Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz (born April 28, 1986) is an American stage and television actress and singer, who is perhaps best known for her performances in Broadway musicals and for her role as Tina Cohen-Chang on Glee.
Ushkowitz was born in Seoul, South Korea; she was adopted at the age of three months and raised in East Meadow, New York. Ushkowitz was raised Catholic and attended Parkway Elementary School and Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, a Catholic school in Hicksville, Long Island known for its strong theater department. During high school, Ushkowitz appeared in several musicals, including the first-ever high school production of Les Misérables. Her other roles included Penny in Honk!, Inez in The Baker's Wife, Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods, and Romaine Patterson in The Laramie Project. She graduated from high school in 2004 and moved on to attend Marymount Manhattan College, where she once again took the role of Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods. She graduated from Marymount Manhattan in 2007 with a B.A. in Acting, with a concentration in Theater Performance and a minor in Musical Theater.
Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986) is an American Actress best known for her role on the series Glee as Mercedes Jones.
Riley was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Tiny (née Hightower) and Elwin Riley. Riley auditioned for American Idol when she was 17 years old, during the show's second season, but was turned down by the producers. Amber graduated from La Mirada High School in La Mirada, California in 2004. In 2006 Riley auditioned unsuccessfully for the part of Effie White in Dreamgirls. She appeared at the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010.
Riley plays the role of Mercedes Jones on the hit musical comedy-drama Glee. A member of the main cast, she has appeared since the show's pilot, which debuted in May 2009. She has sung numerous solos, including "Respect", "Bust Your Windows", "Hate on Me", "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", "Beautiful", "Bridge over Troubled Water", "I Look to You", "Hell to the No", "Ain't No Way", "Try a Little Tenderness", "Spotlight", "All I Want for Christmas Is You" and, three days after Whitney Houston's death, a tribute version of "I Will Always Love You". Her character gets through her schooldays with her "diva-style", stylish clothes, and has a friendship with the only openly gay boy in school, Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer). In 2011, Riley received an NAACP Image Award nomination for her portrayal of Mercedes; she has won a Screen Actors Guild Award for her acting on Glee, along with the show's ensemble, and has also been nominated for a Teen Choice Award for her acting on the show. Her mother was a member of the choir in the song "Like a Prayer"—Mercedes dances with her—during the first season episode "The Power of Madonna".
Michael Trevino (born January 25, 1985 in Montebello, California) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Tyler Lockwood in the CW series The Vampire Diaries.
Trevino was raised in Montebello, California and later Valencia, California. His mother was originally from Zacatecas, Mexico and his father was born in Fresno, California to Mexican immigrants.
He played the role of Jackson Meade, heir to Meade Milk, in the Disney Channel Original Movie Cow Belles. He has also appeared as a guest star on Cold Case, Without a Trace, Bones, and Commander in Chief. He was seen in Not Another Teen Movie as an extra. Michael also had a small role on the TV series Charmed in the eighth season episode, "Malice in Wonderland", as Alastair.
He also had a recurring role on The Riches on FX, playing high school student, Brent, in a four episode story arc in Season 1, and appeared in the third episode of Season 2.
He played the role of Jaime Vega on the short-lived 2007 television series Cane.
Trevino was cast as the character Ozzie, a student at West Beverly Hills High School, for a three episode arc on the CW's 90210. He played the part of Naomi's guy crush for the week.
Emma Rose Roberts (born February 10, 1991) is an American actress, model and singer. She is the daughter of actor Eric Roberts and niece of Julia Roberts. Roberts became known for her role as Addie Singer in the Nickelodeon television series Unfabulous. She released her debut album, which also served as the show's soundtrack Unfabulous and More. Roberts then pursued a solo singing career by recording two songs for the soundtracks of Ice Princess and Aquamarine (in which Roberts starred as one of the leads). Roberts then began to focus on her acting career, the title character in the 2007 film Nancy Drew, and her voice-over debut in The Flight Before Christmas.
In 2008 and 2009, Roberts was cast in the coming-of-age movies Wild Child, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac and Lymelife. Roberts appeared in the 2009 family film Hotel for Dogs and The Winning Season. In 2010, she appeared in Valentine's Day, which also starred Julia Roberts. Later the same year, she had a leading role in It's Kind of a Funny Story. In 2010, she played the role of Molly in the Joel Schumacher film Twelve. In 2011, she starred as one of the leads, Jill Roberts, in the slasher film Scream 4.
Harry Shum, Jr. (Chinese: 岑勇康; born April 28, 1982) is an American dancer, actor, and choreographer. He is best known for his role as Mike Chang on the Fox television show Glee. He has appeared in dance films such as Stomp the Yard, You Got Served, Step Up 2: The Streets and Step Up 3D. He also plays the character of Elliot Hoo in The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers.
Shum was born in Puerto Limón, Costa Rica on April 28, 1982. His mother is a native of Hong Kong, and his father is from Guangzhou, China. They relocated to Costa Rica, where Shum and his two older sisters were born. When Shum was six years old, the family moved to San Francisco, California. He states, "I feel I have the best of so many worlds. I speak Chinese and Spanish. Spanish is actually my first language before I learned Chinese and English". In an interview, he said that his earliest motivations to dance were from Ginuwine, Dru Hill, and Usher, before becoming influenced by iconic dancers like Gene Kelly and Michael Jackson.