Whoopi Goldberg Biography

Whoopi Goldberg Biography

Whoopi Goldberg Biography

Conceived 

Caryn Elaine Johnson 

November 13, 1955 (age 65) 

New York City, U.S. 

Occupation 

Entertainer comic creator TV character 

A long time dynamic 

1982–present 

Spouse(s) 

Alvin Martin 

​ 

​(m. 1973; div. 1979)​ 

David Claessen 

​ 

​(m. 1986; div. 1988)​ 

Lyle Trachtenberg 

​ 

​(m. 1994; div. 1995)​ 

Kids 

Alexandrea Martin 

Parody profession 

Medium 

Stand-up, film, TV 

Classifications 

Observational parody, dark parody, affront satire, strange humor, character satire, parody 

Subject(s) 

African-American culture, American legislative issues, race relations, prejudice, marriage, sex, regular daily existence, mainstream society, recent developments

Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955),[1][2][3] known expertly as Whoopi Goldberg (/ˈwʊpi/), is an American entertainer, joke artist, creator, and TV personality.[4][5] A beneficiary of numerous honors, Goldberg is one of sixteen entertainers to have won an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award

Goldberg's film advancement came in 1985 for her job as Celie, an abused lady in the Deep South, in Steven Spielberg's period show film The Color Purple, for which she was named for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and won her first Golden Globe Award. For her exhibition in the sentimental dream film Ghost (1990) as an eccentric psychic, Goldberg won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a second Golden Globe Award. In 1992, Goldberg featured in the comedy Sister Act, procuring a third Golden Globe Award assignment. She repeated the job in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), making her the most generously compensated entertainer at that point. 

A theater entertainer and maker, Goldberg has performed in Broadway productions, one of which was a one-lady show that created a satire collection that procured her a Grammy Award. She has featured in the recoveries of Stephen Sondheim's melodic comedy A Funny Thing Happened while in transit to the Forum (1996) as Pseudolus and in August Wilson's verifiable drama Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2003) as Ma Rainey. She has won a Tony Award as a maker of the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. In TV, Goldberg portrayed Guinan on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Since 2007, she has co-facilitated and directed the daytime talk show The View, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award. She has likewise facilitated various Academy Award services. 

Substance 

Foundation and early lifeEdit 

Caryn Elaine Johnson was conceived in Manhattan[6] on November 13, 1955,[1][2][3] the little girl of Robert James Johnson Jr. (Walk 4, 1930 – May 25, 1993), a Baptist[7] clergyman, and Emma Johnson (née Harris; September 21, 1931 –August 29, 2010),[8] a medical attendant and teacher.[9][10] She was brought up in the Chelsea-Elliot Houses. 

Goldberg has portrayed her mom as a "harsh, solid, and insightful lady" who raised her as a single parent with her sibling Clyde (c. 1949 –May 11, 2015).[11][12] She went to a neighborhood Catholic school, St Columba's, the point at which she was more youthful. Her later progenitors relocated north from Faceville, Georgia; Palatka, Florida; and Virginia.[13] She exited of Washington Irving High School.[14][15] 

She has expressed that her stage forename ("Whoopi") was taken from a whoopee pad; "When you're performing in front of an audience, you never truly have the opportunity to go into the washroom and close the entryway. So on the off chance that you get somewhat gassy, you must release it. So individuals used to say to me, 'You're similar to a whoopee pad.' And that is the place where the name came from."[16] 

As to organize last name, she said in 2011, "My mom didn't name me Whoopi, however Goldberg is my name, it's important for my family, part of my legacy. Much the same as being dark", and "I simply realize I am Jewish. I don't work on anything. I don't go to sanctuary, however I do recollect the holidays."[17] She has expressed that "individuals would say 'Please, would you say you are Jewish?' And I generally say 'Would you ask me that in the event that I was white? I wager not.'"[17] One account reviews that her mom, Emma Johnson, imagined that the family's unique last name was "not Jewish enough" for her little girl to turn into a star.[17] Researcher Henry Louis Gates Jr. found that the entirety of Goldberg's recognizable progenitors were African Americans, that she has no known German or Jewish heritage, and that none of her predecessors were named Goldberg.[13] Results of a DNA test, uncovered in the 2006 PBS documentary African American Lives, followed part of her parentage to the Papel and Bayote individuals of current day Guinea-Bissau. Her admixture test indicates that she is of 92 percent sub-Saharan African origin and of 8 percent European origin.[18] 

As per an account revealed to by Nichelle Nichols in Trekkies (1997), a youthful Goldberg was watching Star Trek, and after seeing Nichols' character Uhura, shouted, "Momma! There's a dark woman on TV and she ain't no maid!"[19] This brought forth long lasting being a fan of Star Trek for Goldberg, who ultimately requested and got a common visitor featuring job as Guinan on Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

