Caryn Elaine Johnson
15 min read
Reading time
2,953
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Published
374
Film credits
20
Awards
EGOT winner Whoopi Goldberg won an Oscar for playing Oda Mae Brown in Ghost 1990. She earned an Oscar nomination for her film debut in The Color Purple 1985 and starred in blockbusters like Sister Act 1992. Goldberg has hosted the Academy Awards four times and received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. She also overcame drug addiction to become a major entertainer.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Whoopi Goldberg — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Whoopi Goldberg by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Whoopi Goldberg — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Born Caryn Elaine Johnson on November 13, 1955 in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood, Whoopi Goldberg grew up with a teacher mother and a clergyman father. At age 8, she performed at the Children’s Program and the Hudson Guild. She dropped out of high school at 17 due to dyslexia and became addicted to heroin. After getting clean, she married her drug counselor. Before acting, she worked as a bricklayer, a bank teller, and a mortuary makeup artist.
A private stand-up routine for Steven Spielberg and Michael Jackson landed her the lead in The Color Purple 1985. She earned an Oscar nomination for that role. In 1990, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Oda Mae Brown in Ghost. In 1992, she starred in Sister Act, a box office hit that spawned a sequel. She also played Guinan on Star Trek: The Next Generation 1987 after requesting a role from creator Gene Roddenberry. She hosted the Academy Awards solo in 1994, the first woman to do so, and later hosted in 1996, 1999, and 2002.
Whoopi Goldberg has been married three times: to Alvin Martin from 1973 to 1983, David Claessen from 1986 to 1988, and Lyle Trachtenberg from 1994 to 1995. She has one daughter, Alex Martin born 1973, and became a great-grandmother in 2014 when her granddaughter Amarah Dean gave birth to Charlie Rose. She had a five-year relationship with Frank Langella that ended in 2000, and also dated Ted Danson. She battled heroin addiction in her youth and is a pro-choice activist. She had an abortion at age 14.
Whoopi Goldberg is an EGOT winner. She has won an Oscar, Tony, Emmy, and Grammy. She was the second African-American woman to win an Academy Award, after Hattie McDaniel. She received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2001 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001. Her performance as Oda Mae Brown was ranked #95 on Premiere’s 100 Greatest Movie Characters. She continues to co-host The View and advocates for social justice and liberal causes.
The complete filmography of Whoopi Goldberg — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Whoopi Goldberg — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Whoopi Goldberg — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
My Family Is Jewish, Buddhist, Baptist and Catholic. I Don’t Believe in Man Made Religions.
I’m a Big Old Egotistical Baby and That’s Okay. I Can Accept It.
Actors Have No Color. That’s the Art Form.
Nobody Ever Encouraged Me in This Business. I Encouraged Myself. I Was a Very Dull and Shy Child. I Was the Last Person You Would Expect to Be a Success in This Business. but I Always Felt If I Kept Going Something Would Happen. but I Even Surprised Myself at Times. When I Was Doing Ensemble Theater and Comedy Work, I Felt I Had Some Talents. but When I Started Doing My Shows in Berkeley and Found That I Could Be Funny on My Own, I Was Shocked.
In My Opinion Mel Gibson Isn’t a Racist. That Isn’t Sticking up for Someone. I Know Him, I’ve Spent Time with Him, My Family Have Spent Time with Him I’d Have Noticed If He Was Racist. on Slow News Days People Hear What They Want to Hear. I Didn’t Stick up for Him but I Said I’ve Met Real Racists and He Isn’t One of Them. He’s a Bonehead.
I Am Where I Am Because I Believe in All Possibilities.
Most Kids Give You a Watch or a Wallet on Your Birthday, or a Pocketbook or Some Flowers. My Kid Gave Me a Granddaughter Instead. It Was the Best Gift She Could Ever Have Given Me.
I’m as American as Chevrolet.
It Bums Me Out Tremendously What the Church Has Become, and If It’s Got Me Bummed, Imagine What Jesus Christ Must Be Feeling.
The First Time I Saw the City Through Adult Eyes Was When I Stumbled Across a Guy Peeing. He Was Peeing Outside! I Was Like Wow! That’s Really Freaky. That Was the First Time I Realized That Grown Ups Were Weird, and That I Was Probably Going to Be One of Them.
