Pop Culture Experts

Paula Abdul was born in San Fernando Valley, California. At eight, she started taking dance lessons. Van Nuys High School was where she was the class president and the chief cheerleader. Her graduation was in 1980 and entered college at Cal State Northridge to major in TV and radio. After joining the L.A. Lakers cheerleaders, she became head cheerleader/choreographer after only a few months, eventually dropping out of college to dance and choreograph full-time. She was approached by The Jacksons to choreograph their 1984 "Torture" video, which was the first of a series of movies and videos she choreographed. After her debut CD "Forever Your Girl", she began singing and soon became a renowned performer and dancer. Her stint as an American Idol judge (2002) has made her a more popular performer/dancer. Her father, Harry Abdul, is Sephardic Jewish from Syria. Her mother is also Jewish and was born in Canada. Her parents have lived in Syria, Brazil, and Canada - and thi...

Mary McDonnell is a two-time Oscar(r)-nominated actress she is well-known for her character performances in both modern and historical screen roles, as well as an extensive history of films and stage roles. Mary Eileen McDonnell is a Pennsylvania-born actress. She was the child of Eileen (Mundy), an Irish-American computer expert, and John McDonnell. Born in Ithaca, New York, she graduated from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia. She then attended drama school , and was accepted into the highly regarded Long Wharf Theatre Company on the East Coast. Her most memorable film role was in Dances with Wolves (1990) by Kevin Costner. She played the part of "Stands with a Fist", a Sioux Indian-raised white woman. Her first Academy Award nomination for the part. McDonnell's film credits include the Lawrence Kasdan films Grand Canyon (1991) and Mumford (1999) (opposite to such seasoned performers as Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and Ben Kingsley); Roland Emmerich...

Paula Faris is an American journalist who worked previously as TV correspondent for ABC News. She is known for her tenure as co-anchor of Good Morning America Weekend from 2014 to 2018 as well as in her role as co-host on The View from 2015 to in 2018. She was also the co-anchor of America This Morning as well as World News Now. After graduating, she worked in several communications-related jobs including an operations position at Mills/James Productions in Columbus, Ohio. Due to limited TV opportunities, she worked in radio sales. After one year working as a production assistant at WKEF/WRGT, she eventually was capable of reporting and anchoring periodically. From 2002 until 2005 she was the weekend sports anchor and the weekday sports anchor for the station WCPO in Cincinnati. The contract was canceled and she was hired as a reporter and anchor for NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV, Chicago, from November 2005 to December 2011. In December 2011, she was employed by ABC News the division for news...

Markie Post was born in Walnut Creek, California. Her career began in television and film productions like "Card Sharks" (1978) or "The New Card Sharks” (1986). Later, she produced such projects as Double Dare (1976). She has also appeared in TV shows such as 1st to Die (2003) and E! True Hollywood Story (1996) and Electra Woman (2000). Perhaps she is most well-known for her part in "Christine Sullivan" who was an actress and Night Court star (1984). From 1984 until 1992, she played in 156 episodes. Marylee (Armstrong) Post was her mother. She is a poet and noted nuclear scientist Richard Freeman Post (November 14, 1918-April 7, 2015). Two daughters, Katie Ross (born June 26, 1987) and Daisy Ross (born on March 30, 1990), were her second marriage to Michael A. Ross. was born in Palo Alto, California, and grew up in Walnut Creek, California. She was a cheerleader at Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek, California. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from ...

Sarah Chalke was conceived in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 27 August 1976. Angie Chalke is her mother and Doug Chalke are her father. She is the middle child. She has an older sister, Natasha Chalke and one younger sister, Piper Chalke. Sarah began her acting career with City Boy (1992), an original television film. After her debut film her audition, she was cast in 1993 for the role of "Becky" of Roseanne (1988). The show was seeking an actor to replace Alicia Goranson quit the show to go to college. Sarah completed her high school graduation in 1995, during the filming of the 1994-1995 seasons of Roseanne (1988). In 1994, Sarah starred alongside Jim Varney in Ernest Goes to School (1994). Then, in 1996 she starred in 2 films which included Robin of Locksley (1996) and Stand Against Fear (1996) where she played a cheerleader "Krista Wilson". In 1998, one year after Roseanne (1988) ended, Sarah was asked to be a part of a show called Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy (199...