During the 1970s, Goldberg migrated to Southern California before settling in Berkeley,[20] where she worked different random temp jobs, including as a bank employee, a funeral home beautician, and a bricklayer.[21] There, she likewise joined the cutting edge theater group, the Blake Street Hawkeyes,[21] and showed satire and acting classes; Courtney Love was one of her acting students.[22] Goldberg additionally worked in various theater productions.[23] In 1978, she saw a midair crash of two planes in San Diego, making her build up a dread of flying and post-awful pressure disorder.[24][25]

CareerEdit 

1980sEdit 

Goldberg prepared under acting teacher Uta Hagen at the HB Studio[26] in New York City. She initially showed up onscreen in Citizen: I'm Not Losing My Mind, I'm Giving It Away (1982), a cutting edge troupe include by San Francisco filmmaker William Farley. Goldberg created The Spook Show, a one-lady show made out of various character discourses in 1983. Director Mike Nichols saw Goldberg perform and "found" her.[27] In a meeting, Nichols reviewed that he "burst into tears" and that he and Goldberg "fell into one another's arms" when the two initially met backstage.[28] Goldberg considered Nichols her mentor.[29] Nichols encouraged her exchange the show to Broadway; where it was retitled Whoopi Goldberg and ran from October 24, 1984, to March 10, 1985; the play was taped during this run and broadcast by HBO as Whoopi Goldberg: Direct from Broadway in 1985.[30] 

Goldberg's Broadway execution grabbed the attention of director Steven Spielberg, who cast her leading the pack job of The Color Purple, in view of the novel by Alice Walker. The Color Purple was delivered in late 1985 and was a basic and business achievement. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote portrayed Goldberg's presentation as "quite possibly the most astonishing introduction exhibitions in film history".[31] The film was named for 11 Academy Awards, including a selection for Goldberg as Best Actress.[32] 

Somewhere in the range of 1985 and 1988, Goldberg was the busiest female star, making seven films.[33] Goldberg featured in Penny Marshall's executive debut Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986) and started a relationship with David Claessen, an overseer of photography on the set; the couple wedded sometime thereafter. The film was an unobtrusive achievement, and during the following two years, three extra movies highlighted Goldberg: Burglar (1987), Fatal Beauty (1987), and The Telephone (1988). Despite the fact that these were not as fruitful as her earlier films, Goldberg actually gathered honors from the NAACP Image Awards. Goldberg and Claessen separated after the helpless film industry execution of The Telephone, which Goldberg was under agreement to star in. She attempted fruitlessly to sue the makers of the film. Clara's Heart (1988) did ineffectively in the cinematic world, however her own presentation was widely praised. As the 1980s finished up, she facilitated various HBO specials of Comic Relief with individual comedians Robin Williams and Billy Crystal.[34] 

1990s 

In January 1990, Goldberg featured with Jean Stapleton in the circumstance comedy Bagdad Cafe. The sitcom ran for two seasons on CBS. At the same time, Goldberg featured in The Long Walk Home, depicting a lady in the civil rights development. She played a mystic in the film Ghost (1990) and turned into the principal person of color to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in almost 50 years, and the second individual of color to win an Academy Award for acting (the main being Hattie McDaniel, for Gone with the Wind in 1940). Premiere named her character Oda Mae Brown in its rundown of Top 100 best film characters.[35] 

Goldberg featured in Soapdish (1991) and had a common job on Star Trek: The Next Generation as Guinan, which she would repeat in two Star Trek films. She made an appearance in the Traveling Wilburys 1991 music video "Wilbury Twist".[36] On May 29, 1992, Sister Act was delivered. The film netted above and beyond US$200 million and Goldberg was designated for a Golden Globe Award. She later featured in Sarafina!. That very year, Goldberg facilitated the 34th Annual Grammy Awards, accepting recognition from the Sun-Sentinel's Deborah Wilker for rejuvenating what had been already "tedious and lifeless" ceremonies.[37] During the following year, she facilitated a late-night syndicated program titled The Whoopi Goldberg Show and featured in two more movement pictures: Made in America and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. Following acquiring a compensation of $7 to 12 million for the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), Goldberg turned into the most generously compensated entertainer at the time.[38][39] From 1994 to 1995, Goldberg showed up in Corrina, Corrina, The Lion King (voice), Theodore Rex, The Little Rascals, The Pagemaster (voice), Boys as an afterthought, and Moonlight and Valentino. Goldberg visitor featured on Muppets Tonight in 1996. 

In 1994, She turned into the main African-American lady to have the Academy Awards function at 66th Oscar telecast,[40] and the principal lady to solo host. She proceeded to have the service three additional occasions in 1996, 1999, and 2002, separately. She has been viewed as one of the service's best hosts.[41][42]

Goldberg featured in four films in 1996: Bogus (with Gérard Depardieu and Haley Joel Osment), Eddie, The Associate (with Dianne Wiest), and Ghosts of Mississippi (with Alec Baldwin and James Woods). During the recording of Eddie, Goldberg started dating co-star Frank Langella, a relationship that went on until mid 2000. In October 1997, Goldberg and ghostwriter Daniel Paisner cowrote Book, an assortment highlighting experiences and opinions.[43] 

