After a six-year hiatus from series television, Teri Hatcher is returns in Desperate Housewives . Best known as Lois Lane in the 1994-1997 ABC series Lois & Clark , she now plays Susan Mayer, a single mom struggling to find love while living in a troubled suburban neighborhood. Hatcher finds a comfortable connection to her new character, as she is also a single mom to her six-year old daughter, Emerson.

Among the many highlights of Hatcher's career is a turn hosting Saturday Night Live that had USA Today commenting, "She gives one of the best and most energetic performances by a good-sport host in a long time." What's more, the sketches she did with Molly Shannon, David Spade and Chris Kattan have become part of SNL's Best Of . Other favorite roles include that of Sally Bowles in the national tour of the Tony Award-winning musical Cabaret and the many opportunities Off-Broadway and around the globe to talk about and examine her own issues through her performance in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues .

Of all her film credits, Hatcher still considers the first movie she ever made -- The Big Picture , directed by Christopher Guest -- to be her favorite. Other movies that followed were Soapdish , with Kevin Kline, Two Days in the Valley , Spy Kids , directed by Roberto Rodriguez, and a turn as a "Bond" girl in Tomorrow Never Dies , opposite Pierce Brosnan. Nor will anyone ever forget the line she made famous in Seinfeld , which was, of course, "They're real -- and they're spectacular."

Hatcher was honored with the 1996 "Spirit of Compassion Award" for her generous support of the Aviva Center, which provides services to sexually and physically abused adolescents. She has been a strong supporter of AIDS Walk Los Angeles and New York, and very active in the battle against breast cancer.

Among her pop culture honors, Hatcher has topped Best Dressed lists around the world and was voted E! Entertainment Television's "Best Dressed Woman of 1996." She's been recognized as one of the sexiest women on television, and had the distinction of being the most downloaded image on the internet the year she posed wrapped in Superman's cape -- and nothing else! She has also been honored by the Hollywood Women's Press Club as "Discovery of the Year," but this year she looks forward to being re-discovered in the role of Susan Mayer. It's a role that's taken her years to be ready for, and one that will offer viewers a surprising and new turn from this well known and talented actress.

Felicity Huffman earned a 1999 Golden Globe nomination for her work on the acclaimed ABC Television comedy Sports Night . Most recently on television she starred in the Showtime drama Out of Order , opposite Eric Stoltz.

Huffman's film roles include the recently released hit comedy, Raising Helen . Other feature film credits include the upcoming releases Christmas with the Kranks and Transamerica , as well as Magnolia , Arlington Road , The Spanish Prisoner and Reversal of Fortune .

On stage she has appeared on Broadway in David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow , and has worked alongside her husband, William H. Macy, in such plays as The Three Sisters and Boy's Life . In 1997 Huffman won an Obie for Mamet's off-Broadway production of Cryptogram . She is a founding member, with Macy and Mamet, of the Atlantic Theatre Company.

Additional television credits include regular roles on Frasier , Law & Order , The X-Files , The West Wing and Chicago Hope . She has also starred in a number of movies for television, including Path to War , A Slight Case of Murder , Door to Door and Reversible Errors .

Eva Longoria is on the fast track to stardom with her return to primetime as the star of the new ABC series Desperate Housewives , where she portrays Latin sexpot Gabrielle Solis. Just voted by Variety as one of the "Ten New Faces to Watch" this Fall, as well as one of USA Today 's "Fall TV's Hot 11" and TV Guide 's "New Faces of Fall," Longoria also co-stars in the recent CBS movie-of-the-week The Dead Will Tell . Last season she starred on L.A. Dragnet , Emmy Award-winning producer Dick Wolf's modern-day take on the classic police drama. Voted one of Maxim Magazine 's "Hot 100" for 2004 (and part of Maxim 's 2005 calendar), one of People en Espanol 's "25 Most Beautiful People," and winner of an ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama, this Young and the Restless alum proves that talent and versatility pave the way to success.

On Desperate Housewives , Longoria plays a glamorous, former runway model married to the handsome, sexy Carlos. In this dark comedy that looks at the sexy, insidious and incredibly secretive lives of the inhabitants of a neighborhood cul-de-sac, Gabrielle is "desperate" because all of her teenage dreams did come true and yet she still hates her life. She has learned too late that what she wanted and what she got are not the ingredients to happiness, and she deals with her husband's cold disapproval by having a fling with their 17-year old gardener.

