Jump to content

Whoopi Goldberg: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
HeyNow10029 (talk | contribs)
1,100 edits
HeyNow10029 (talk | contribs)
1,100 edits
No edit summary
Line 293: Line 293:
{{succession box|title=[[Oscars]] [[List of Academy Awards ceremonies|host]]|before=[[Billy Crystal]] <br> [[70th Academy Awards]]|after=[[Billy Crystal]] <br> [[72nd Academy Awards]]|years=[[71st Academy Awards]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[Oscars]] [[List of Academy Awards ceremonies|host]]|before=[[Billy Crystal]] <br> [[70th Academy Awards]]|after=[[Billy Crystal]] <br> [[72nd Academy Awards]]|years=[[71st Academy Awards]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[Oscars]] [[List of Academy Awards ceremonies|host]]|before=[[Steve Martin]] <br> [[73rd Academy Awards]]|after=[[Steve Martin]] <br> [[75th Academy Awards]]|years=[[74th Academy Awards]]}}
{{succession box|title=[[Oscars]] [[List of Academy Awards ceremonies|host]]|before=[[Steve Martin]] <br> [[73rd Academy Awards]]|after=[[Steve Martin]] <br> [[75th Academy Awards]]|years=[[74th Academy Awards]]}}
{{succession box|title= ''[[The View]]'' moderator|before=[[Rosie O'Donnell]]|years= 2007 - present|after= Incumbent}}

{{end box}}
{{end box}}
{{end box}}
{{start box}}
{{start box}}

Revision as of 23:26, 1 August 2007

Whoopi Goldberg
Born
Caryn Elaine Johnson
Years active1970-present
Spouse(s)Alvin Martin (1973-1979)
David Claessen (1986-1988)
Lyle Trachtenberg (1994-1995)
Whoopi Goldberg performing stand-up at a benefit for Rainforest Action Network.

Whoopi Goldberg (born Caryn Elaine Johnson, November 13, 1955[1]) is an American actress, comedian, radio DJ, and author.

Goldberg is one of only ten individuals who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award, counting Daytime Emmy Awards. She is the second African American female performer to win an Academy Award for acting (the first being Hattie McDaniel); she has also won two Golden Globe Awards.

On the August 1, 2007 broadcast of The View, Barbara Walters introduced Goldberg as the show's new moderator as of September 4. Meredith Vieira and Rosie O'Donnell previously held the position.

Biography

Whoopi Goldberg was born on November 13, 1955 in New York City. Later in life, a DNA test traced her ancestry to the Papel and Bayote peoples of Guinea-Bissau.[2][3][4]

Her stage name was taken from "whoopie cushion", which she initially wanted as her name, but chose the last moniker of Goldberg after her mother pointed out that her initial name pick was not Jewish enough to make her rich. According to a 2006 interview, she stated that, "If you get a little gassy, you've got to let it go. So people used to say to me, 'You're like a whoopee cushion.' And that's where the name came from."[5]

Goldberg's on-screen talent first emerged in 1981-2 in Citizen : I'm Not Losing My Mind, I'm Giving It Away, an avant-garde ensemble feature by San Francisco filmmaker William Farley. Goldberg created "The Spook Show", a one-woman show devised of different character monologues, in 1983. Director Mike Nichols was instantly impressed and offered to bring the show to Broadway. The self-titled show ran from October 24, 1984 to March 10, 1985 for a total of 156 sold-out performances. While performing on Broadway, Goldberg's performance caught the eye of director Steven Spielberg. He was about to direct the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple written by Alice Walker. Having read the novel, she was ecstatic at being offered a lead role in her first motion picture. She later stated, that "I would have taken any role in that movie — including dirt on a venetian rug."[citation needed] Goldberg received compliments on her acting from Spielberg, Walker, and music consultant Quincy Jones, and became a bona-fide movie star.[citation needed]The Color Purple was released in the late autumn of 1985 and was a critical and commercial success. It was later nominated for 11 Academy Awards including a nomination for Goldberg as Best Leading Actress. The movie did not win any of its Academy Award nominations, but Goldberg won the Golden Globe.

A Comedic and Dramatic Balance 1986-2007

Goldberg starred in Penny Marshall's directorial debut, 1986's Jumpin' Jack Flash, and she began a relationship with David Claessen, a director of photography on the set, and the couple married later that year. The movie was a success and during the next two years three additional motion pictures featured Goldberg, Burglar, Fatal Beauty, and The Telephone. Though not as successful as her prior motion pictures, Goldberg still garnered awards from the N.A.A.C.P. Image Awards. Claessen and Goldberg divorced after the box office failure of The Telephone which Goldberg was under contract to star in. She tried to sue the producers but with no luck. The 1988 movie, Clara's Heart, was critically acclaimed and featured a young Neil Patrick Harris. As the 1980s concluded, she participated in the numerous HBO specials of Comic Relief with fellow comedians Robin Williams and Billy Crystal.

