Printable Biography of Whoopi Goldberg

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In 2002 Whoopi Goldberg became one of a very elite group of artists who have won the Grammy (Whoopi Goldberg, 1985), the Academy Award (Ghost, 1991), the Golden Globe (The Color Purple, 1985 and Ghost, 1991), the Emmy (as host of AMC's Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel, 2002) and a Tony (producer of Thoroughly Modern Millie, 2002). She is equally well known for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of children, the homeless, human rights, education, substance abuse and the battle against AIDS, as well as many other causes and charities. Among her many charitable activities, Ms. Goldberg is a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations.

Born and raised in New York City, Ms. Goldberg worked in theatre and improvisation in San Diego and the Bay Area, where she performed with the Blake Street Hawkeyes theatre troupe. It was there that she created the characters which became "The Spook Show" and evolved into her hit Broadway show, her Grammy Award-winning album and the HBO special that helped launch her career.

Ms. Goldberg made her motion picture debut in Steven Spielberg's film version of Alice Walker's The Color Purple, for which she earned an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award. Her performance in Ghost earned her the Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has also appeared in such films as Jumpin' Jack Flash, Clara's Heart, The Long Walk Home, Soapdish, The Player, Sarafina!, Sister Act, Made in America, Corrina, Corrina, Boys on the Side, Eddie, The Associate, Ghosts of Mississippi, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Girl, Interrupted, Kingdom Come and Rat Race. She has voiced characters in such animated features as The Lion King, Racing Stripes, Doogal and Everyone's Hero.

On television Ms. Goldberg appeared for five seasons on Star Trek: The Next Generation, she co-starred with Jean Stapleton in Bagdad Café and hosted her own syndicated late-night talk show. She appeared in the Emmy-nominated HBO drama In the Gloaming, directed by Christopher Reeve, as well as The Wonderful World of Disney's Rogers & Hammerstein's Cinderella and A Knight in Camelot, and appeared in the mini-series Alice in Wonderland and The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns. She starred in the NBC sitcom Whoopi, which she executive-produced, and co-starred in the television movies It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and Showtime's Good Fences, which she co-produced with co-star Danny Glover. She produced and appeared on Nick Jr's Whoopi's Littleburg, has guest-starred on NBC's Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and appeared on two episodes of Chris Rock's Everybody Hates Chris on the CW Network last year.

As she has in every other facet of her career, Ms. Goldberg made her mark as a producer. She executive-produced the Lifetime original drama series Strong Medicine, the longest-running original drama created for basic cable and the first cable show to go into syndication. From 1998-2002 she executive-produced and appeared in the center square on the Emmy Award-winning Hollywood Squares. She executive-produced the Lifetime original movie What Makes a Family, Showtime's Ruby's Bucket of Blood, and executive-produced and starred in the TNT Original Movie, Call Me Claus, and the Showtime original, Good Fences. Ms. Goldberg executive-produced the hit Broadway musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, which won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical. She and One Ho have numerous projects in the works for stage, screen and television.

Ms. Goldberg has appeared on many television series and specials, including her own comedy specials for HBO and BRAVO, been a three-time host of ABC's A Gala for the President at Ford's Theatre and eight Comic Relief telecasts with Billy Crystal and Robin Williams. She received Emmy Award nominations for hosting the 66th, 68th and 71st Academy Awards telecasts, and returned to host the 2002 telecast at the new Kodak Theatre.

Ms. Goldberg returned to Broadway in 1997, garnering rave reviews in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. In 2001 she returned to her performing roots, on tour for the first time in over 10 years, performing one-night-only engagements across the U.S. In 2003 she produced and starred in the title role of the Broadway revival of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. She commemorated the 20th anniversary of her original one-woman show with a Tony-nominated engagement production on Broadway last year, and the HBO broadcast of the show was nominated for an Emmy Award.

In addition to the Oscar, the Grammy and two Golden Globe Awards, Ms. Goldberg has been honored with multiple NAACP Image Awards, numerous People's Choice Awards (including a special tribute in 1998) and five Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards as Favorite Movie Actress, as well as various awards and honors for her many humanitarian efforts.

In 1992 Ms. Goldberg made her debut as an author with her first children's book, "Alice." Her second literary endeavor, simply entitled "Book," became a bestseller in the U.S. and around the world. She also has a three-book publishing deal with Jump at the Sun, an imprint of Hyperion Books. The first title, "Whoopi's Big Book of Manners," has just been published.

In early 2003, Ms. Goldberg returned to Broadway, co-starring with Charles "Roc" Dutton in August Wilson's acclaimed Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, which she also produced. She had last appeared on Broadway in 1997 in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

In July 2006, she conquered yet another frontier when she made her debut as a radio host with Clear Channel's nationally-syndicated, Wake Up with Whoopi, which she continues to broadcast live from New York weekday mornings.

In yet another facet of her diverse and illustrious career, Ms. Goldberg has designed and will be launching a line of bedding in 2008.

Ms. Goldberg has placed prints of her hands, feet and braids in the forecourt of the famed Grauman's Chinese Theatre and received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which resides in front of the Kodak Theatre.