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Zoe Saldana made the transition to acting on screen after an attention-getting performance in the stage musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." Saldana began landing television and feature roles almost immediately, including "Center Stage" (2000), in which she was able to showcase her years of ballet training.

She did make fleeting appearances in large studio fare like "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" (2003) and "The Terminal" (2004). Eventually, Saldana managed to break free from the confines of broad comedy.

Saldana and her two sisters were raised by their parents in nearby Queens, NY. When she was nine, Saldana's father died in a car accident, forcing her mother to relocate the family to the Dominican Republic, where both her parents were born and had extended family.

A natural and charismatic performer, she joined several dance troops in New York City, including the FACES Theater Co., a group that specialized in improvisational and educational skits for teens. She was also part of the New York Youth Theater.

Tina Fey’s now famous impersonations of Sarah Palin first appeared on Saturday Night Live (SNL) on September 13th of last year. Fey had left the show the previous year and was returning as a guest star. The appearance was affectionately mocking, with Fey - a dead ringer for Palin.

The next month, Fey appeared on another Palin sketch on SNL. It earned the highest ratings for the show in 14 years and also helped boost the viewers for her current project, the critically acclaimed sitcom, 30 Rock.

The venue was an ideal launching pad for the Pennsylvanian writer as it capitalised on her sketch-writing skills and gave her an opportunity to act in front of a live audience. It remains a Petri dish of budding comic talent, with a list of alumni that any theatre would be proud.

Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, Mike Myers and Steve Carrell all started off there. It was in Second City that Fey met numerous future co-stars of Saturday Night Live and a writer that would give her the biggest break of her career.

Actress Liv Tyler's career began with fashion modeling and press curiosity over the fact that she was the daughter of legendary rock band Aerosmith's front man Steven Tyler.

Hollywood was at somewhat of a loss over Tyler's unusual onscreen presence, which was too mature and ethereal for standard teen films. She was underused in blockbusters like "Armageddon" (1998) but steadily created empathetic and introspective characters for independent directors like Robert Altman and James Mangold.

Her's otherworldly serenity with a hugely popular fantasy franchise. After she hit the age of 30, the actress yearned to stretch her range and reached larger audiences with the thriller.Her mother, Bebe Buell, had been a Playboy Playmate only three years prior, and was known on the New York scene for dating rock stars including Rod Stewart.

She spent her early years in Portland, ME, where she shuttled between her mother's crazy household full of artists and musicians and the homes of her grandparents and aunt. Tyler discovered that Rundgren was not biologically her father when she was 11 years old, and when her mom moved her to New York City at the age of 12, the girl - who had already been through a whirlwind - longed for a normal, stable family life.