I Wish I Had Known Sooner That I Like Being on My Own. If I’d Figured That Out Earlier, I Probably Wouldn’t Have Gotten Married Three Times.
There’s Only One Alternative to Getting Older, so Suck It Up.
An Actress Can Only Play a Woman. I’m an Actor. I Can Play Anything.
The Holocaust Isn’t About Race.
People Keep Saying It’s Free Speech, but All Speech Is Not Free Speech. Some Speech Is Not Okay Free Speech.
I Talk About God Because God and I Are Very Close. God Gives You Freedom of Choice. That’s in the Bible. God Says, ‘Here Are 10 Rules: Don’t Lie You’ll Never Remember What You Said Before. Don’t Cheat, Because You’re Going to Be Mad If You’re Cheated On. Honor Your Parents, Because They Brought You into the World, and You’re Going to Need Child Care. If You Choose to Live by Them, Your Life Will Be Better, and Even If You Don’t, I Will Forgive You.’
God Understands Whatever Dilemma You’re in and Will Forgive It If You Make a Choice That He or She Doesn’t Think Is Right.
I Don’t Think People Care About Your Color; in the Dark You Don’t Know the Difference.
Little-known facts about Whoopi Goldberg — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Only six actresses have achieved EGOT status as of 2023, and Whoopi Goldberg is among them along with Helen Hayes, Rita Moreno, Audrey Hepburn, Jennifer Hudson, and Viola Davis.
Michael J. Fox escorted Whoopi Goldberg to the 1986 Academy Awards when she was nominated for The Color Purple.
In the Sister Act films, Whoopi Goldberg performed all her own singing, surprising her co-stars with her vocal ability.
After dropping out of high school and becoming addicted to heroin, Whoopi Goldberg married her drug counselor, then divorced him after getting clean. In 1974, she moved to California and co-founded the San Diego Repertory Company, using the stage name Whoopi Cushion. Earlier jobs included bank teller, bricklayer, and mortuary worker.
Whoopi Goldberg prefers buses to airplanes and travels to locations by bus due to a fear of flying.
Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American woman to win an Academy Award; Whoopi Goldberg was the second.
In 1978, while waitressing at San Diego’s Big Kitchen café, Whoopi Goldberg witnessed PSA Flight 182 crash in flames after a mid-air collision, a traumatic event that caused her lifelong fear of flying.
Whoopi Goldberg once had a job applying makeup to corpses at a mortuary.
In 1994, Whoopi Goldberg became the first woman to host the Academy Awards by herself.
Watching Nichelle Nichols as Nyota Uhura on the original Star Trek 1966 inspired Whoopi Goldberg to pursue acting.
At Gene Roddenberry’s 1991 funeral, Whoopi Goldberg delivered a eulogy alongside Star Trek stars Nichelle Nichols and Patrick Stewart.
As a huge Star Trek fan, Whoopi Goldberg asked Gene Roddenberry for a role on Star Trek: The Next Generation 1987 and was cast as Guinan, the Ten-Forward lounge bartender, named after nightclub legend Texas Guinan.
Whoopi Goldberg was the tenth person, fourth woman, second person of color, and first Black recipient of the EGOT. The other recipients chronologically include Richard Rodgers, Helen Hayes, Rita Moreno, John Gielgud, Audrey Hepburn, Marvin Hamlisch, Jonathan Tunick, Mel Brooks, Mike Nichols, Scott Rudin, Robert Lopez, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice, John Legend, Alan Menken, Jennifer Hudson, Viola Davis, and Elton John.
Her private stand-up routine If E.T. Landed in Oakland, performed for Steven Spielberg and Michael Jackson, won her the lead role in The Color Purple 1985, directed by Spielberg.
Whoopi Goldberg has a tattoo of Woodstock, the bird from Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts, on her shoulder.
Diagnosed with dyslexia, Whoopi Goldberg struggled academically and dropped out of high school at 17.
Whoopi Goldberg was the first woman to host the Academy Awards alone, doing so in 1994, 1996, 1999, and 2002.
As of 2023, eight Black actresses have won Academy Awards, and Whoopi Goldberg is among them. The others are Hattie McDaniel, Halle Berry, Jennifer Hudson, Mo’Nique, Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, and Regina King.