Lauren Ash is a recent Second City Chicago Mainstage alumna. She also graduated from the Second City Toronto Mainstage. She is also part of the sketch comedy duo "Cory!". She has been a Canadian Comedy Award nominee twice for the title of Best Female Improviser. In 2008, she took home the best Comedic play award and in 2006, the Best Sketch Troupe Award. She has appeared in a variety of roles on "Scare Tactics" and the Canadian TV show, "Almost Heroes." She was a regular in "The Ron James Show" as well as guest appearances in "Call Me Fitz," "Cracked," and "Bomb Girls." She has also been featured in "Video on Trial," Hotbox, and the Academy Award-nominated film "Lars and the Real Girl." She also voices Sam in animated Canadian series "The Dating Guy." Her wealth has been increasing significantly in 2019-2020. What's the average amount Lauren Ash make at 37 years of age? Lauren Ash is...

Paula Patton is the daughter of Joyce (Vanraden) Patton and Charles Patton. Her father is African-American . her mother is caucasian is of German, English, and Dutch roots. As a child and her family lived next to the 20th Century Fox lot. She was a fervent movie enthusiast from childhood. Her mother, also enjoyed good films, was a schoolteacher, and her father was a lawyer. Paula says that as a girl she would escape from the world by "pretending to be someone else" which is why it came as an unsurprising that she performed in high school plays at Hamilton Magnet Arts High School. Her favorite character was "Abigail" from "The Crucible". She continued her studies at University of Southern California, where she completed a course in film. The program was a success, and she was awarded a three-month assignment to produce documentaries for PBS. This led to her working as a production assistant for TV documentariesand on Howie Mandel's talk show. In the fol...

The family was born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, Amy Carlson spent most of her childhood in the Chicago region. But at the time Amy was in junior high, she and her family also resided in the Middle East where her parents, Bob and Barb, taught at the American School. Amy has two sisters, Betsy and Lori, and a brother Joe. Amy has traveled extensively across Europe both with her family and also on her own. Both of her parents worked as teachers so they could spend every summer camping together and travel all across the United States. They've camped across every state except Alaska. Amy also went to Rwanda following the 1994 war to assist in relief efforts. Early on, Amy showed artistic talent acting in school productions as well as winning writing contests. In high school she was a promising athlete who placed in the very first 3200 meter relay at the Illinois girls track. After a college accident, she returned to the stage with a variety of roles on stage. Her first was Lanford Wilson...

Penelope Cruz Sanchez is the daughter of Eduardo Cruz, a Madrid hairdresser, as well as Encarna Sanchez. When she was a young girl, she was already a compulsive performer who would recreate TV commercials for her family's entertainment, but she eventually decided to devote her energy to dance. She continued her training with a number of well-respected dancers, after having spent nine years studying classical ballet in Spain's National Conservatory. Her true calling was discovered at the age of 15, when she topped 300 girls in an audition for an agency for talents. The contract she signed secured her a variety of roles in Spanish television shows as well as music videos, which set the stage for a successful career on the big screen. Cruz was first seen in a movie in The Greek Labyrinth (1993) (The Greek Labyrinth) and then briefly in the Timothy Dalton thriller Framed (1992). Her final film was an Oscar-winning film, Belle Epoque (1992), where she played one of four sisters vyin...

Milena Govich, director as well as an actor and musician has directed many episodes on TV such as Chicago Med (2015), The Equalizer (2021), FBI The Most Wanted(2020), Chicago Fire (2012) as well as other. She was also co-producer and Co-EP on Dick Wolf's CBS series FBI (2018). She is currently a part of two pilots that are in production. Milena was one of the eight women selected for AFI’s prestigious Directing Workshop for Women. She also participated in the Sony Pictures Television Diverse Directors program. Unspeakable was her TV show as well as a short film. The show starred Jeff Kober and Laura Vandervoort, it won the award for Best Episodic at the Seattle International Film Festival as well as the Best Pilot award at SoHo International Film Festival. The short film Temporary (2017 written by Milena Vandervoort) has been screened across the United States. It was awarded the Best Narrative Short at Anthem Film Festival and Best Dark Comedy at Atlanta ShortsFest. The Director...

