Actress Daphne Zuniga achieved nationwide fame through her weekly appearances on Fox's Melrose Place in 1994; despite her comparative unfamiliarity, she was certainly no overnight success. The daughter of a Guatemalan-born philosophy professor, Zuniga attended U.C.L.A. while her dad was teaching at California State. Stardom beckoned when she was cast as John Cusack's recalcitrant traveling companion in The Sure Thing (1985). For reasons that defy explanation, this engaging performance did not immediately elevate her to the top ranks, and Zuniga would have to mark time in unmemorable films like Last Rites (1988) and Prey of the Chameleon (1991) before Melrose Place secured her popularity. After that show ended she continued to work regularly on both the small and big screen in projects such as Pandora's Clark, Enemies of Laughter, Christmas Do-Over, and the short-lived Spaceballs animated series. In 2007 she co-directed the documentary The Future We Will Create: Inside the World of TED.