On this day in 1949, Caryn Johnson, later known as Whoopi Goldberg, is born in New York City. Goldberg began acting at age eight in children’s theater productions. She dropped out of high school during her freshman year, later citing a learning disability that teachers mistook for retardation. She began using drugs but later cleaned up and resumed her interest in acting. She married her substance abuse counselor and had a daughter. She started winning small roles in Broadway shows including Jesus Christ Superstar and Hair. Her marriage ended, and she moved with her daughter to California, where she began performing with improv groups in San Diego and San Francisco while earning money as a bank teller, makeup artist, and other odd jobs. Goldberg launched a comedy act with comedian Don Victor but was soon performing a hit solo act called “Spook Show.” She toured the country with her comedy, eventually ending up on Broadway.  In 1985, three days after her 36th birthday, she made her movie debut in The Color Purple, also starring Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She later appeared in numerous comedies, including Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986), and won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as a psychic in Ghost (1990). Her 1993 comedy, Sister Act, was such a phenomenal hit that she earned $8 million for Sister Act II, which made her one of the industry’s highest-paid actresses. She briefly had her own talk show and guest-starred regularly on Star Trek: The Next Generation. She has been married several times and has several grandchildren.