Midriff is a particular term to denominate the section of the human body between the thorax/chest and the pelvis/hips. It is used (1) as a genteel avoidance of synonymous belly (with its primary external physical feature, the navel); (2) as a synonym for waist; and (3) as a name for the area around (yet mainly below) the diaphragm (particularly including the stomach region).

The midriff is exposed when wearing a crop top or bikini. The cholis worn by Indian women also exposes a thin section of midriff, usually 3 to 4 inches, though the garment is not known for having sexual connotations and is a mark of traditional modesty.

The Eastern art of belly dancing places the female midriff on center stage. With proper dance instruction and physical conditioning, the midriff is capable of a wide range of physical movements. Belly dancers such as the tribal Rachel Brice and pop singers Britney Spears and Shakira are well known examples of this muscular midriff control.

"Midriff" is an old term in the English language, coming into use before 1000 AD. In Old English it was written as "midhrif", with the old word "hrif" literally meaning stomach; in Middle English it was "mydryf". The word fell into obsolescence after the 18th century, until it was revived in 1941 by the fashion industry, partly to avoid use of the word "belly" which many women considered undesirable in reference to their bodies, as it has connotations of obesity.

Lawrence Gene "Larry" David (born July 2, 1947) is an American actor, writer, comedian, and producer. He is best known as the co-creator (with Jerry Seinfeld), head writer, and executive producer of the television series Seinfeld from 1989 to 1996, and for creating the 1999 HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, a partially improvised sitcom in which he stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself.

David's work won him a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1993. Formerly a standup comedian, David went into television comedy, writing and starring in ABC's Fridays, as well as writing briefly for Saturday Night Live. He has won two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as being voted by fellow comedians and comedy insiders as number 23 of the greatest comedy stars ever in a British poll to select The Comedian's Comedian.

Lawrence Gene David was born to a Jewish family in the neighborhood of Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Sheepshead Bay High School and then the University of Maryland, with a bachelor's degree in history (1969), and then in business (1970). After college, David enlisted in the Air National Guard.

Claire Coffee is an American actress. She was born in San Francisco, California on April 14, 1980 and has a degree in theater from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She grew up in Monterey, California and attended the Santa Catalina School for girls, starring in plays and musicals.

Coffee had a recurring role on The West Wing as Cassie Tatum in 2003.

Between 2007 and 2009 Coffee played nurse Nadine Crowell on General Hospital. Most recently Coffee played attorney Janie Ross on the TNT series Franklin & Bash and can currently be seen on the NBC series Grimm as attorney/witch Adalind Schade.

She is also in the southern belle Butterfinger Snackerz commercial.

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and big-band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions. In the opinion of Bob Blumenthal of The Boston Globe "In the century since his birth, there has been no greater composer, American or otherwise, than Edward Kennedy Ellington." A major figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, composing stage musicals, and world tours. Several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became standards. Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and extraordinary charisma, he is generally considered to have elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music. His reputation increased after his death and the Pulitzer Prize Board bestowed on him a special posthumous honor in 1999.

Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer.

Hudgens rose to prominence playing Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical series. Hudgens also has appeared in several television programs including Quintuplets, Still Standing, The Brothers García, Drake & Josh, and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. In 2009, she earned critical acclaim for her role in the film Bandslam.

In addition to acting, Hudgens released her debut album V on September 26, 2006 which entered the Billboard 200 at number twenty four, and was later certified Gold. Her second album, Identified, was released on July 1, 2008 in the United States.

Hudgens was born in Salinas, California, and has lived with her parents throughout the West Coast from Oregon to Southern California. Her mother, Gina (née Guangco), held a succession of office jobs, and her father, Gregory Hudgens, was a firefighter. She has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens, who is also an actress. She was raised as a Roman Catholic. Hudgens is of mixed ethnic background, as her father is of Irish and Native American descent, and her mother, a native of Manila, Philippines, is of Chinese-Filipino-Spanish descent. All of her grandparents were musicians.