Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg
Goldberg on February 8, 1998
Birth name	Caryn Elaine Johnson
Born	(1955-11-13) November 13, 1955 (age 69) New York City, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up comedy, movie, television, theatre, musical theatre, books
Years active	1982–present
Genres	Observational comedy, black comedy, insult comedy, surreal humor, character comedy, satire
Subject(s)	African-American culture, American politics, race relations, racism, marriage, sex, everyday life, popular culture, current events
Spouse	Alvin Martin ​ ​ (m. 1973; div. 1979)​ David Claessen ​ ​ (m. 1986; div. 1988)​ Lyle Trachtenberg ​ ​ (m. 1994; div. 1995)​
Children	Alexandrea Martin
Signature

Whoopi Goldberg (born Caryn Elaine Johnson; November 13, 1955) is an American actress, comedienne, author and talk show host. She made her movie debut in The Color Purple which she won a Golden Globe Award. Goldberg was partners with Frank Langella from 1996 until they separated in 2001. She is currently a co-host on The View.

In 2022, Goldberg was temporarily banned from The View for making insensitive comments regarding the Holocaust.^[1] In 2024 Goldberg claimed that a Staten Island Holterman Bakery [in business for 142 years] did not fulfill her order because of her policital positions (Kamala Harris supporter); in fact the order could not be fulfilled because the bakery had equipment problems with their 1930 boiler^[2]

Early life

Goldberg had a daughter when she was 18 years old. She became a grandmother when she was 34.^[3]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Citizen: I'm Not Losing My Mind, I'm Giving It Away
1985	The Color Purple	Celie Harris Johnson	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture National Board of Review Award for Best Actress Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated – Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
1986	Jumpin' Jack Flash	Terri Doolittle
1987	Burglar	Bernice Rhodenbarr
	Fatal Beauty	Rita Rizzoli	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
1988	The Telephone	Vashti Blue	Nominated – Razzie Award for Worst Actress
	Clara's Heart	Clara Mayfield
1989	Comicitis	Herself	Short subject
	Beverly Hills Brats	Herself	Cameo
	Homer and Eddie	Eddie Cervi
1990	Ghost	Oda Mae Brown	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated – TV Land Award for Favorite Character from the "Other Side"
	The Long Walk Home	Odessa Cotter	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
1991	Wisecracks	Herself	Documentary
	Blackbird Fly	Herself	Short subject
	Soapdish	Rose Schwartz
	House Party 2	The Professor	Uncredited
	Dragon and Slippers	Matilda the Witch (voice)	English version
1992	Sister Act	Deloris Van Cartier/Sister Mary Clarence	American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Comedy or Musical Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance
	The Player	Detective Susan Avery
	Sarafina!	Mary Masembuko
	The Magical World of Chuck Jones	Herself	Documentary
1993	National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon	Sgt. Billy York	Uncredited cameo
	Naked in New York	Tragedy Mask on Theater Wall
	Made in America	Sarah Mathews
	Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit	Deloris Van Cartier/Sister Mary Clarence	Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance
1994	Liberation	Narrator	Documentary
	The Lion King	Shenzi	Voice
	The Little Rascals	Buckwheat's Mom
	Corrina, Corrina	Corrina Washington
	Star Trek Generations	Guinan	Uncredited Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
	The Pagemaster	Fantasy	Voice
1995	Boys on the Side	Jane Deluca
	The Celluloid Closet	Herself	Documentary
	Moonlight and Valentino	Sylvie Morrow
	Theodore Rex	Katie Coltrane	Fantafestival Award for Best Actress Nominated – Razzie Award for Worst Actress
1996	Eddie	Edwina "Eddie" Franklin	Nominated – Razzie Award for Worst Actress
	Bordello of Blood	Hospital Patient	Uncredited
	Bogus	Harriet Franklin	Nominated – Razzie Award for Worst Actress
	The Associate	Laurel Ayres/Robert S. Cutty
	Ghosts of Mississippi	Myrlie Evers	Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
1997	Pitch	Herself	Documentary, uncredited
	Mary Pickford: A Life on Film	Host/narrator	Documentary
	A Christmas Carol	The Ghost of Christmas Present	Voice
	Destination Anywhere	Cabbie
	In the Gloaming	Nurse Myrna
	In & Out	Herself	Uncredited
	An Alan Smithee Film: Burn Hollywood Burn	Herself	Special appearance Nominated – Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple (with any combination of two people playing themselves)
1998	Titey	The Iceberg	Voice
	Alegría	Baby Clown
	A Knight in Camelot	Dr. Vivien Morgan/Sir Boss
	How Stella Got Her Groove Back	Delilah Abraham	NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated – Acapulco Black Film Festival Black Film Award for Best Actress Nominated – American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
	Junket Whore	Herself	Documentary
	Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie	Stormella, The Evil Ice Queen
	The Rugrats Movie	Ranger Margaret
	Alice in Wonderland	Cheshire Cat
1999	Get Bruce	Herself	Documentary
	The Deep End of Ocean	Candy Bliss
	Girl, Interrupted	Valerie Owens, R.N.
2000	The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle	Judge Cameo	Not listed in final credits
	A Second Chance at Life	Narrator	Documentary
	More Dogs Than Bones	Cleo
2001	Golden Dreams	Calafia, the Queen of California (Narrator)	Short subject
	Kingdom Come	Raynelle Slocumb	Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
	Monkeybone	Death
	Rat Race	Vera Baker
	The Hollywood Sign	Woman at Funeral	Cameo
	Call Me Claus	Lucy Cullin
2002	Searching for Debra Winger	Herself	Documentary
	Showboy	Herself	Cameo
	My Fair Madeline	Miss Clavel	Voice
	Star Trek: Nemesis	Guinan	Uncredited
	It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie	The Boss
2003	Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives	Narrator	Documentary
	Pauly Shore Is Dead	Herself
	Bitter Jester	Herself
	Beyond the Skyline	Herself	Short subject
	Blizzard	Blizzard	Voice
2004	Pinocchio 3000	Cyberina	Voice
	The N-Word	Herself	Documentary
	SuperBabies: Baby Geniuses 2	Herself
	Jiminy Glick in Lalawood	Herself
	The Lion King 1½	Shenzi	Voice
2005	The Aristocrats	Herself	Documentary
	Racing Stripes	Frannie	Voice
	Doogal	Ermintrude The Cow	Voice
	Everyone's Hero	Darlin'
	Farce of the Penguins	Helen
2007	Homie Spumoni	Thelma
	If I Had Known I Was a Genius	Mrs. Reed
	Nuremberg: A Vision Restored	Herself	Documentary
	Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project	Herself	Documentary
	Our Country USA to Z	Herself	Voice; short subject
	The Sophisticated Misfit	Herself	Documentary
2008	Stream	Jodi Quinn
	Snow Buddies	Miss Mittens	Voice
	Descendants	Red Flower	Voice
2009	Madea Goes to Jail	Herself	Cameo
	Stream	Jodi
2010	Toy Story 3	Stretch	Voice Nominated – IGN Movie Award for Best Ensemble Cast
	For Colored Girls	Alice	Nominated – NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
	Teenage Paparazzo	Herself
	New York Street Games	Herself	Documentary
2011	A Little Bit of Heaven	God
	The Little Engine That Could	Tower
	The Muppets	Herself
Big Stone Gap	Fleeta
Top Five	Herself
A Day Late and a Dollar Short	Viola
TCB Baby	Dr. Reynolds
2016	A Warrior's Tail	Mom Jozee	Voice, English version
	King of the Dancehall	Loretta Brixton
2017	9/11	Metzie
2018	Furlough	Mrs. Stevens
	Nobody's Fool	Lola