In The Dead Will Tell , which aired in October, Longoria played a quirky psychic named Jenny, whose mental abilities play an intricate part in resolving a long overdue, unsolved murder. On the critically acclaimed L.A. Dragnet , she played Detective Gloria Duran, a keen observer, well trained in psychology. "I was so excited to work opposite veteran actor Ed O'Neill and to have the opportunity to portray a detective who not only exhibits a tough exterior, but shows her sexy, feminine strength at the same time," Longoria acknowledges.

Longoria also flexes her comedic muscles in Hot Tamales Live , a critically lauded comedy/variety show in which she both stars and co-produces. Hot Tamales Live performs regularly at The Comedy Store and consistently sells out its performances whenever they perform across the country. Hot Tamales Live is available on DVD/videocassette and pay-per-view. Previously she celebrated her theatre debut in the popular comedy farce, What the Rabbi Saw . Acknowledging her "comedic flair," Back Stage West proclaimed "Eva Longoria is sensational."

The youngest of four sisters who grew up on a ranch in Corpus Christi, Texas, Longoria attended Texas A&M-Kingsville, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. After graduating from college, she entered a talent contest that brought her to Los Angeles, where she was spotted and subsequently signed by a theatrical agent. Her timing couldn't have been better, and she was determined to see where her acting dreams would take her.

Nicollette Sheridan, born in England and raised in London and Los Angeles, is perhaps best known to TV audiences for portraying the beautiful, powerful and manipulative Paige Matheson in the long-running drama series, Knots Landing . She returns to series television as Edie Britt, the serial divorcee whose romantic conquests keep the neighborhood buzzing on Desperate Housewives .

One of Sheridan's first feature film appearances was in the hit Rob Reiner-directed comedy, The Sure Thing . In the film, Sheridan was the object of John Cusack's cross-country quest to find "the sure thing." In addition to Knots Landing , her television credits include TV miniseries and movies such as Lucky/Chances , Indictment: The McMartin Trial , The People Next Door , The Spiral Staircase and Dead Husbands .

She has also starred in the feature film comedies Noises Off , opposite Michael Caine and Carol Burnett, Spy Hard , as Agent 3.14 and opposite Leslie Neilsen, and Beverly Hills Ninja , with Chris Farley and Chris Rock.

A native of Portland, OR, Brenda Strong left home to attend Arizona State University, where she earned a bachelors degree in Musical Theater. After graduation she moved to Los Angeles, where she soon began appearing in television and film.

A familiar face on television, she has guest starred on C.S.I. and had recurring roles on the popular series Nip/Tuck , Everwood and the critically-acclaimed Sports Night . Strong is also recognizable to Seinfeld fans as Sue Ellen Mishkie, better known as "The Braless Wonder."

Strong stars in the upcoming features The Kid and I , opposite Tom Arnold, and The Work and the Glory . Previous feature film credits include Starship Troopers and the recently-released Starship Troopers 2 , The Deep End of the Ocean opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Treat Williams, The Craft and the Mel Brooks comedy Spaceballs .

Strong is a certified yoga instructor with her own studio in Los Angeles and a line of videos designed to help infertile couples through yoga therapy. She has also taught at UCLA's Mind-Body Institute.

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son.

Andrea Bowen began her life as a professional performer on Broadway in New York at the age of six, playing young Cosette in Les Misérables , becoming the youngest Cosette in the show's 16-year run. She went on to originate the role of Marta Von Trapp in the original cast of the Broadway revival of The Sound of Music , with Richard Chamberlain, and the role of Adele in the Broadway musical production of Jane Eyre While performing on Broadway, she also began to guest star on many New York-based TV shows, such as Law & Order and Third Watch . She also appeared in the films New York Crossing and Highball .

Prior to being cast in Desperate Housewives , Andrea played the role of Zooey Glass in That Was Then . She also played 12-year-old genius Riley Ellis in a recurring role on Boston Public . She has essayed a wide variety of roles in her numerous guest star appearances, including an altruistic cystic fibrosis patient on Strong Medicine , an ill-tempered and foul mouthed foster child on One Tree Hill , the bratty child of a sports star on Arli$$ and a shy, suicidal teenager on Nip/Tuck .