In January 1990 Goldberg starred with Jean Stapleton in the TV situation comedy Baghdad Cafe. The show ran for two seasons on CBS. Simultaneously, Goldberg starred in The Long Walk Home, portraying a woman in the Civil Rights Movement. She played a psychic in the 1990 film Ghost, and became the first African-American female to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in nearly 50 years. Premiere Magazine named her character, Oda Mae Brown, the 95th best movie character of all time.[6]

Goldberg then starred in Soapdish and had a recurring role on Star Trek: The Next Generation as Guinan which she would reprise in two Star Trek movies. On May 29, 1992, Sister Act was released. The motion pictured grossed well over $100 million dollars and Goldberg was nominated for a Golden Globe. Next, she starred in Sarafina!. During the next year, she hosted a late-night talk show, The Whoopi Goldberg Show and starred in two more motion pictures Made In America and Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. From 1994 to 1995, Whoopi appeared in Corrina, Corrina, The Lion King (voice), The Pagemaster, Boys on the Side, and Moonlight and Valentino. Goldberg also became the first African-American female to host the Academy Awards in 1994[7]. She hosted the Awards again in 1996, 1999, and 2002. Goldberg released four motion pictures in 1996: Bogus (with Gerard Depardieu and Haley Joel Osment), Eddie, The Associate "the americanized remake is l'associe with Michel Serrault (French film)" with Dianne Wiest) and Ghosts of Mississippi (with Alec Baldwin and James Woods). The latter two movies won multiple awards. [citation needed]. During the filming of Eddie, Goldberg began dating co-star Frank Langella, a relationship which lasted until early 2000.

Goldberg wrote Book in October 1997, a collection featuring insights and opinions. In August 2005, Goldberg announced that she would be reviving her one-woman show on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre in honor of its 20th anniversary.

From 1998 to 2001, Goldberg took supporting roles in the Angela Bassett vehicle How Stella Got Her Groove Back and Kingdom Come. She also starred in the successful ABC versions of Cinderella, A Knight in Camelot, and the TNT Original Movie, Call Me Claus. Also in 1998, she gained a whole new audience as the "Center Square" on Hollywood Squares, which was hosted by Tom Bergeron. She also served as Executive Producer, for which she was nominated for 4 Emmys. She left the show in 2002, and "Center Squares" were filled in with celebrities for the last two seasons on-air without Goldberg. In 2003, Goldberg returned to television starring in the NBC comedy, Whoopi. It was canceled after one season due to low ratings. On her 48th birthday, Goldberg was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During the next two years, she became a spokeswoman for Slim Fast and produced two television sitcoms: Lifetime's original drama Strong Medicine which ran for six seasons and Whoopi's Littleburg, a Nickelodeon show for younger children. She was recently considered to play the role of Willy Wonka in the recent remake of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. She also produced the Noggin sitcom Just For Kicks, in early 2006.

The View

On August 1, 2007, it was announced that Goldberg would become the new co-host of The View, effective September 4, replacing Rosie O'Donnell.

On the radio

The radio program Wake Up With Whoopi premiered in 2006. In August 2006, after multiple disruptions of her radio show by the fanbase of the Opie and Anthony Show, Goldberg had a good-natured on-air discussion with the "shock jocks," which quelled any possible "war" between the two shows.[citation needed]

Although her mother was a Protestant preacher, Goldberg says that her family is of mixed religious heritage — including Buddhist and Jewish traditions [citation needed], hailing from a "West Indian" immigrant community. Although she has a religious family heritage, she has said she does not really consider herself in any religious denomination.

Her catch phrase is "honey child, please."

Daytime Emmy Award-winning talk show host Rosie O'Donnell has stated on her official blog (www.rosie.com) that she would like Whoopi to assume her role as moderator after she exits The View in June 2007.[citation needed]

Personal Life

At age 18, following Goldberg's marriage to Alvin Martin who was 16, their first and only child Alexandrea was born c.1973. After Goldberg's failed marriage to Martin, she moved to California and helped found the San Diego Repertory Company, where she used the name, Whoopi Cushion. Before making it as an actress, she worked as a bank teller, a bricklayer and in a mortuary. Goldberg later went on to marry David Claessen but they divorced in 1988. Goldberg's daughter, Alexandrea, gave birth to a baby girl named Amarah Skye was born on 13 November 1989, Goldberg's birthday. Whoopi later married Lyle Trachtenberg, but their marriage lasted only one year. In 2000, Whoopi broke up with her boyfriend of 5 years, Frank Langella. Alex Martin also has 2 other children from her marriage.

