Whoopi Goldberg - Updated Sep 2024

Updated On June 3, 2024
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Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg is a well-known American actress, comedian, author, and TV personality. Whoopi Goldberg is one of the 16 stars to win the EGOT awards (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony).

Early Life and Childhood

Whoopi Goldberg was born Caryn Elaine Johnson on 13th November 1955. She stepped into this world in Manhattan, New York City, United States.

This, she is currently 67 years old and is American by nationality. Likewise, she obeys Christianity, and her birth sign as of her birth date is Scorpio.

Moving on to her family members, she was born to her father Robert James Johnson Jr. and her mother Emma Johnson. Her father is a Baptist clergyman while her mother is a nurse and a teacher.

She spent her childhood in a public housing project in New York. Her mother raised her and her brother, Clyde as a single mother as her father left them when she was young.

Education

In terms of her educational status, she first attended a local Catholic school at St Columbia. After this, she joined Washington Irving High School but dropped out.

She started acting from an early age. Impressed by her stage performances, people used to compliment her saying that she looked like a whoopee cushion. Since then, she took the name Whoopi as her stage name and Goldberg surname to sound more Jewish.

Relationship Status

Regarding her relationship status, Whoopi married three times in her lifetime. Her first marriage was with Alvin Martin which started in the year 1973 and ended in 1979. With him, she has a daughter named Alexandrea Martin.

She is also an actress and producer. After her divorce from Alvin, she married a cinematographer named David Claessen in 1986 and also separated from him after two years in 1988. Also, she was married to a union organizer named Lyle Trachtenberg from 1994 to 1995.

Whoopi Goldberg

Caption: Whoopi Goldberg with her ex-husband Alvin Martin (source: ABC)

Apart from her marriages, she was also in relationships with actors Ted Danson and Frank Langella.

Body Measurements

Enhancing her body measurements, Whoopi Goldberg is 5 feet 5 inches or 1.65 meters tall and weighs around 113 kg or 250 pounds. Likewise, she has black deadlock hair and a pair of black eyes.

Professional Life and Career

Reflecting on her professional life, she took acting training with Uta Hagen in the late 1970s. “Citizen: I’m Not Losing My Mind, I’m Giving It Away,” was her debut film performance.

Likewise, “The Spook Performance,” a show she produced, acted in and directed, premiered in 1983. Then, she went on to develop more off-Broadway musicals such as “Little Girl” and “Fontaine” after the popularity of “The Spook Show.”

Director Mike Nicholas was so impressed by her presentation that he offered to take “The Spook Show” to Broadway. She went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album as a result of it.

Further, it helped her in getting a role in Steven Spielberg’s “The Color Purple.” It was a breakthrough that helped in the grand debut of the company.

Moving on, she began the 1990s with a role in the sitcom “Bagdad Cafe.” She then released “The Long Walk Home” and “Ghost” as follow-ups. “Soapdish,” “The Player,” “Sister Act,” “Sarafina!” and “Made in America” were her next films.

Apart from acting in films, she also made her television debut with “The Whoopi Goldberg Program,” which is her flagship talk show. The show aired for 200 episodes.

She made history by becoming the first African-American woman to host the Academy Awards program in 1994. She did it again in 1996, 1999, and 2002.

Aside from performing, she is also a writer and has co-written “Book” with ghostwriter Daniel Paisner. It was made up of several stories, each with its own set of views and perspectives.

Furthermore, her career took off again in 2007 when she joined the daytime talk program “The View” as a moderator and co-host.

Meanwhile, from August 2006 to March 2008, Goldberg presented “Wake Up With Whoopi,” a morning radio conversation and entertainment show. She has reduced her acting in recent years and has become a vocal advocate for human rights.

She recently appeared as Jane Marsh in the TV series “The Middle” as a guest star. Similarly, she also has a small part in an independent short film.

Whoopi Goldberg

Caption: Whoopi Goldberg taking her Oscar award (source: NY Daily News)

Whoopi Goldberg – Net Worth 2023

The multi-talented girl has made a pretty satisfactory amount of wealth throughout her career. As of 2022, she is currently enjoying a net worth of $45 million US dollars.

Whoopi Goldberg – Social Media

When it comes to her social media handles, Whoopi Goldberg is a verified user on all of them. Firstly, she has a huge 2.1 million followers on her Facebook page. Likewise, she has over 1.2 million followers on Instagram and more than 1.6 million followers on Twitter.