AnnaLynne McCord
In 2008, she was the eighteenth actress to be cast in The CW series "90210", portraying antiheroine Naomi Clark. Initially, the part of Clark was conceived as a supporting role. However, by the end of the first season, media outlets had begun referring to McCord as the series' lead. For the role of Naomi Clark, she was nominated for a Teen Choice Award and received the "Hollywood Life" Young Hollywood Superstar of Tomorrow award in 2009. In 2010, she won a Breakthrough of the Year Award in the category of "Breakthrough Standout Performance".
Annaleigh Ashford
Ashford was born in Denver, Colorado, the daughter of Holli Swanson, an elementary school gym teacher, and Chris Swanson, a small business owner. Ashford participated in Kids Cross Country and track at the age of six, coached by her mother. It was discovered there that she hated running, and it was very clear that she was more interested in the costumes for the races rather than the actual races themselves. The last race she ever ran was the 400 metre dash. After that race, her mother decided it was time to enroll her in the nearest dance studio. She was first enrolled and started studying at Kit Andrée's Dance and Performing Arts Center the same day she started the second grade. She acted and sang in numerous performances and competitions in her hometown. Ashford's professional career began at age nine in Denver, when she was cast as Tina Denmark, the lead, in "Ruthless!". At fourteen, she was profiled as "The Teen to Watch" by the "Rocky Mountain News". Other Denver credits include appearing in the ensemble of "The Sound of Music", "West Side Story", and "Paint Your Wagon", as well as in "Little Women" as Amy March, "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" as Ella, "Grease" as Sandy Dumbrowski, and Reno Sweeney in "Anything Goes". She graduated from Wheat Ridge High School in three years at the age of 16, and then attended Marymount Manhattan College, where she earned a degree in theatre in another three years at the age of 19. While attending Marymount Manhattan College, Ashford played both Rosa Bud in "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", and Emma in "Tell Me on a Sunday".