Will Ferrell

Born: 16th July 1967
Where: Irvine, California, USA

Another graduate of America's Saturday Night Live, Ferrell has launched a successful cinema career appearing in the likes of Austin Powers, Zoolander and Elf.

Since joining the cast of SNL in 1995, Ferrell gained a popular following for several of his characters, notably Craig, an over-enthusiastic male cheerleader.

Frustrated with a directionless career as a commentator for a local cable station, he started making appearances at comedy clubs and college coffee houses.

By 1991, he had enrolled in improvisational comedy classes with the noted troupe The Groundlings and six months later was performing alongside such future co-stars as Chris Kattan, Ana Gasteyer and Cheri Oteri.

He moved from Saturday Night Live to the big screen playing Mustafa in the hit comedy Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery.

He also landed supporting roles in the comedies in Dick and Superstar and went onto act in Kevin Smith's self-reflective Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

Keen to concentrate solely on his movie career, Will left Saturday Night Live and appeared with Ben Stiller in Zoolander, followed by parts in Boat Trip and Old School with Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson.

He took the lead role in Elf, a project directed by Jon Favreau, as a human raised by elves at the North Pole who journeys to Manhattan to find his birth father.

In 2004, he had an uncredited role alongside Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in Starsky & Hutch and also played news presenter Ron Burgundy in Anchorman.

Next up Woody Allen cast him in his return-to-form romantic comedy Melinda and Melinda with Rhada Mitchell.

Recent work includes the disappointing kids' comedy Kicking & Screaming which saw Ferrell cast as a junior soccer coach.