Early-life: Dwayne Douglas Johnson was born on May 2, 1972, in Hayward, California, to Samoan and African-Canadian parents. He earned a criminology degree from the University of Miami in 1994, where he shone as part of their national championship college football team. Johnson had a few run-ins with law before realising he should get his act together. He became one of the World Wrestling Federation's biggest stars, winning nine major awards. His 2000 autobiography The Rock Says, a title derived from his wrestling name 'The Rock', became a bestseller.

Early-life: Born Ashley Tyler Ciminella in Los Angeles on April 19, 1968, to country music singer Naomi Judd and marketing analyst Michael Ciminella. Her elder half-sister, Wynonna, is also a country music singer. Ashley's parents divorced in the early 1970s and her mother raised her in Kentucky. She went on to attend the University of Kentucky. After college, she moved to Hollywood and studied with acting teacher Robert Carnegie at Playhouse West. In 1991, she made her TV acting debut in two editions of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Early-life: Merchant was born in Bristol and attended Hanham High School. He graduated from University of Warwick with a first-class degree in Film and Literature.

Early-life: Seth Woodbury MacFarlane was born in Kent, Connecticut, on October 26, 1973 to Ann and Ronald. His sister is voice actor Rachael Ann MacFarlane. Seth knew from an early age that he wanted to develop his interest in animation. He began publishing a weekly comic strip entitled Walter Crouton for a local newspaper. His parents gave him an 8mm camera and he went on to study film, video and animation at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). During his time as a student, he performed stand-up and also created animated short The Life of Larry. On the back of this short, he was hired by Hanna-Barbara, where he worked as an animator and a writer for Cartoon Network's Cartoon Cartoons series. During his time at the studio, he also worked on Dexter's Laboratory, Cow and Chicken, I Am Weasel and Johnny Bravo. He also worked freelance on projects for Walt Disney, writing for Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

Early-life: Born Julia Elizabeth Wells in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, on October 1, 1935. Her autobiography, Home, revealed she was the result of her mother's affair with a family friend. She regarded Ted Wells, her mother's first husband, as her father, but they split when she was young, and her mother went on to marry singer Ted Andrews. The couple started a musical double act, during which time they discovered Julie had a four octave range. She began singing lessons when she was eight, and made her professional debut in stage show Starlight Roof four years later.