Carson (Getty Images)

Holder (AP)

Jamison (Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image)

* VANESSA WILLIAMS

Williams’ birth announcement in 1963 read, “Here she is, Miss America.” Williams would prove her parents’ prediction correct when she won Miss Greater Syracuse, followed by the Miss New York title and was crowned Miss America in 1983, the first African-American to wear the crown.

Though Williams’ reign was rocked with scandal due to the publication of nude photos of her, she went on to become one of the most successful Miss Americas of all time, racking up awards as a singer and actress.

Born to school teachers in The Bronx, her parents moved the family to Millwood in upstate New York. In 1981, she won a scholarship to Syracuse University ,where she earned a degree in musical theater.

Williams’ first album was “The Right Stuff” in 1988, which went gold. She went on to release several more albums receiving two Grammy nominations. “Colors of the Winds,” a single from “The Sweetest Days” album, was featured in Disney’s “Pocahontas” and went on to win an Oscar and a Golden Globe in the best original song categories.

In 1994, she took over the starring role in the Broadway hit, “Kiss of the Spider Woman.” She starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie “Eraser” in 1996 and went to act in “Soul Food” in 1997, and was featured in the remake of “Shaft.” Recently she joined the cast of “Desperate Housewives” as Renee Perry, the new diva wreaking havoc on Wisteria Lane.

Williams, a mother of four, has proven her motivation to achieve her career goals.

“Success is the best revenge,” she once said.

* DR. BENJAMIN SOLOMON CARSON SR.

Dr Benjamin Carson’s rise from being laughed at by his classmates as not only being “one of the dumbest kid in fifth grade, but maybe one of the dumbest kids in the world,” to being the first doctor to successfully separate conjoined twins, is a story of a strong belief in one’s self.

Raised by a single mother with only a third-grade education, Dr. Carson’s career is full of firsts.

In 1969, he was voted “most likely to succeed” after he graduated from Southwestern High School in Michigan with straight As, receiving a full scholarship to Yale University. He earned his medical degree in 1977 from the University of Michigan. He did his residency at John Hopkins University in Maryland, where he was the first black neurosurgical resident.

A pioneer in his field, Dr. Carson was the first physician to perform surgery on a fetus still in the womb. He is also responsible for developing a new method of treating brainstem tumors. He is an expert in separating conjoined twins, and in 1987 he was also the first doctor to successfully separate craniopagus twins (joined at the head).

Dubbed the “miracle worker,” Dr. Carson has received awards and honorary degrees for his work in the medical field. His life story was made into a television movie, and there has been buzz around Hollywood of making a movie version.

Dr. Carson and his wife, Lacena, have set up several organizations that benefit children. He has also written several books about his life and is a motivational speaker, often telling his audience that if he “was able to overcome such obstacles as poverty and racism, anyone could.”

* Eric Himpton Holder Jr.

When President Barack Obama tapped Eric Holder Jr. to fill the post of Attorney General of the US, he became the 82nd holder of the title but only the first African-American to do so.

Born in Queens to immigrant parents from Barbados, Holder won a scholarship to Stuyvesant High School. He later went on to Columbia University.

Holder was appointed in 1988 by then President Ronald Reagan as an associate judge in the Superior court of the District of Columbia. In 1993, Bill Clinton chose him to be the US attorney for the Washington, DC, area, the first African-American to be named to that position. Clinton, in 1997, promoted Holder to deputy attorney general of the US.

At college, Holder became a member of the Concerned Black Man, a national group of African-American men who helped minority youth. Working as a judge in Washington, DC, Holder once commented that he is very conscious of the fact that most of the defendants he sees are “young black guys, 18 to 25,” and “it’s not an easy thing to deal with, if you are a person concerned about the black community,.”

* DR. MAE CAROL JAMISON

Dr. Mae Jamison made history when she became the first African-American woman selected for NASA training program and to travel in space.

Born in Alabama and raised in Chicago, Jamison entered Stanford University on a National Achievement Scholarship and graduated in 1977. She received her medical degree from Cornel University Medical College in 1981 and went on the serve as a Peace Corps medical officer in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In 1987, she was one of 15 accepted candidates out of 2,000 who applied to the NASA astronaut training program. After training for a year, she became the science-mission specialist, a job that saw her overseeing crew-related experiments on the space shuttle.

In 1992, she made her first trip in space aboard the “Endeavor” on Mission STS-47.

Jamison has won several awards and in 1992 a public high school in Detroit was renamed the Mae C Jamison Academy, in honor of her work. She also started “The Earth We Share,” a science camp for 12-to-16 year olds to sharpen their science skills.

She once said, “I’m very aware of the fact that I’m not the first African-American woman who had the skills, the talent and desire to be an astronaut. I happen to be the first one NASA selected.”