Awards

Won

• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama for The Color Purple (1985)
• NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for The Color Purple (1985)
• National Board of Review Award for Best Actress for The Color Purple (1985)
• NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Fatal Beauty (1987)
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Ghost (1990)
• American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for Ghost (1990)
• BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Ghost (1990)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for Ghost (1990)
• Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress for Ghost (1990)
• NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Ghost (1990)
• Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for Ghost (1990)
• NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for The Long Walk Home (1990)
• American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture for Sister Act (1992)
• NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Sister Act (1992)
• Fantafestival Award for Best Actress for Theodore Rex (1995)
• NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
• Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Vanguard Award (1999)
• Mark Twain Prize for American Humor (2001)
• NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special for Good Fences (2003)
• Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host for The View (2009) - she shares it with Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Barbara Walters.

Nominated

• Academy Award for Best Actress for The Color Purple (1985)
• Razzie Award for Worst Actress for The Telephone (1988)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Comedy or Musical for Sister Act (1992)
• MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance for Sister Act (1992)
• MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance for Sister Act (1992)
• MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance for Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993)
• Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for Star Trek Generations (1994)
• NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
• Acapulco Black Film Festival Black Film Award for Best Actress for How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
• American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998)
• NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for Kingdom Come (2001)
• Black Reel Award for Television: Best Actress for Good Fences (2003)

References

1. Malik, Kenan (2022-02-06). "Whoopi Goldberg's Holocaust remarks drew on a misguided idea of racism". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
2. [November 17,2024|url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/bakery-denies-refusing-whoopi-goldberg-s-birthday-dessert-order-over-political-views-it-was-boiler-issues/ar-AA1u1BQ0?ocid=BingNewsSerp%7Caccess-date=November 17,2024|Blog=Entertainment]
3. "As her smash film takes to the stage, Ms Goldberg reveals there's one habit she can't shake off: I'm still making Whoopi". Mail Online.

Other websites

• Whoopi Goldberg on IMDb