Pretty Woman

Julia Roberts (Actor) .. Vivian Ward

Born: October 28, 1967 in Atlanta, Georgia

Best Known For: Pretty Woman.

Early-life: Julia Fiona Roberts was born on October 28, 1967, in Atlanta, Georgia. She has Swedish and Irish ancestry. Her father was a vacuum cleaner salesman, her mother an estate agent and church secretary. They were both keen amateur actors and playwrights. Her father died when Julia was 10. As a child, she wanted to be a vet, but on leaving high school, studied journalism. However, her elder brother Eric's acting career inspired her to tread the boards. She also has an older sister and a younger half sister.

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.

Quote: "I'm too tall to be a girl, I never had enough dresses to be a lady, I wouldn't call myself a woman. I'd say I'm somewhere between a chick and a broad."

Trivia: She supports UNICEF.

Richard Gere (Actor) .. Edward Lewis

Born: August 31, 1949 in Philadelphia

Best Known For: Being a reluctant sex symbol.

Early-life: Born Richard Tiffany Gere on August 31, 1949, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second of five children. His father was an insurance salesman who moved the family to New York when Gere was a child. He originally wanted to be a musician and played in several local bands before graduating from high school. He won a gymnastics scholarship to study philosophy at the University of Massachussetts, but dropped out to pursue an acting career.

Career: Gere gained a place with the prestigious Provincetown Players at Cape Cod. He then had a spell in New York and played the lead in a 1973 West End production of Grease. Back in the US, he was sacked from his first film, The Lords of Flatbush, which forced him to become more focused. He became a major star thanks to roles in such movies as Looking for Mr Goodbar, Days of Heaven, Yanks, American Gigolo, An Officer and a Gentleman, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride and a big-screen version of the hit musical Chicago. Since 1978 he has been interested in Buddhism and being an active humanitarian.

Quote: "I don't want to be a personality."

Trivia: He is the President of The Gere Foundation, a non-profit organisation, established in 1991 that focuses on international humanitarian issues.

Ralph Bellamy (Actor) .. James Morse

Laura San Giacomo (Actor) .. Kit De Luca

Jason Alexander (Actor) .. Philip Stuckey

Born: September 23, 1959 in Newark, New Jersey

Best Known For: Playing George Costanza in Seinfeld.

Early-life: Born Jay Scott Greenspan in Newark, New Jersey, on September 23, 1959, Jason is the son of Jewish parents Ruth Minnie and Alexander B Greenspan. He has a half-sister and a half-brother. He was educated at Boston University but left early because he was able to find acting work in New York.

Career: An accomplished singer and dancer, Jason appeared on Broadway in Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, Kander & Ebb's The Rink, Neil Simon's Broadway Bound, Accomplice and Jerome Robbins' Broadway. He starred on the small screen in short-lived sitcom Everything's Relative before hitting the big time as one of the cast members of sitcom Seinfeld. Other work has included providing the voice of the lead character in animated series Duckman, and roles in Curb Your Enthusiasm, Listen Up, Everybody Hates Chris, Harry's Law and Two and a Half Men. He returned to the stage in 2003 in a production of Mel Brooks' The Producers.

Quote: "I'm always more motivated by the pain of a funny character than by what makes him funny."

Trivia: Jason has competed in a number of televised poker shows. He won a Tony Award for his role in Jerome Robbins' Broadway.

Hector Elizondo (Actor) .. Barney Thompson

Alex Hyde-White (Actor) .. David Morse

Amy Yasbeck (Actor) .. Elizabeth Stuckey

Garry Marshall (Director)

10:00 pm - 10:10 pm, Wednesday, December 31 on ITV1 London +1 (35)

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