Career: On moving to California in 1974, Whoopi helped found the San Diego Repertory Company and honed her performance skills doing stand-up comedy. She made her movie debut in 1982's Citizen, but became a huge star in Steven Spielberg's acclaimed drama The Color Purple three years later. She has stuck largely to comedies such as Jumping Jack Flash, Sister Act and Monkeybone since, although she has appeared in such dramas as Girl, Interrupted and Boys on the Side. In 1991 she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Ghost. She also had a semi-regular role in Star Trek: The Next Generation and has taken several bit-parts in US sitcoms. She also appears as a regular on American daytime talk show The View. She returned to the stage in 2010 in the musical versions of The Lion King and Sister Act.

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: Coburn raised his profile following appearances in The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), Charade (1963), The Americanisation of Emily, and Major Dundee (1965). His other film credits include A Fistful of Dynamite (1972), Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973) and Cross of Iron (1977). Rheumatoid arthritis limited his output in the 1980s but he enjoyed a career resurgence in the 1990s with supporting roles in the likes of Young Guns II (1990), Hudson Hawk (1991), Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), Maverick (1994), Eraser (1996), The Nutty Professor (1996), and Affliction (1997), for which he won an Academy Award. He died of a heart attack on November 18, 2002, at the age of 74.