Kristy Puchko
Then: Before she became one of MTV's original VJs, Quinn had worked on New York University's radio station and as an actress in commercials. When she heard the new music-centered channel was seeking talent, she raced to audition, where she blew MTV's execs away.
Then: The biracial British beauty with a bold flare for fashion began her career as a television personality working in children's programs in England in the early 1980s. The high energy that made her a success there translated well to hosting duties on 'Club MTV,' where she popularized her bubbly catchphrase "Wubba wubba wubba!" We still don't know what it means.
Then: Before he began hosting the weekday version of 'Yo! MTV Raps' with Andre ''Doctor Dre'' Brown in 1988, Lover was a part of the hip hop group No Face, which was popular on the underground music scene. During his time on the show, Lover (A.K.A. James Roberts) became known for his catchphrase ("C'mon son!") as well as a dance of his own invention that he fitting called "The Ed Lover Dance."
Then: The Virginia-born VJ got his start in television in the Netherlands, where he lived from ages 8 to 23. Then, in 1987, he was called over Stateside to host MTV's heavy metal music show 'Headbangers Ball.' He went on to work for MTV until the mid-1990s, and got into the cutting edge of web development, registering the domain name MTV.com in 1993. The network later sued for rights to the URL; the matter was settled in an out of court settlement.
Then: Camp was a total unknown when he competed against 4,000 contenders for a VJ spot on 'Total Request Live' in 1998 via MTV's 'Wanna Be a VJ' contest. Despite fellow contestant Dave Holmes have a far superior knowledge of all things music, Camp's quirky charisma won him the contest. However, his victory was later challenged by a 'Village Voice' article that claimed a hacker called UglyPig had cheated the voting system, casting 3,000 ballots for the outrageous oddball.
Then: Born Tabitha Lee Sornberger, this VJ with a B.A. in journalism from New York University made her television debut on MTV in 1987 on 'MTV News: The Week in Rock.' She went onto become the face of MTV's get out and vote initiative 'Choose or Lose.' Also, Soren was memorably featured in the Beastie Boys' music video '(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (to Party).'
Then: By 1989, Duffy was a working model and commercial actress. She joined MTV as a VJ in the early '90s, before landing a supporting role in the comedy smash 'Dumb & Dumber' as a tough-talking hitman hell-bent on whacking the titular dopey duo played by Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels.
Then: Born Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, Kennedy got her start as an intern at the Los Angeles radio station KROQ-FM, where her handle was ''The Virgin Kennedy.'' A year later in 1992, she joined MTV, where she became the host of 'Alternative Nation,' the show that helped draw attention to bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.
Then: The son of famed Comedy Store owners Sammy and Mitzi Shore, Pauly got into stand-up at 17, and began developing his persona as the dopey but sweet surfer boy ''The Weasel.'' His schtick landed him on MTV in 1989, and he went on to score his own show, 'Totally Pauly,' in 1991.
Then: Before Rex scored a two-year hosting gig with MTV in 1995, he learned how to get comfortable in front of a camera in a trio of adult films, including 'Young, Hard & Solo #3.'