Neve Campbell

Born in Guelph, Ontario, on October 3, 1973, to Gerry, a Scottish drama teacher, and Dutch psychologist mother Marnie, the dancer-turned-actress owes her unusual first name to her mum, whose Neve maiden name was first used by her Jewish ancestors in the 15th century. The couple divorced when Neve was two-years-old, however, and she and her elder brother Christian grew up with their father in Mississauga, Ontario, while regularly visiting their Guelph-based mum.

With maternal grandparents who ran a theatre company and paternal grandparents who were also performers, it perhaps wasn't surprising that as a nine-year-old Neve was accepted by the National Ballet School Of Canada. "It's the best dance school in the world, but an extremely competitive one and there was a lot of pressure for a child," she recalls. "I love to dance, that was my dream. When you're in that school, it means you've beaten out 2,000 people to get there, so you're not exactly going to quit. But I did, at 14. I wouldn't have been able to function had I stayed there."

After leaving ballet school she landed a singing and dancing role in the chorus line of the Toronto production of The Phantom Of The Opera, which was followed by a part in the Canadian TV series Catwalk. Her real showbiz breakthrough, however, came when, in 1994, she was cast as brainy big sister Julia Salinger in the series Party Of Five.

She played the role until 2000, during which time she famously starred in the Scream trilogy alongside Courteney Cox and David Arquette, as well as the romantic comedy Three To Tango. Scheduling clashes forced her to turn down many other movie offers, however, prompting her to quit the show to concentrate on a big screen career.

She went on to star in 2001 indie drama Investigating Sex - where she first met her future husband, British actor John Light and returned to her dance roots in 2003 by writing and producing Robert Altman flick The Company. The following year, after an 11-year break from theatre, Neve returned to the stage in the New York production Syncopation. "I just feel the urge to get back on stage now," she said at the time. "I know it will help me grow as an actor."

Twelve months on in 2005, the actress, who called time on her two-and-a-half-year marriage from fellow Canuck actor Jeff Colt in 1997, moved to London to be with John and continue her stage work. Shortly after the pair set up home together in North London John proposed, and a year and a half later, on May 5, 2007, the couple were wed in a private ceremony in Malibu.