Vivica A Fox

Born: July 30, 1964
Where: Indianapolis

The former cheerleader first attracted attention as the go-go dancer girlfriend of Will Smith in the blockbuster Independence Day.

She was discovered by a producer while eating lunch in a Sunset Boulevard restaurant and made her TV debut in a Clearasil advert before the series Days of Our Lives in 1988.

Her first big screen outing came as a hooker in the Tom Cruise drama Born on the Fourth of July and she went on to play Patty LaBelle's feisty daughter in the TV series Out All Night.

Various small TV and film roles followed before she was cast as Jasmine Dubrow in Independence Day (she and Smith shared an MTV award for best kiss).

Subsequent appearances included Booty Call and the role of Ms B Haven in Joel Schumacher's dispiriting Batman & Robin.

She starred alongside Vanessa L Williams in Soul Food and won praise for the Frankie Lymon biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love?

A series of minor roles followed before she was cast in the comedy Juwanna Mann and the lacklustre caper Boat Trip with Cuba Gooding Jr.

In 2003, she cut a dash as Uma Thurman's nemesis Vernita Green in the Quentin Tarantino thriller Kill Bill.

Recent work includes the role of bad fairy in the children's fantasy Ella Enchanted.