Caryn Elaine Johnson was born on November 13, 1955, in New York City. Although her father was a Protestant preacher, she claims that her family hails from a “West Indian” immigrant community and is of mixed religious heritage, including Catholic, Buddhist and Jewish ancestry. As a child, she struggled in school due to dyslexia (although it was not diagnosed until she was an adult). Her stage name was taken from “whoopi cushion”, which she initially wanted as her full name, but her mother convinced her it wasn’t a dignified surname.
She began her career as a stand-up comedian in the San Francisco Bay area and created a one-woman show in 1983 called “The Spook Show.” Mike Nichols saw her and was so taken with her performance, producing a one-woman show exclusively for her on Broadway called “Whoopi Goldberg.” It ran from October 24, 1984 to March 10, 1985, for a total of 156 performances. Steven Spielberg was also very impressed with her work and cast her in her film debut, which was an adaptation of the award-winning novel, “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker. For this performance, she earned an Academy Award nomination in 1986. For most of the 1980s, she was featured in both tough comedic roles (“Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, “ Fatal Beauty”) as well as family-oriented films such as “Clara’s Heart”.
Her career was revitalized with her portrayal of the fake “spiritualist” who actually makes contact with the dead in the movie, “Ghost,” for which she won an Oscar for “Best Supporting Actress.” In 1992, she reached legendary comedic status in “Sister Act”. To date, she has appeared in more than 150 films, has won one Oscar, one Emmy, and two Golden Globe awards.
She remains one of the most talented female comic actresses in the world today.
Whoopee, Whoopi!