Awards

Goldberg has received two Academy Award nominations (The Color Purple and Ghost) winning one (Ghost). She has received five Daytime Emmy nominations, winning one. She has received five Emmy nominations. She has received three Golden Globe nominations, winning two. She has won one Grammy Award in 1986. She also won a Tony Award as a producer of the Broadway musical Thoroughly Modern Millie. She has won three People's Choice Awards. In 1999, she received the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Vanguard Award for her continued work in supporting the gay and lesbian community. She has been nominated for five American Comedy Awards with two wins. In 2001, she won the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center Awards.

Goldberg is one of few individuals to win an Oscar, a Grammy, a Tony, and an Emmy. She has starred in over 150 films, and during a period in the 1990s, Whoopi became the highest-paid actress of all time. Her humanitarian efforts should also be noted as she recently reunited with Billy Crystal and Robin Williams for the 20th Anniversary of Comic Relief.

Other Media Appearances

Goldberg hosted a short "Peanuts" documentary called, "The Making Of A Charlie Brown Christmas" (2001).

In July 2006, Goldberg became the main host of the Universal Studios Hollywood Backlot Tour, in which she appears multiple times in video clips shown to the guests on monitors placed on the trams.

  • Lack of eyebrows is one of her trademarks.[8]
  • Whoopi Goldberg is also a recurring guest star on The View. Unlike most guest stars who aren't allowed much opportunity to speak, Goldberg speaks her mind and makes sure all of her opinions are known. In one instance, Goldberg told an interrupting Joy Behar to let her finish which the audience enjoyed and found humorous.

Filmography

TV work

She has made numerous guest appearances on Sesame Street, and guest hosting Live with Regis and Kelly and The View.

Awards won

Template:African-American oscar winners

|}

Academy Awards

BAFTA Film Awards

  • 1990: Best Supporting Actress

Daytime Emmy Awards

  • 2002: Outstanding Special Class Special – Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel

Grammy Awards

Golden Globe Awards

Kids' Choice Awards

  • 1988: Favorite Movie Actress

NAACP Image Awards

National Board of Review

  • 1985: Best Actress – The Color Purple

People's Choice Awards

  • 1993: Favorite Motion Picture Actress - Comedy
  • 1994: Favorite Motion Picture Actress - Comedy
  • 1995: Favorite Motion Picture Actress - Comedy

Saturn Awards

  • 1990: Best Supporting Actress – Ghost

Tony Awards

Literary works

Goldberg, Whoopi. Whoopi's Big Book of Manners, Hyperion Books for Children, 2006 - ISBN 078685295X
Goldberg, Whoopi. Alice, Bantam Books, 1992 - ISBN 0553089900

Discography

Trivia

References

  1. ^ Many sources indicate 1949 as her year of birth. However, this is thought to be because of her trying to appear older early in her career, to get better roles as she dropped out of high school at an early age. All recent sources, including New York birth records and Goldberg herself, say that 1955 is correct.
  2. ^ Whoopi Goldberg’s DNA Hails from W. Africa
  3. ^ GOLDBERG REFUSES INVITE TO AFRICAN ANCESTRAL STATE
  4. ^ Whoopi Goldberg Turns Down Invite To Ancestral Home in Africa
  5. ^ Interview, August 20, 2006 Sunday New York Times Magazine
  6. ^ http://www.premiere.com/article.asp?section_id=6&article_id=1539&page_number=12
  7. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Academy_Awards_ceremonies
  8. ^ according to IMDB

Sources

Adams, Mary Agnes. Whoopi Goldberg, Silver Burdett Press, 1996 - ISBN 0382394976
Caper, William. Whoopi Goldberg: Comedian and Movie Star, Enslow Publishers, Incorporated, 1999 - ISBN 0766012050
DeBoer, Judy. Whoopi Goldberg, The Creative Company, 1999 - ISBN 0886826969
Gaines, Ann. Whoopi Goldberg, Facts On File, Inc., 1999 - ISBN 0791049388
Parish, James Robert. Whoopi Goldberg: Her Journey from Poverty to Megastardom, Carol Pub. Group, 1997 - ISBN 1559724315

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Whoopi Goldberg.

See also

Preceded by Oscars host
66th Academy Awards 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Oscars host
68th Academy Awards 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Oscars host
71st Academy Awards 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Oscars host
74th Academy Awards 		Succeeded by
Preceded by The View moderator
2007 - present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent

|}

Template:S-awards
Preceded by Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1990
for Ghost 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1986
for The Color Purple 		Succeeded by

Template:ViewHosts

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whoopi_Goldberg&oldid=148601366"