Andrea has also found success as a voiceover artist, lending her vocal talents to many projects, including the film Ice Age and two recently completed animated pilots for the Cartoon Network, Party Wagon and Ben-10 .

As a recording artist, she can be heard on the original cast albums of Jane Eyre, The Musical and The Sound of Music, Broadway Revival , as well as Night of the Hunter , Z: the Masked Musical , Broadway Kids Sing America and the Sugar Beats discs Car Tunes and Christmas Album . Andrea is the youngest of six siblings, each of whom has found considerable success as a performer on Broadway and in film and television. She currently lives with her mom and dad in the Los Angeles area. In addition to acting, she is an accomplished singer and dancer who also enjoys swimming and horseback riding. She loves to read and was recently named Student of the Year for academic achievement at her 8th Grade culmination.

A native of San Antonio, TX, Ricardo Antonio Chavira has worked consistently in all areas of the entertainment industry – film, television and theatre – since arriving in Los Angeles. Film credits include Touchstone's The Alamo and several independent films. Television credits include a series regular role on The Grubbs , recurring roles on Six Feet Under and The Division , and guest star roles on Joan of Arcadia , Kingpin , 24 and JAG , as well as NYPD Blue and two other Steven Bochco series, Philly and City of Angels .

Chavira starred in a production of Tracers at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles, and has worked at some of the country's top regional theatres, including the La Jolla Playhouse in Dogeaters ; The Guthrie, in Jack and Jill ; the San Diego Rep, in Bandido ; and most recently, the Seattle Rep & Missouri Rep, where he starred in a co-production of Living Out .

Chavira received his Master of Fine Arts degree from UC-San Diego in 2000 and his "D-A-D" degree in 2003, upon the birth of his son Tomas.

Even before his critically-acclaimed performance as Robert F. Kennedy in the film Thirteen Days brought him to the attention of moviegoers, Steven Culp had already attracted a large following among television fans for his recurring role as the mysterious CIA agent Clayton Webb on the series JAG .

Last season he achieved what may have been a TV first by appearing in major recurring roles on four different series at the same time – as Webb on JAG , as House Speaker Jeff Haffley on The West Wing , as Dr. Corday's love interest, Dave Spencer, on ER , and as the stalwart Major Hayes on Star Trek: Enterprise . He also guest starred on CSI and Lyon's Den . Somehow, in the midst of this schedule, he managed to take on a leading role in the upcoming feature The Sisters , starring Maria Bello, Mary Stuart Masterson and Erica Christensen.

Culp's other feature films include The Emperor's Club , Spartan , Nurse Betty , James and the Giant Peach , Fearless and Dead Again . He made his primetime TV debut as John Hay in the Emmy-winning miniseries Gore Vidal's Lincoln , opposite Sam Waterston and Mary Tyler Moore. Since then he has appeared in numerous episodic television shows and TV movies, among them recurring roles on 24 , Ally McBeal and Philly ; guest-starring appearances on The Practice , Crossing Jordan , Providence , Boston Public and Chicago Hope ; and roles in the movie-of-the-week, A Story to Die For with Angela Lansbury, How to Make a Monster , produced by Stan Winston, and the television movie Norma Jean and Marilyn .

Beginning his career in New York, Culp has worked with some of the best playwrights and directors in the American theater. He appeared in the premieres of Tony Kushner's Slavs (Actor's Theatre of Louisville), Terrence McNally's The Lisbon Traviata (Theatre Off-Park), A.R. Gurney, Jr.'s Sweet Sue (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Neil Simon's Actors and Actresses (Hartman Theatre), Keith Reddin's Highest Standard of Living (Playwright's Horizons) and Jonathan Tollins' If Memory Serves (Pasadena Playhouse).

He received Drama-Logue Awards for his performances in Angels in America at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and in the West Coast premiere of Nicky Silver's Raised in Captivity at South Coast Rep. He starred opposite Annette Bening in Coastal Disturbances on Broadway, and appeared with Kevin Kline in Richard III in Central Park. Culp was most recently seen on stage in ART at the South Coast Rep.

