Career: Castellaneta started working at The Second City, an improvisational comedy theatre, in 1983 and stayed until 1987. During this time, he did voiceover work for various radio stations. He was hired to work on The Tracey Ullman Show and he started voicing Homer Simpson in The Simpsons, which was initially aired as a series of animated shorts. The Simpsons has since become a half-hour show and Castellaneta has continued to provide the voice of Homer. He has also voiced many other characters, including Grampa Simpson, Barney Gumble and Krusty the Clown. Castellaneta and his wife, Deb Lacusta, have also written several episodes of The Simpsons. He has done voice acting for a number of other animated series too, including Back to the Future, Aladdin, Earthworm Jim, Hey Arnold!, The Batman and Futurama. Besides voice acting, Castellaneta has had on screen parts in such series as Entourage, Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends, Greek, Parks and Recreation, How I Met Your Mother and Desperate Housewives. He has appeared in such films as K-9 (1989), The War of the Roses (1989), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Super 8 (2011) and Fantastic Four (2015).

Career: Kavner won her first notable role on popular comedy series Rhoda as Brenda Morgenstern in 1974 and stayed on until it finished four years later, winning an Emmy award for her performance. She then moved on to guest stints on The Tracey Ullman Show, in which a number of animated shorts were to be included. Producers were looking for voices for the cartoons and enlisted the actress. This just happened to turn into The Simpsons, which proved a runaway success. Despite voicing Marge since 1988 (and reportedly earning more than $400,000 per episode), Kavner has fitted in several film roles over the years, including her first starring role in This Is My Life from 1992.

Career: Cartwright's first professional voice acting role was in the animated series Richie Rich. She went on to appear on-screen in the leading role in TV film Marian Rose White (1982) and her first feature film was Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983). In 1987, she auditioned for a role on The Simpsons while it was a series of animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. She voiced Bart Simpson for three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show and has retained the role ever since The Simpsons became a half-hour show. Cartwright also voices other characters on The Simpsons, including Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum and Todd Flanders. Besides The Simpsons, Cartwright has voiced Chuckie Finster in Rugrats and All Grown Up!, Mindy in Animaniacs, Rufus in Kim Possible and many other characters. She has also appeared on-camera in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, 24, Empty Nest and Godzilla (1998).

Career: Smith appeared in a number of Broadway productions before landing her first film roles in Heaven Help Us (1985) and The Legend of Billie Jean (1985). She moved to Los Angeles in 1986 and landed a recurring role in the TV series Brothers. In 1987, she auditioned for The Simpsons shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show. She has voiced Lisa Simpson ever since and the series was spun into a half-hour show in 1989. Away from The Simpsons, Smith played Louise in the sitcom Herman's Head. She has also appeared in such series as Dharma & Greg, Dead Like Me, Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory and The Mindy Project. Her film credits include City Slickers (1991), Jingle All the Way (1996) and As Good as It Gets (1997).

Career: A few bit parts in comedy series were to be Hank's first roles, but it was his voice that earned him the attention of The Simpsons' bosses; he has provided his vocal talents for the iconic show since its launch in 1989. Azaria's comedy credentials earned him roles in Pretty Woman and Point Blank. He would give a memorable performance in Robin Williams' The Birdcage, playing a Guatemalan cleaner named Agador Spartacus. He also had a small cameo in Along Came Polly in 2004, guested on Friends and was seen in British comedy Run Fat Boy Run, as well as Mystery Men, Godzilla and Night at the Museum 2. Azaria has four Emmys to his name and a reputation as being one of the most talented and versatile actors in the business.

Career: Deschanel appeared in a guest role on the TV series Veronica's Closet before making her film debut in Lawrence Kasdan's 1999 comedy Mumford. She received rave reviews for her supporting role in her second film, director Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical Almost Famous. Over the next few years she played supporting roles in a series of films that included Manic, Big Trouble, and The Good Girl. She turned down several supporting roles and played her first lead role in All the Real Girls, to great acclaim, before appearing in box office smashes Elf, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Jim Carrey Yes Man. She has appeared in Bones alongside her sister Emily, and currently plays the lead role in sitcom New Girl.

Career: Gellar's big break came in 1992, with roles in the serial Swans Crossing, and soap opera All My Children. She left the latter three years later amid rumours of a rift with her co-star Susan Lucci, who played her mother. The young star went on to land the lead role in the TV version of the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1997. It would make her a household name, and paved the way for a movie career. Her film credits include I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2, Scooby-Doo, Cruel Intentions and The Grudge. When Buffy ended in 2003, the star concentrated on big-screen projects such as The Grudge 2 and Suburban Girl, but took a break from acting when her first child was born. She's since returned to TV with a role in sitcom The Crazy Ones, opposite Robin Williams.

Career: At the age of 16, Hathaway was cast in short-lived TV series Get Real. Her big-screen debut came in The Other Side of Heaven. In the same year she beat 500 other girls to land a role alongside Julie Andrews in Disney's The Princess Diaries. The film was a huge success and the family films Nicholas Nickleby, Ella Enchanted and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement followed before she started taking on more mature roles. The first of these was gritty drama Havoc. Since then, Hathaway has starred in a number of box-office hits, including Brokeback Mountain, The Devil Wears Prada, Becoming Jane, Rachel Getting Married, Alice in Wonderland, Love & Other Drugs, The Dark Knight Rises and Les Miserables, a role that secured her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Career: The success of Leon opened a lot of doors in Hollywood, and led to roles in Heat, Beautiful Girls and Mars Attacks! before George Lucas cast her in his Star Wars prequel The Phantom Menace. In 1999, the same year that the Star Wars movie dominated the box office, she graduated from high school in New York. Aside from reprising the role of Queen Amidala for 2002's Attack of the Clones and 2005's Revenge of the Sith, she also starred in the movies Where the Heart Is, Anywhere But Here and Closer, for which she received an Oscar nomination. Other films include V for Vendetta, Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium, The Other Boleyn Girl, New York, I Love You, Brothers, and No Strings Attached. She won an Oscar in 2011 and a clutch of other awards for her role in Black Swan.