Trailblazing Hollywood actress, author, comedian, and television personality, Whoopi Goldberg has over the decades earned place amongst the industry’s most talented players.
With her appearances in over 100 major films, delivering brilliantly each time, screen magnet Caryn Elaine Johnson, professionally known as Whoopi Goldberg a proud recipient of numerous accolades, most deservedly racks up the honors. She is one of sixteen entertainers to win an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award and the first and only African American to receive Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT) awards.
Goldberg kicked off her career on stage in 1983 with the show, Spook Show, which hit Broadway under the title Whoopi Goldberg (1984 – 1985), earning a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for the recording of the show. She however got her film breakthrough in 1985 with her role as Celie, in Steven Spielberg’s period drama film The Color Purple, for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.
For her performance in the romantic fantasy film Ghost (1990), she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a second Golden Globe Award. Goldberg is also known for her role in the comedy Sister Act (1992) and its sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), which earned her the highest-paid actress status at the time.
In 1994, Goldberg became the first African-American woman to host the Academy Awards ceremony at the 66th Oscar telecast, and the first woman to solo host. She hosted it again in 1996, 1999, and 2002, and has been regarded as one of the show’s best hosts.
Amongst her enviable list of accolades, in 2017, Goldberg was named a Disney Legend for her contributions to the Walt Disney Company.
