Whoopi Goldberg, who is 53 years old today.

Her Oscar-winning performance in the 1990 hit Ghost gained the attention of Hollywood. In 1985, she made her feature-film debut in The Color Purple. As a stand-up comedienne and performance artist, Goldberg racked up over 80 appearances on TV specials during the second half of the 80s, most notably “Comic Relief”. She also played a recurring role on the television series “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1988-94). Goldberg began hosting a late night chat show in 1992, “The Whoopi Goldberg Show”, though it was canceled in 1993. Other notable films include Sister Act (1992), Boys on the Side (1995), How Stella Got Her Grove Back (1998), The Deep End of the Ocean (1999), amongst numerous others. After a successful run in the center square on “Hollywood Squares,” Goldberg launched her own sit-com, "Whoopi."

Charles Atkins