Victoria Justice

For years, Victoria Justice essayed the unsung roles of everything from eclectic boarding school roommate to high school "mean girl" on various television projects aimed at teen viewers. She first flirted with fashion and schoolmates on the Nickelodeon comedy series "Zoey 101" (Nickelodeon, 2005-08) opposite child star-turned-tabloid target Jamie Lynn Spears. Justice may have started off with a supporting role on the show, but she quickly won over fans with her delightful attitude and charming poise. She showcased her vocal skills and dance talent as a show choir diva on the made-for-television film "Spectacular!" (Nickelodeon, 2009), and proved she was more than just a tween sweetheart with a memorable cameo as a Mixed Martial Arts champ on "iCarly" (Nickelodeon, 2007-12). She finally took center stage with a lead role on "Victorious" (Nickelodeon, 2010-13), starring as an aspiring singer-songwriter, where Justice's equal parts sweetness, sass and star power gave her generation's teen queen Miley Cyrus a run for her money.

Victoria Dawn Justice was born on Feb. 19, 1993 in Hollywood, FL. She began her career as a child model; appearing in print ads, television commercials, and magazine editorials by the time she was eight. In 2003, her family relocated from Florida's Hollywood to California's Hollywood so that the future star could pursue an acting career. Justice's influences as a young woman ranged from Broadway musicals such as "A Chorus Line" (1975) and "Rent" (1996), to fearless actresses such as Hilary Swank and Juliette Lewis. Justice made her television-acting debut on an episode of primetime drama "Gilmore Girls" (The WB, 2000-06), followed by a guest appearance opposite teen stars Dylan and Cole Sprouse on "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody," in which she played beauty pageant contestant Rebecca, who catches the eyes of both Zack and Cody on the 2005 episode, "The Fairest of Them All." Her big Hollywood break happened, however, when Justice was cast on "Zoey 101," a preteen comedy series that starred Britney Spears' little sister, Jamie Lynn, in the title role. Even though she did not appear on the first season of "Zoey 101," producers brought Justice in for the role of Zoey's fashion-loving, boarding school roommate, Lola Martinez. Her role was created after one of the series' characters, Dana Cruz, was reportedly written out because the actress (Kristin Herrera) who played Cruz looked too old for the part.

The popularity of "High School Musical" (Disney Channel, 2006) inspired Nickelodeon to produce "Spectacular!" a musical comedy film based on the competitive world of high school show choirs. The pre-"Glee" (Fox, 2009- ) television film starred newcomers Nolan Gerard Funk and Tammin Sursok as two talented teens from different social circles who end up falling for each other after joining their school's show choir. Justice was pitch-perfect in the role of mean girl and the rival school's queen bee, Tammi. "Spectacular!" did not have the same pop culture success as "High School Musical" or "Glee," yet it highlighted Justice's singing and dancing talents to her core young audience. Justice continued to play the tough girl on Nickelodeon with a special guest appearance on "iCarly" as a teen Mixed Martial Arts athlete, Shelby Marx. The episode - aptly titled "iFight Shelby Marx" - found the show's heroine Carly (Miranda Cosgrove) in a charity fight opposite the youngest female competitor in the sport. Even though it was supposed to be an amicable exhibition fight between the two teen celebrities, things suddenly turned into a hilarious confrontation after Carly accidentally knocked over Shelby's grandmother during a press conference. Fans of "iCarly" considered Justice's cameo to be one of the most memorable guest appearances on the hit show.

In 2010, Justice starred in her own series titled "Victorious" as Tori Vega, a young singer who attends a performing arts high school in Los Angeles. "Victorious" was created and produced by Dan Schneider, who began his career acting on television with such shows as "Head of the Class" (ABC, 1986-1990), and went on to produce some of Nickelodeon's most popular shows, including "Zoey 101" and "iCarly." The network wasted no time promoting the series heavily before it premiered in March 2010, banking on its lead to take the teen queen crown away from rival Disney stars such as Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez. That same year, Justice acted alongside Brooke Shields on the family-oriented horror film "The Boy Who Cried Werewolf" (Nickelodeon), about a girl who moves to a castle in Romania with her brother, who tends up transforming into a werewolf after a freak lab accident.