Caryn Elaine Johnson is now the woman you know as Whoopi Goldberg. Born in Manhattan in 1955, Whoopi Goldberg worked in a funeral home on her way to fame, which necessitated a move to California. After a well-received HBO special, she landed a role in The Color Purple, and the rest is history.
While her next few films were not critical successes, Whoopi Goldberg eventually earned an Oscar for her work in Ghost in 1990. She followed up with another huge role in 1992's Sister Act, selling a lot of tickets to people who had never even seen a nun.
Since then, Whoopi Goldberg has been a vocal advocate and activist for a number of causes that are important to her, often via Comic Relief. She has become known as the center square on Hollywood Squares, where her standup talents get a good workout.
Whoopi Goldberg's live appearances are always hilarious and thought-provoking. When she is not making films that appeal to her, such as 1998's How Stella Got Her Groove Back, she is making audiences roar with laughter and selling tons of tickets. You can be one of those ticket-holders if you get moving in time.