Born:

November 13, 1955

Whoopi Goldberg Overview:

 

As a formally trained actress, Whoopi Goldberg got started doing monologue instead of traditional stand-up. She was immediately recognized for being very funny, though, which led to one of the biggest comedy careers of the '80s and '90s. In addition to being one of the driving forces behind the Comic Relief charity, Goldberg is one of the few entertainers to every get an EGOT (just ask Tracy Morgan) -- she's won Emmys, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.

Goldberg has done it all -- stage, screen, stand-up, sitcoms, talk shows, radio shows. She is a consummate entertainer.

 

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 acting 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.