Regina Hall

Born: 1971
Where: Washington, DC

The onetime wannabe journalist is best known for the role of prissy Brenda Meeks in the spoof Scary Movie series.

Other big screen appearances include The Honeymooners, Disappearing Acts and First Sunday.

The daughter of a contractor and a teacher, she was educated at Catholic schools, including a Jesuit college in Fordham, and is a staunch Christian.

She graduated from New York University in 1997 with a Master's degree in Journalism.

However, she switched to acting and made her first appearance in a TV commercial aged 26. Her TV career began with a recurring role in the daytime soap Loving.

Her first film role came in 1999 with the small part of Candy in the film The Best Man and consolidated her position with the horror spoof Scary Movie in 2000.

Hall played Brenda, the feisty girlfriend of a football player of ambiguous sexuality in the movie which would go onto three sequels.

She also played small parts in two films by Gina Prince-Bythewood: the drama Love & Basketball, and the TV movie Disappearing Acts.

In 2001, Hall landed the role of Coretta Lipp on the prime-time drama Ally McBeal, which was a recurring role over several episodes.

A year later, she starred in director Charles Stone III's action-drama Paid in Full opposite Wood Harris.

In 2003, she starred in the Taye Diggs crime comedy Malibu's Most Wanted, the kidnap comedy King's Ransom and The Honeymooners alongside Cedric The Entertainer.

She starred in the comedy-drama The Elder Son, alongside Ice Cube in the comedy First Sunday and in the superhero spoof The Superhero Movie.