Caroll Diahann Johnson was born on July 17, 1935.  When Carroll was an infant, the family moved to Harlem, where she grew up. She attended Music and Art High School, and was a classmate of Billy Dee Williams. In many interviews about her childhood,  Carroll recalls her parents’ support, enrolling her in dance, singing, and modeling classes. By the time Carroll was 15, she was modeling for Ebony magazine.  After graduating from high school, she attended New York University, majoring in sociology.

Carroll’s film debut was a supporting role in the 1954 film, Carmen Jones, in which she plays a wholesome country-bred rival to the sultry lead character played by Dorothy Dandridge.  Carroll is well known for her title role in the 1968 television series Julia, which made her the first African American actress to star in her own television series where she did not play a domestic worker. That role won her the Golden Globe Award for “Best Actress In A Television Series” in 1968, and a nomination for an Emmy Award in 1969.

Carroll was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997. She says the diagnosis “stunned” her because there was no family history of breast cancer and she had always had a healthy lifestyle. She underwent nine weeks of radiation therapy, and has been clear since. She frequently speaks on the need for early detection and prevention of the disease.

Carroll was a founding member of the Celebrity Action Council, a volunteer group of celebrity women who served the women’s outreach of the Los Angeles Mission, working with women in rehabilitation from problems with drugs, alcohol or prostitution.