Essence Uhura Atkins (born February 7, 1972) is an American actress. She is best known for the roles of Dee Dee Thorne on the UPN sitcom Half & Half and as Yvette Henderson on the The WB sitcom Smart Guy. She is currently starring in the TV series Are We There Yet? as Suzanne Kingston-Persons.

She has appeared in a variety of films and television series, including How High, Deliver Us from Eva, Family Matters, Sister Sister, and The Cosby Show. One of her television roles was in the Saved by the Bell spin-off, the Saved by the Bell: The College Years. She appeared in the pilot, but when Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, a regular from the original, opted to return, Atkins' character was written out. She also had a main role in Smart Guy as the older sister Tasha Yevette Henderson, as well as the starring role of Dee Dee Thorne in the series Half & Half, playing half-sister to Rachel True's character.

Atkins is currently starring in the TBS sitcom series Are We There Yet?

In September 2009, Atkins married Jaime Mendez, whom she met through the online dating service Match.com. Her Half and Half co-star Valarie Pettiford performed during the reception. Atkins gave birth to a baby boy named Varro Blair Mendez on December 25, 2011.

Marlon L. Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, model producer, comedian, writer, and director of movies, beginning with his role as a pedestrian in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka in 1988. He frequently collaborates with his brother Shawn Wayans, as he has on the WB sitcom The Wayans Bros. and in the comedic films Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2, White Chicks, Little Man, and Dance Flick. However, Wayans had a dramatic role in Darren Aronofsky's critically acclaimed Requiem for a Dream, which saw his departure from the usual comedies. In 2009, he appeared in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Wayans was born in New York, New York, the son of Elvira, a homemaker and social worker, and Howell Wayans, a supermarket manager. His family was involved in the Jehovah's Witnesses religion. Marlon Wayans was raised in the housing projects of New York City, the youngest of ten siblings. He is the brother of Nadia Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Damon Wayans, Dwayne Wayans, and Kim Wayans; all celebrities in their own right. Wayans went to Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City, the school made famous in Fame. He attended Howard University.

Lamman Rucker (born October 6, 1971) is an American actor with partial ancestry to Barbados. He is perhaps best known on the TBS sitcom Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns.

Rucker was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the son of Malaya and Eric Rucker. Rucker spent his formative years in the greater Washington, DC, Maryland area. He hails from a very dedicated and supportive immediate and extended family. He first had an interest in acting after he was placed in many child pageants. His first acting role was as Martin Luther King in the 4th grade. He was in the drama club in 7th grade and then attended high school at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. He has an undergraduate degree in Information Technology and Business and his graduate degree in Education and Curriculum Development. He played basketball in college and semi-pro ball for a short time after that. He is the oldest of three children, having a younger sister and his brother who passed in 1992.

Rucker's major role came in 2002 when he assumed the role of attorney T. Marshall Travers on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns opposite Tamara Tunie. He left the series the following year and portrayed Garret Williams on ABC's All My Children in 2005. He has starred in a few of Tyler Perry's productions such as a guest role on House of Payne, the film version of Why Did I Get Married? alongside Perry, Janet Jackson and Jill Scott, as well as appearing in a small role in the film version of Meet The Browns as Vera's adult son, Will. He currently has a starring role on Perry's second sitcom Meet the Browns reprising his role as Will. This time, Will has a much larger role (compared to his part in the movie) having just gotten married to a co-worker. To promote his work in Perry's films, Rucker appeared on The Mo'Nique Show March 14, 2010, and discussed the fear and beauty of shooting at a location so close to water, yet so close to home.

Tamera Darvette Mowry-Housley (born July 6, 1978) is an American actress. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tamera Campbell on the ABC/WB sitcom Sister, Sister (opposite her identical twin sister Tia Mowry). She starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Twitches and its sequel, Twitches Too. She has also made a break into dramatic television, and is also known for her role as Dr. Kayla Thorton on the medical drama Strong Medicine. Beginning July 2011, the Style Network began airing Tia & Tamera, a reality show which follows the day-to-day lives of the twins, Tia being pregnant and Tamera planning her wedding.

Tamera Mowry was born in Gelnhausen, West Germany to Darlene Mowry (née Flowers), who managed her children's careers and also worked as a security guard, and Timothy Mowry, who was in the U.S. Army at the time of her birth and later became a custody officer/jailer with the City of Glendale Police Department when the family moved to California.

Darlene, who is Bahamian American, and Timothy, who is English American, met in high school in Miami, Florida. During a live taping of The Wendy Williams Show in 2010, Mowry announced that for years, she and her twin sister believed they were of Italian descent on their father's side; however, after researching their family tree on Ancestry.com, they quickly discovered that his ancestry instead lay in Great Britain. Her family is "close-knit" and "deeply religious", as the sisters became born again Christians when they were eight.

Terrence Alan "Terry" Crews (born July 30, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, voice artist and a former player in the National Football League. He is perhaps best known for his role as family patriarch Julius on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. Currently, he stars in the TBS sitcom Are We There Yet? as Nick Kingston-Persons. Additionally, he stars in the BET reality series The Family Crews, and has appeared in such films as The 6th Day, Friday After Next, White Chicks, Idiocracy and The Expendables.

In 2010 Crews was featured in several Old Spice TV commercials for their "Odor Blocker Body Wash", and in 2012 for their body spray, directed by Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim.

Crews was born in Flint, Michigan, the son of Patricia and Terry Crews, Sr. He attended Flint Southwestern Academy. He earned an Art Excellence Scholarship to attend the Interlochen Center for the Arts and then Western Michigan University.

While completing his studies as hop an Art major, Crews was a key member of the WMU football team, where he earned all-conference honors as a defensive end. Crews was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL in the 11th round of the 1991 NFL Draft. He carved out a career that lasted seven seasons, including stints with the Rams, San Diego Chargers, the Washington Redskins and the Philadelphia Eagles.