Piper Perabo is a Golden Globe nominated stage, film and TV actor. She was born in Dallas, Texas and raised in New Jersey. Coyote Ugly was her breakout role. She was seen in "The Prestige" by Christopher Nolan with Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, "Because I Said So", and "Because I Said So" together with "Because I Said So", with Diane Keaton and Guy Pearce. In addition to "Cheaper by the Dozen", Lena Heady, Matthew Goode, and the crime thriller "10th & Wolf", she also starred with James Marsden and Dennis Hopper. In Rian Johnson's sci-fi action film "Looper," she starred alongside Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt. In television Perabo was a part of Annie Walker in all 5 seasons of the USA Network's spy drama "Covert Affairs." Following that she co-starred in ABC's 2016 legal drama "Notorious. You can also watch "Turn up Charlie" on Netflix with IdrisElba. Perabo mad...

Ayelet Zurer one of Israel's best well-known actresses is an extremely special person. She was born in Tel Aviv and was first noticed by Hollywood when Steven Spielberg cast her in her first English-speaking role , Eric Bana’s wife in Munich (2005). Zurer is an American actress who has been featured in Studio films, including Sony Pictures' Vantage Point featuring Dennis Quaid (with William Hurt), Samuel Goldwyn’s Fugitive pieces opposite Stephen Dillane, Paul Schrader’s Adam Resurrected in the film with Jeff Goldblum and Willem Dafoe. Ron Howard's Angeles and Demons opposite Tom Hanks. Darling Companion is a Lawrence Kasdan ensemble cast that features Diane Keaton and Kevin Kline. Warner Bros. Man Of Steel alongside Russell Crow. Ewan McGregor shot Rodrigo Garcia, Last Days in the Desert. She has been waiting for the release date of The Last Knights, a film directed by Kazuaki Kiriya. She is starring alongside Clive Owen. In recognition of her performance as Hostages' ...

Pollyanna McIntosh was born in Portugal and Colombia before returning to her home in Scotland in Scotland, where she was born. It was here that she first started performing on stage in The Edinburgh Festival. At 16, she left for London and soon began to get involved in filmmaking in the indie genre (her first professional gig was as stoner in Irvine Wales's The Acid House (1998)) and theatre in both roles as an actress and director. In 2004, she moved to Los Angeles to direct "The Woolgatherer", a play in which Anne Dudek (a regular guest on Mad Men (2007)/Big Love (2006)) was directed. The play was praised by critics. In Headspace (2005) she was offered her first US movie part as "Stacy", a manipulative, born-again Christian. Her first film role was in the film Headspace (2005) as the manipulative, born-again Christian "Thumper Wint". This comedy was written by Heathers (1988). Exam (2009) that was the first, in which she acted in London and LA was th...

Paget Valerie is an American actress, singer as well as voice actor. Her role as Kathy as a character that recurred on Friends Season 4, was her first public recognition. Her breakthrough role came as the Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss on the crime drama Criminal Minds in which she appeared regularly from 2006 until 2012. She was then re-cast for guest appearances before returning regularly in 2016. She also portrayed Mr. Mumbles and Elise on Dan Vs., Frankie Dart in Community's final season Birdgirl in Harvey Birdman Attorney at law, Sara Kingsley in Fox's Grandfathered and Donald Duck’s twin sister Della on DuckTales 2017, marking the first appearance in animated form for the character. Brewster was conceived in Concord, Massachusetts on March 10, 1969. Her mother, Hathaway Brewster (nee Tew), was a government official. Galen Brewster was her father, and was an administrator at school. Brewster was raised in Massachusetts. She was able to move to New York City for P...

Pom Klementieff (born 3 May 1986) is a French actress. She studied at the Cours Florent drama school in Paris and has been featured in films like Loup (2009), Sleepless Night (2011) and Hacker's Game (2015). She plays the character of Mantis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. (2017). Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Avengers: Endgame (2019). Pom Klementieff was the daughter of an Korean mother, as well as a father who was French-Russian. Her father was a consul in Quebec City, Canada. Eugene Klementieff, a painter was her grandpa. Pom was her name since it sounds similar to the Korean words "spring" and 'tiger" in Korean. Klementieff lived in Canada for a year. Her family had traveled extensively due to her father's work. They lived in Japan as well as the Ivory Coast, before settling in France. Klementieff's father, who died at the age of 5 from cancer was also her mother. She also suffered with schizophrenia and didn...