Quick Whoopi Goldberg Facts:
- Whoopi Goldberg (born Caryn Elaine Johnson) was born and raised by a single mother in Manhattan.
- A formally trained actress, Goldberg began performing her own one-woman show, The Spook Show, in 1983. The show was taken Off-Broadway and ran for 156 consecutive sold-out performances.
- She had her first movie role when she was cast by Steven Speilberg as the lead in the 1985 movie The Color Purple, for which she won a Golden Globe and was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar.
- In 1986, Goldberg began hosting the Comic Relief fundraiser alongside Robin Williams and Billy Crystal.
- Her second one-woman show,Whoopi Goldberg: Fontaine…Why Am I Straight?, debuted in 1988.
- She won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in the 1990 movie Ghost, making her only the second African American woman in history (at the time) to do so.
- Goldberg hosted her own syndicated morning radio show, Wake Up with Whoopi, from 2006 to 2008.
- In 2007, Goldberg replaced Rosie O’Donnell as the co-host of the ABC morning talk show The View.
Select Whoopi Goldberg Filmography:
- The Color Purple (1985)
- Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986)
- Ghost (1990)
- Sister Act (1992)
- Sarafina! (1992)
- Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993)
- The Lion King (1994)
- Theodore Rex (1995)
- Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
- How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
- Girl, Interrupted (1999)
- Rat Race (2001)
- The Muppets (2011)
Additional Whoopi Goldberg Facts:
- Her name, Whoopi, came from being nicknamed after a whoopee cushion as a child.
- Goldberg was the first African American woman to ever host the Academy Awards in 1994. She would go on to host again in 1996, 1999 and 2002.
- In the late 1970s and early ’80s, she lived in East Germany and worked as a stage actress.
- During the 1990s, Goldberg was the highest-paid actress working in Hollywood and has appeared in over 150 movies.
- She hosted her own short lived late night talk show, The Whoopi Goldberg Show, in 1993.
- In 1998, Goldberg became the “center square” on the newly-revamped version of the popular game show Hollywood Squares. She left the show after in 2002 after four seasons and four Emmy nominations.
- Goldberg had her own NBC sitcom, Whoopi, which last for only one season in 2003.
- She was won an Oscar, a Grammy, a Tony and an Emmy.
- Goldberg had her daughter at age 18 and became a grandmother at age 34.
- She revived her one-woman show in 2005 to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
- In 2010, she did a run as Mother Superior in the Broadway musical version of Sister Act.
- She had a recurring role on the long-running science fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation, on which she played Guinan, the ship’s bartender.
- She has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- She announced her retirement from actin in 2007.
- In addition to her Oscar, Grammy, two Emmys and Tony awards, Goldberg has won four People’s Choice Awards and a British Academy Film Award.
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