Both Whoopi Goldberg and The Lion King 1994 castmate Jeremy Irons were nominated for the first Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator in 2014; Irons won.
Whoopi Goldberg and Viola Davis are the only two African-American actresses nominated for Oscars in both leading and supporting categories.
Premiere magazine ranked Whoopi Goldberg’s Ghost 1990 role as Oda Mae Brown #95 on its list of the 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
Whoopi Goldberg is part-owner of Mary’s Kitchen in Malibu, California, a country store staffed by New Yorkers and decorated with furnishings imported from New York.
Whoopi Goldberg signs autographs using only her first name Whoopi.
Patrick Stewart and Marlon Brando were both close friends of Whoopi Goldberg.
After smoking for over forty years, Whoopi Goldberg reportedly quit cigarettes entirely in 2015.
On July 20, 2001, Whoopi Goldberg received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6841 Hollywood Boulevard.
At least four action figures have been created based on Whoopi Goldberg’s Star Trek character Guinan.
In 2002, Whoopi Goldberg won a Tony Award as a producer of the Best Musical Thoroughly Modern Millie.
Whoopi Goldberg spent three weeks in the hospital in February 2019 fighting near-fatal double pneumonia and sepsis.
Robert De Niro is a longtime close friend and confidant of Whoopi Goldberg, whom she calls big brother.
Whoopi Goldberg’s stage name originated from her habit of passing gas during stand-up routines, earning her the nickname Whoopee Cushion. Her mother dissuaded her from using that surname, so they chose Goldberg from their family tree.
At age 58, Whoopi Goldberg became a great-grandmother when her granddaughter Amarah Dean gave birth to Charlie Rose on March 15, 2014.
Whoopi Goldberg is a vocal pro-choice advocate and has shared that she had an abortion at age 14.
During a 2017 interview on Loose Women, Whoopi Goldberg expressed her fandom for BBC series EastEnders and Doctor Who, and noted that as a child she wanted to live in England because of The Beatles.
In 2000, Whoopi Goldberg ended her five-year relationship with Frank Langella.
Whoopi Goldberg has cited Valley of the Dolls 1967 as one of her favorite movies.
Whoopi Goldberg’s daughter Alex Martin is an actress and producer; she has three grandchildren: Amarah Skye born 1989, Jerzey born 1995, and Mason born 1998. Her great-granddaughter Charlie Rose was born in 2014. Her brother Clyde Johnson passed away in 2015.
Whoopi Goldberg collects Fiesta Ware china.
Whoopi Goldberg was a longtime friend and mentee of Joan Rivers and attended her funeral on September 7, 2014.
In 1985, Whoopi Goldberg won a Grammy Award for her comedy album Whoopi Goldberg: Direct From Broadway.
Three films starring Whoopi Goldberg have been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Color Purple 1985, Ghost 1990, and Toy Story 3 2010.
At age 8, Whoopi Goldberg performed with the Children’s Program, the Hudson Guild, and the Rubenstein Children’s Theatre.
Whoopi Goldberg owns the production company One Ho Productions, which backs many of her film and TV projects.
Whoopi Goldberg is among twelve Black actresses nominated for the Best Actress Oscar; the others include Dorothy Dandridge, Diana Ross, Cicely Tyson, Diahann Carroll, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Gabourey Sidibe, Viola Davis, Quvenzhané Wallis, Ruth Negga, and Andra Day.
Whoopi Goldberg worked as a dishwasher at Big Kitchen restaurant in San Diego, later featured in the 2002 film San Diego, CA.
Whoopi Goldberg has a cat named Oliver.
A DNA test on the show African American Lives 2006 revealed Whoopi Goldberg’s ancestry is 92% Sub-Saharan African and 8% European.
One of Whoopi Goldberg’s films, The Lion King 1994, has been selected for the National Film Registry for its cultural significance.
Joy Behar advocated for Whoopi Goldberg to join The View, where she began hosting on September 4, 2007, replacing Rosie O’Donnell.
Whoopi Goldberg received an honorary degree from Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Whoopi Goldberg.
Celebrities similar to Whoopi Goldberg — same craft, ranked by reach.
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