Additionally in 1996, Goldberg replaced Nathan Lane as Pseudolus in the Broadway restoration of Stephen Sondheim's melodic comedy A Funny Thing Happened while in transit to the Forum.[44] Greg Evans of Variety regarded her "altogether present day style" as "an invite greeting to another crowd that could locate this 1962 melodic as dated as antiquated Rome."[45] The Washington Post's Chip Crews considered Goldberg "a pip and a star", composing that she "eventually [...] steers the show past its unpleasant spots."[46] 

From 1998 to 2001, Goldberg took supporting jobs in How Stella Got Her Groove Back with Angela Bassett, Girl, Interrupted with Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie, Kingdom Come and Rat Race with a top pick group cast. She featured in the ABC-TV versions of Cinderella, A Knight in Camelot and Call Me Claus. In 1998, she acquired another crowd when she turned into the "Middle Square" on Hollywood Squares, facilitated by Tom Bergeron. She likewise filled in as leader maker, for which she was named for four Emmy Awards.[47] She left the arrangement in 2002, and the "Middle Square" was filled in with big names for the keep going two live seasons without Goldberg. AC Nielsen EDI ranked her as the entertainer showing up in the most dramatic movies during the 1990s with 29 movies netting $1.3 billion in the U.S. also, Canada.[48] 

2000s 

Goldberg facilitated the narrative short, The Making of A Charlie Brown Christmas (2001). In 2003, Goldberg got back to TV, featuring in Whoopi, which was dropped after one season. On her 46th birthday celebration, Goldberg was regarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Goldberg likewise showed up alongside Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett in the HBO documentary Unchained Memories (2003), describing slave stories. During the following two years, she turned into a representative for Slim Fast and created two TV arrangement: Lifetime's unique drama Strong Medicine that ran for six seasons and Whoopi's Littleburg, a youngsters' TV arrangement on Nickelodeon. Goldberg showed up on Everybody Hates Chris as an old character named Louise Clarkson.[49][clarification needed] 

Goldberg got back to the stage in 2003, featuring as the nominal job of blues singer Ma Rainey in the Broadway recovery of August Wilson's verifiable drama Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. The show opened in February at the Royale Theater. Beside featuring alongside Charles S. Dutton, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Anthony Mackie, Goldberg filled in as one of the show's producers.[50] 

Goldberg was associated with discussion at a pledge drive for John Kerry at Radio City Music Hall in New York in July 2004 when she poked a sexual fun at President George W. Bush by waving a jug of wine, highlighting her pubic territory and saying: "We should keep Bush where he has a place, and not in the White House." As result, Slim-Fast dropped her from their promotion crusade at the time.[51] Later in the year, she restored her one-lady show at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway out of appreciation for its twentieth anniversary; Charles Isherwood of The New York Times called the premiere night execution an "irregularly amusing however lazy night of comic representation

Individual life 

Goldberg has been hitched multiple times. She was hitched to Alvin Martin from 1973 to 1979;[108][109] to cinematographer David Claessen from 1986 to 1988;[109][110] and to association coordinator Lyle Trachtenberg from 1994 to 1995.[109] She has been impractically connected to actors Frank Langella[111] and Ted Danson.[112] Danson dubiously showed up in blackface during her 1993 Friars Club roast. She has expressed that she has no designs to wed once more, remarking "A few people are not intended to be hitched and I am not intended to. I'm certain it is brilliant for bunches of people."[109] In a 2011 meeting with Piers Morgan, she clarified that she never cherished the men she married[113] and remarked: "You need to truly be focused on them...I don't have that responsibility. I'm focused on my family."[108] 

In 1973, Goldberg brought forth a daughter, Alexandrea Martin, who likewise turned into an entertainer and producer.[114] Through her girl, Goldberg has three grandkids and an extraordinary granddaughter.[115] On August 29, 2010, Goldberg's mom, Emma Johnson, passed on in the wake of enduring a stroke.[116] She left London at that point, where she had been acting in the musical Sister Act, yet got back to perform on October 22, 2010. In 2015, Goldberg's sibling Clyde kicked the bucket of a brain aneurysm.[117] 

In 1991, Goldberg took a stand in opposition to her early termination in The Choices We Made: Twenty-Five Women and Men Speak Out About Abortion. In that book, she talked about utilizing a coat holder to end a pregnancy at age 14.[118] She said she has had six or seven early terminations by 25 and that conception prevention pills neglected to stop a few of her pregnancies.[119] Goldberg has expressed that she was at one time a "working" drug addict.[120] She has expressed that she smoked maryjane prior to tolerating the Best Supporting Actress award for Ghost in 1991.[121][122] 

Goldberg has dyslexia.[123] She has lived in Llewellyn Park, a neighborhood in West Orange, New Jersey, saying she moved there to have the option to be outside in private.[124] She has communicated an inclination for characterizing herself by the impartial term "entertainer" instead of "entertainer", saying: "An entertainer can just play a lady. I'm an entertainer – I can play anything."[5] In March 2019, Goldberg uncovered that she had been battling pneumonia and sepsis, which made her disappear from nonattendance from The View.[125]