Nashville native James Denton has been one of Hollywood's busiest actors since he hit town with a training background that has launched many performers into stardom -- a solid body of respected work in the Chicago theatre.

Denton, who originally attended college on a basketball scholarship, wasn't bitten by the acting bug until he was 20. He landed the role of George Gibbs in a Nashville production of Our Town , got fine reviews, but thought there was a more solid career in selling advertising. He did that in Tennessee and then in North Carolina for four years, before taking off for Chicago to risk everything to become a professional actor.

He was soon accepted as one of the town's brightest and busiest actors. After earning a key casting when the Untouchables series came to town to film, Denton was drawn to Los Angeles, where his strong theatre reputation had preceded him, and he was quickly locked in with choice turns in film, on TV and on stage.

He started building his big screen profile with performances in such films as Primary Colors , Face/Off and That Old Feeling , but soon off-beat roles in adventurous TV series were claiming his time. In 1997 he landed the role of the eerily sociopathic Mr. Lyle on the hit drama The Pretender That was followed by The Pretender television films, Pretender 2001 and Pretender: The Island of the Haunted .

In 2001 Denton was cast by ABC to star opposite Kim Delaney in Steven Bochco's Philly series, which was critically acclaimed but short-lived. But his growing reputation soon led to a new series casting him as a top player in this nation's homeland security community, Special Agent Jon Kilmer on Threat Matrix .

Acting obviously is serious work for the handsome and athletic star. His Chicago training with some of that area's most excellent teachers pointed him in that direction. Denton's first role there was as Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and his last was the terrorist on the French farce, Lapin, Lapin. He was a company member of the Griffin Theatre and at the Strawdog Theatre Ensemble. He added a steady string of roles and accolades to his quickly growing list, including one of the leads in the world premiere of Flesh and Blood , performing in and composing the music for The Night Hank Williams Died and his portrayal of Kentucky preacher C.C. Showers in The Diviners , which gained him a coveted Joseph Jefferson Best Actor nomination. For these performances, Denton was listed as one of Chicago's hottest actors by Screen Magazine. In Los Angeles he appeared in the premieres of Asylum at the Court Theatre, Locked Up Down Shorty's at the Powerhouse Theatre and In Walked Monk at the Hudson Theatre.

In addition to his series-starring roles on TV, his guest appearances include JAG , Slider , Dark Skies , Two Guys and a Girl , Ally McBeal and The West Wing .

Jesse Metcalfe is best known to television audiences for his role as Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald on the daytime drama Passions .

Metcalfe grew up in Waterford, CT and attended New York University, where he studied film and acting at the Tisch School of the Arts, with the goal of one day becoming a director. He also worked as a model, doing commercial and print work for such publications as Seventeen and YM.

After graduation his modeling agency sent him on an open-call audition for the daytime NBC soap opera Passions , where he won the role of Miguel over hundreds of other actors. He also appeared in the FX television movie 44 Minutes: A Shoot Out in North Hollywood , and in a recurring role on Smallville . In his spare time, Metcalfe enjoys playing guitar and writing music. An avid basketball player, he has participated in "The Hollywood Knights," a charitable team that raises money for high schools throughout Southern California.

Mark Moses has had a distinguished career in film, television and theatre. His long and varied list of television credits include series regular roles on The Single Guy and In My Life, and recurring roles on Ally McBeal and Grand.

He has had lead roles in such celebrated movies and miniseries for television as Saving Jessica Lynch, The James Dean Story, The Rough Riders The Tracker and North and South. He has recently guest starred on such series as NYPD Blue, The West Wing, Las Vegas, The District, Malcolm in the Middle, 10-8, American Dreams, Seventh Heaven and Oliver Beene.

Moses' impressive feature career includes having the distinction of working with Oliver Stone three times, in Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July and The Doors. He has also had that opportunity twice with Brett Ratner, on Red Dragon and in the soon-to-be released feature After the Sunset. Other film work includes Ridley Scott's Someone to Watch Over Me, Race to Space, Gettysburg and Deep Impact.

His extensive list of theatre credits include appearing on Broadway in Slab Boys, at the New York Shakespeare Festival in Love's Labors Lost and at the Mark Taper Forum in Our Country's Good.