Goldberg is a foul-mouthed comedienne, iconic 1980s actress, and one of the heads of the evil Hydra that is The View.

Born Caryn Elaine Johnson, Whoopi grew up in a housing project in Chelsea and dropped out of high school on account of her dyslexia. She spent the late 1970s trying to make it as an actor-and struggling with a heroin addiction- cleaning up when she had a baby at 19. She eventually decided to move back to New York and worked the stand-up comedy circuit, before writing and starring in a 1983 one-woman off-Broadway show called The Spook Show, which attracted the attention of Steven Spielberg and led to her big screen debut in The Color Purple in 1985. The award-winning film established Goldberg as a legit actress, and she went on to parts in Ghost and Star Trek: The Next Generation. She's since hosted the Academy Awards, written books, made countless TV and film appearances, and done voice over work in animated films like The Lion King.

Until recently Goldberg's career had been relatively sleepy, but everything changed in August 2007 when it was announced she was joining chat-fest The View as the show's resident liberal. Whoopi is one of very few people who can boast she's won all five of the biggies: She picked up an Oscar for Ghost, a Golden Globe for The Color Purple, a Tony as producer of Thoroughly Modern Millie, an Emmy for Back to Broadway, and a Grammy for her 1985 comedy album.

Married and divorced three times, Whoopi has also had affairs with the likes of Ted Danson and Frank Langella. She has a daughter and two grandchildren. [Image via Getty]