in 1991's Shout. She was standing in a cinema queue when family friend Steven Spielberg asked whether she fancied playing Wendy in Hook. Further roles followed, but she didn't become a star until 1995's Seven. Since then, Paltrow has appeared in Emma, A Perfect Murder, Sliding Doors, Shakespeare in Love (for which she won an Oscar), The Talented Mr Ripley, The Royal Tenenbaums, and Sylvia. She has also starred in the West End play Proof, as well as the film version. More recent projects include Love and Other Disasters and the Iron Man movies.

Career: Phil became a member of Genesis after answering an advert for a drummer in Melody Maker. They gained a solid fan base, and after Peter Gabriel quit as singer in 1975, Phil took over on vocals. More success followed with Genesis before he began a lucrative solo career in 1981 with his album Face Value. Subsequent LPs Hello I Must Be Going and No Jacket Required were also big hits. In 1985, he was the only performer to play on the same day at both Live Aid events at Wembley Stadium in the UK and JFK Stadium in Philadelphia. In 1988, he returned to acting in the movie Buster. He left Genesis in 1996 to focus on his solo career, though the group reformed in 2007 for a hugely successful world tour. He won an Oscar for his work on 1999 Disney film Tarzan, and composed the soundtrack to the 2003 movie Brother Bear. He worked with Disney on a Broadway production of Tarzan in 2006, but the show received mixed reviews. On March 4, 2011, Phil announced that he was taking a break from the music industry to spend more time with his family. In January 2014, he revealed he was working on new material with Adele.

Career: Close made her Broadway debut in a production of Love for Love after lead actress Mary Ure suddenly left. Her first TV appearance was in 1975's The Rules of the Game, while her debut movie, The World According to Garp, landed her an Oscar nod. She's been nominated a further five times, for The Big Chill, Fatal Attraction (despite being fourth choice for the role), The Natural, Dangerous Liaisons and Albert Nobbs - in fact, she, Deborah Kerr and Thelma Ritter jointly hold the record for the most Oscar nominations without a win. Other movies include Reversal of Fortune, Hamlet, Meeting Venus, 101 Dalmatians and its sequel, and The Stepford Wives remake. More recently, she's picked up numerous plaudits for her performances in hit series Damages.

Career: Spielberg's 1971 thriller Duel paved the way for feature film The Sugarland Express, a modest hit. In 1975, Jaws started a long run of successes, including the Indiana Jones films, ET, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. He also co-founded studio Dreamworks SKG, which has backed various hits, including Shrek, American Beauty and Gladiator. Spielberg's recent films include The Terminal, Munich and War of the Worlds. He has also worked as the producer on a string of hit films, including The Goonies, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the Back to the Future trilogy, the Transformers trilogy, and True Grit. His recent work includes The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, War Horse and Lincoln. He won an Oscar for Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List and an honorary award in 1987.