Name: Nick Cannon

Hometown: San Diego, CA

D.O.B.: Oct 17, 1980

How You Know Him: If you've ever watched Nickelodeon, you've no doubt seen Nick Cannon more than a few times. "I've been on probably every show but Blues Clues," he jokes.

Seriously though, Nick was a cast regular on All That, and he's made guest appearances on Cousin Skeeter, Taina and Keenan and Kel. He's also hosted Snick House and interviewed music groups like *NSYNC and Christina Aguilera. Last summer, Nick hosted In Concert on TEENick and Nick does all the video picks on Nickelodeon as well. As he says, "You can't have Nickelodeon without the 'Nick.'" To further prove that theory, beginning January 19th, Nick will begin hosting his very own show, the aptly titled, The Nick Cannon Show.

His Goofy TV Past: You'll never guess where Nick made his television debut. It was on Soul Train. "Believe it or not, I was a Soul Train dancer," says Nick. "I was like 15, and I actually did the Soul Train scramble board and everything. That was embarrassing, though. I hope that footage never comes up." (We can dream, can't we girls?)

"Soul Train was just like a big thing back in the day," continues Nick. "I thought once I made it on Soul Train I was gonna be able to dance background for Brandy or somebody like that, but pretty much I just got to do the scramble board and that was it"

Starting Out in Stand-Up: Nick has always been interested in entertaining and making people laugh. In fact, he used to drive his family a little crazy with all his wacky antics. "I would be silly around my house," says Nick. "I would try to do Bill Cosby impressions and Michael Jackson and stuff like that-- My dad was like, 'Instead of acting silly and trying to be a rapper all the time, why don't you sit down and write [out] some comedy routines and perform them?" Ever the obedient son, Nick put pen to paper and his father was happy to discover that the routine he wrote was pretty darn good. "Then I started doing talent shows and stuff with me doing stand-up," says Nick. "It kinda evolved from there."

Tough Crowd: While Nick became pretty popular on the Los Angeles stand-up circuit and performed at clubs like The Improv, The Laugh Factory and The Comedy Store, he wasn't immune to tough nights on stage. "I had taken a break from doing stand-up for about a year because I really wanted to focus on [rapping] and then, when I was about 15, I got back into it," says Nick. "I went on stage and I tried to do the same material from when I was 12 years old, and I was way older, so it wasn't as cute as it was when I was 12. I started doing those jokes, and people started booing and stuff." Ouch! Nick was pretty devastated by that experience, and, for a moment, vowed never to do stand-up again. "Then, the next week, I was just like, 'I've gotta do it. I'm not a quitter. I've gotta keep going, and I gotta make it happen.' I went up there the next week with some new jokes and just ripped it up. I think I got a standing ovation that night." See kids, bravery and perseverance really do pay off!