Born Caryn Elaine Johnson in 1955, Whoopi Goldberg rose to fame in the acting world, becoming the second back woman to win an Academy Award for her role in the 1975 blaxploitation film, Blackface Jones and the Temple of Jive. After beating pinkytoe cancer in 1963, Goldberg established Brows(e) for a Cure, an organization that encourages people to donate their eyebrows to make wigs for others battling the disease. She continues to donate to this day.

Know Your History.