Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence (born June 29, 1961) is an American television actress. She is best known for the role of Sylvia Costas Sipowicz in the Television series NYPD Blue. The role garnered her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination three times for Outstanding Supporting actress in a Drama series.

Lawrence was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, the daughter of Earlyn, an education administrator and Head Start supervisor, and Tom Lawrence, a television news reporter for WRAL-TV in Raleigh, North Carolina. She grew up in Charlotte, moved to Raleigh in her Junior year of high school, graduated from Needham B. Broughton High School and then University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sharon Lawrence is the Chair of the Women In Film Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Women In Film, which since 1973 has advanced professional opportunities for women in the global entertainment marketplace. She supports Global Green and World Wildlife Fund to protect the environment and endangered species. She is an avid Scuba diver.

Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American actor and model, best known for playing Boone Carlyle in the TV drama Lost and Damon Salvatore in the TV drama The Vampire Diaries.

Somerhalder was born and raised in Covington, Louisiana, the son of Edna, a massage therapist, and Robert Somerhalder, an independent building contractor. Raised Catholic, he attended St. Paul's, a private Catholic school in Covington. He embarked on a modeling career from age 10 to 13, and by the age of 17 he decided to go into acting.

In the summer of 2000, Somerhalder starred in the short-lived WB series Young Americans, a spin-off of Dawson's Creek. He played Hamilton Fleming, the son of the dean of a prestigious boarding school. In 2002, Somerhalder played bisexual character Paul Denton in Roger Avary's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' novel, The Rules of Attraction, alongside James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, and Jessica Biel.

In 2004, Somerhalder scored his breakthrough role when he played Boone Carlyle in the hit TV show Lost. Despite his character's death in the twentieth episode of the first season, Somerhalder returned to the role of Boone for seven more episodes between 2005 and 2010, including the series finale. Somerhalder was the first actor to be cast in a role for the series and the first character to die.

Clayton Holmes "Clay" Aiken (born November 30, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and author who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released in October 2003. He released four more albums on the RCA label: Merry Christmas with Love (2004), A Thousand Different Ways (2006), and the Christmas EP, All is Well (2006). His fourth studio album (the first album of original material since 2003's Measure of a Man), On My Way Here was released on May 6, 2008.

After the release of On My Way Here, Aiken left RCA and later signed with Decca Records. His first album with Decca, Tried and True, was released June 1, 2010 and his second Steadfast, was released March 26, 2012.

In the years following his American Idol appearance, Aiken has launched ten tours, authored a New York Times best-selling book Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life with Allison Glock, and was the executive producer for a 2004 televised Christmas special, A Clay Aiken Christmas and his televised live concert special in 2010 on PBS Tried & True Live!. He has been a frequent talk show guest, particularly on The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live. He appeared as a guest star on Scrubs, Drop Dead Diva, 30 Rock and participated in comedy skits on numerous other shows.

Lauren Kennedy (born c. 1973 in Raleigh, North Carolina) is an actress and a singer who has performed numerous times on Broadway. She most recently starred in a production of Into the Woods at CENTERSTAGE in Baltimore during the 2011-2012 season.

Kennedy was raised in Raleigh, North Carolina and graduated from Needham Broughton High School in 1991. She started acting at the North Carolina Theatre while in high school. Kennedy attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she was pursuing a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre. She left school at the age of 19, when she was cast in the 1993 Los Angeles production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Sunset Boulevard", After a nine-month run, she moved to New York for musical's 1994 Broadway opening.

Kennedy appeared in the original cast of the short-lived Side Show on Broadway as an ensemble member, where she also understudied Emily Skinner. She has also starred in Monty Python's Spamalot on Broadway as a replacement for the Lady of the Lake. Additionally, she has been seen on Broadway in Les Misérables, Sunset Boulevard with Glenn Close, Side Show, and Cinderella with New York City Opera. She originated the role of Cathy in Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years in its Chicago premiere, but opted to do South Pacific at the National Theatre in London instead of following the show Off-Broadway (she was replaced by Sherie Rene Scott). In 2004, she starred as Emma Carew in the concert-style version of Jekyll & Hyde - The Musical entitled Resurrection, opposite Kate Shindle and Rob Evan. However, she left the tour before it concluded, to be replaced by Brandi Burkhardt, who is heard on the recording of the tour.^{[citation needed]}