Whoopi Goldberg

Caryn Elaine Johnson was born on 13 November 1955 in New York City, and grew up in public housing in Manhattan, struggling with dyslexia and dropping out of high school before pursuing theatre, eventually developing a distinctive stand-up comedy act combining character-based storytelling with sharp social observation, performing under the stage name Whoopi Goldberg.

Goldberg's one-woman Broadway show, featuring a series of original characters addressing race, addiction and social issues through comedic and dramatic monologue, drew the attention of director Mike Nichols, who helped bring her to wider attention and directed a filmed version for HBO, launching her transition from stand-up comedy into a substantial film career.

Goldberg earned an Academy Award nomination for her film debut in The Color Purple (1985), and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Ghost (1990), becoming only the second Black woman to win an acting Oscar, following Hattie McDaniel decades earlier, a landmark achievement establishing her as a major Hollywood star across both dramatic and comedic roles.

Goldberg became one of the most commercially successful Black actresses in Hollywood history through the 1990s, starring in major hit films including the Sister Act franchise, and expanded into producing, hosting and writing throughout her career, demonstrating a range extending well beyond acting alone into broader entertainment industry involvement.

Goldberg achieved EGOT status — winning an Emmy, Grammy, Academy Award and Tony Award — one of a very small number of performers in entertainment history to achieve this complete set of major American entertainment industry honours, a testament to her genuine range across film, music, television and theatre.

Goldberg has hosted the daytime talk show The View since 2007, becoming one of its most prominent and consistently outspoken hosts on social and political issues, using the platform to engage directly in contemporary political and cultural debates. She remains a significant figure in American entertainment, notable both for her rare EGOT achievement and for her sustained public voice on social issues across a career spanning stand-up comedy, film, television and theatre.