Joan Mary Cusack is an American actress and comedian. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama Working Girl (1988) and the romantic comedy In & Out (1997). Her other starring roles include those in Toys (1992), Addams Family Values (1993), Nine Months (1995), Cradle Will Rock (1999), Runaway Bride (1999), Where the Heart Is (2000), and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008). She has also provided the voice of Jessie in the Toy Story franchise (1999–present), for which she won an Annie Award, and Abby Mallard in Chicken Little (2005).
Ann-Margret Olsson, credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer. She has won five Golden Globe Awards and been nominated for two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and six Emmy Awards, winning in 2010 for a guest role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Mary Marg Helgenberger is an American actress. She began her career in the early 1980s and first came to attention for playing the role of Siobhan Ryan on the daytime soap opera Ryan's Hope from 1982 to 1986. She is best known for her role as Catherine Willows in the CBS police procedural drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–13) and the subsequent TV movie Immortality (2015). She reprised the role in season 2 of the sequel CSI: Vegas, which premiered on September 29, 2022. Helgenberger is also known for playing the role of K.C. Koloski in the ABC drama China Beach (1988–91), which earned her the 1990 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She is also known for roles in the TV series Under the Dome and Intelligence, and the films Species (1995), Species II (1998), Erin Brockovich (2000), and Mr. Brooks (2007).
Alexa Ellesse PenaVega is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Carmen Cortez in the four Spy Kids films and Julie Corky in the 2004 film Sleepover. In 2009, she starred as the title character Ruby Gallagher in the ABC Family series Ruby & the Rockits.
Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American rock and roll musical film, with auto racing thrown in, directed by George Sidney, choreographed by David Winters, and starring Elvis Presley, Ann-Margret, Cesare Danova, William Demarest. Set in Las Vegas, Nevada, the film tells about two competing race car drivers who also compete for the same girl.
Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series Entourage, for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also starred in the British period drama Mr Selfridge, which tells the story of the man who created the English department store Selfridges, and portrayed Spence Kovak on Ellen DeGeneres's sitcom Ellen.
Very Bad Things is a 1998 American black comedy film written and directed by Peter Berg in his feature film directorial debut and starring Cameron Diaz, Jon Favreau, Daniel Stern, Jeremy Piven, Christian Slater, Leland Orser, Kobe Tai and Jeanne Tripplehorn.
Dyanne Thorne was an American actress, stage performer, and vocalist. She was known for her stage work in Las Vegas and as the lead actress in the Ilsa film franchise which began with Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1975).
Ann Cusack is an American actress and singer. She had roles in Multiplicity (1996), A League of Their Own (1992), and The Informant! (2009). Additionally, she has made guest appearances in a number of television series, including Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, One Tree Hill, Charmed, Ghost Whisperer, The Unit, Boston Legal, Bones, Frasier, Ally McBeal, Criminal Minds, Private Practice, Fargo, Better Call Saul, The Boys, and The Good Doctor.
Bernard Piven was an American stage actor, director, and co-founder of the Playwrights Theatre Club, a forerunner of The Second City
Kay Cannon is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actress. She is best known for writing and producing the Pitch Perfect film series (2012–2017). She made her directorial debut with the comedy film Blockers (2018). Cannon was also a writer and producer for the NBC comedy series 30 Rock (2007–2012) and the FOX comedy series New Girl (2012–2014). She created, wrote and produced the short-lived Netflix comedy-drama series Girlboss (2017).
Gina Joy Carano is an American actress and former mixed martial artist. She competed in EliteXC and Strikeforce from 2006 to 2009, where she compiled a 7–1 record. Her popularity led to her being called the "face of women's MMA", although Carano rejected this title. She and Cris Cyborg were the first women to headline a major MMA event during their 2009 Strikeforce bout. Carano retired from competition after her first professional MMA defeat to Cyborg.
The Piven Theatre Workshop is located in Evanston, Illinois and was founded by Joyce and Byrne Piven. For over 30 years, it has existed both as a professional theatre company and a training center for children and adults. Famous alumni to come out of the program include Jeremy Piven, John Cusack, Aimee Garcia, Joan Cusack, Ann Cusack, Aidan Quinn, Laurel Holloman, Lili Taylor, Ann Lippert, Julian Bailey, playwright Sarah Ruhl and Kate Walsh.
Joyce Hiller Piven is an American director, teacher, and actress. She and her late husband, Byrne Piven, were actors in the Compass Players. Later, they founded the Piven Theatre Workshop in Evanston, Illinois and became teachers to a generation of stars such as John Cusack, Joan Cusack, Aidan Quinn, Adam McKay, as well as their son Jeremy Piven and daughter Shira Piven.
Joni and Gina's Wedding is a 2002 American interactive dinner theater comedy, conceived by Marianne Basford and written by Ann Lippert and Marianne Basford, under the production company Hilarity Ensues. It was originally produced by Basford and directed by Lippert. Audience members are "wedding guests" who mingle with actors posing as members of an eclectic wedding party.
Mary Jane Frehse, was an American actress, singer, and dancer.
Mary Ann Pascal is an American actress and business executive. She is known for her role as Samantha "Sam" Booke on the Showtime original comedy series Brothers, and is currently Vice President of Player Development at Wynn Las Vegas.
Barbara Ann Knudson was an American film and television actress with more than forty professional credits, including starring roles in Meet Danny Wilson in 1952, The Cry Baby Killer in 1958, and The Jayhawkers! in 1959.
Shira Piven is an American director, actress and producer. She directed the 2014 film Welcome to Me starring Kristen Wiig.