Whoopie Goldberg biography, real name, family, daughter, young photos, husband, age 2025

Biography of Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg is undeniably a brilliant Hollywood actress. Her participation in even a mediocre film guarantees box office success. This exceptional African American has played over four hundred roles in theater and film.

She is one of the few Hollywood stars to achieve "EGOT status," which includes winning the four major American awards in arts and show business: an Oscar, a Grammy, an Emmy, and a Tony.

She has been awarded the Golden Globe twice, as well as BAFTA and Saturn Awards. The dramas "Ghost" and "The Color Purple" have won the most awards. She has her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Childhood, Youth, Family

Whoopi Goldberg, born Caryn Elaine Johnson, came into the world in the fall of 1955 in a Baptist family with Robert James Johnson and Emma Harris from New York. Her father, despite being a priest, separated from her mother, who raised Caryn and her older brother Clyde alone. In her interviews, the famous actress described her mother as a strong and wise woman who worked as both a nurse and a teacher and was strict with them.

Caryn's childhood unfolded in the immigrant neighborhood of Chelsea-Elliot, where all the kids played together, each speaking their own language:

Since then, I have a basic understanding of Greek, Italian, Chinese, Yiddish, and some Indian dialects. We knew hundreds of games and had plenty to do.

Her family nicknamed her Whoopi, which translates to "whoopee cushion," a popular novelty store item. Incidentally, it also sounds like the name of traditional American cookies. She came up with the pseudonym Goldberg herself when she began performing in Helen Rubenstein's experimental theater.

Due to dyslexia, Caryn stopped attending school classes, but she fell in love with the stage at the age of eight. Everyone noticed the acting talent of the young African American girl, and she was entrusted with leading roles, which she performed flawlessly.

Difficulties arose during her teenage years. She became so involved in the hippie culture that she ran away to a commune. To earn money for food, she worked as a security guard, then as a makeup artist in a morgue, and even at a construction site. At fourteen, she tried drugs for the first time and quickly developed a heroin addiction. Her future might have been different if she hadn't met Alvin Martin, a member of the anti-drug movement. He practically pulled her out of oblivion, married her, and in 1973, their daughter Alexandra was born.

First Roles

But family happiness alone was not enough for Karen. She was constantly looking for acting jobs, and in 1979 she was invited to come to a theater in San Diego, where they needed an actress for a role in the play "Mother Courage and Her Children." Alvin, busy with his work in New York, refused to move. So Karen Johnson, taking only her daughter and leaving behind her past life and her own name, arrived in San Diego as Whoopi Goldberg.

After brilliantly playing two characters at once, since one of the actresses fell ill, Whoopi realized she could play three or four roles. She created a one-woman show for herself called "The Spook Show," with which she went on a tour across America, Canada, and Europe.

Young actress Whoopi Goldberg (The Spook Show, 1984)

In New York, Goldberg enrolled in the acting school of the famous actress Uta Hagen. At various times, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and Sigourney Weaver enhanced their skills there. Therefore, saying that Whoopi has absolutely no acting education is incorrect. It is more of a journalistic myth created to enhance the "American dream" narrative of a poor Black girl.

The Rise of a Career

The year was 1984. Director Mike Nichols invited Goldberg to perform her show on Broadway. Whoopi then appeared in the musical "Jesus Christ Superstar." Writer Alice Walker saw her on stage and was about to have her novel "The Color Purple" turned into a film by Steven Spielberg. Whoopi gathered her courage and asked the writer for a recommendation. The director invited the then-unknown actress to audition and later cast her in the lead role of Celie. This role earned Goldberg her first film award, the Golden Globe.

Whoopi Goldberg's First Movie Role ('The Color Purple')

Unfortunately, despite eleven Oscar nominations, the remarkable film did not win any statuettes. However, Whoopi's brilliant dramatic talent was noticed. Nevertheless, directors of comedies offered her subsequent leading roles. In Penny Marshall's comedic action film "Jumpin' Jack Flash," she played Terry Doolittle, a bored office worker. This was followed by roles such as Bernice Rhodenbarr in the American-Canadian project "Burglar" by Hugh Wilson and Rita Rizzoli in Tom Holland's "Fatal Beauty."

A much deeper and even tragic character was Clara Mayfield, created by the actress in Robert Mulligan's drama "Clara's Heart." But Goldberg gained a well-deserved Oscar and worldwide fame after portraying the fake medium Oda Mae Brown in Jerry Zucker's romantic thriller "Ghost."

Whoopi owed this role to her fan and co-star Patrick Swayze, who played the main character Sam. He convinced the director to cast her as Oda. In addition to the coveted statuette, Goldberg's performance earned her a second Golden Globe, as well as BAFTA and Saturn awards.

Ghost (1990) - Spiritual Advisor Scene

The actress was also magnificent in Darrell Roodt's musical drama "Sarafina!" Her character teaches history to students, encouraging free thought and dignity. Her calls for change in the apartheid system lead to Whoopi's character, Mary Masembuko, simply disappearing: the government dislikes rebels. However, the beloved teacher's death sparked strong outrage among Africans. The film was recognized at the Cannes Festival.

Simultaneously, Goldberg starred in Emile Ardolino's crime comedy "Sister Act," playing the lead role of Deloris Van Cartier, who fatefully becomes Sister Mary Clarence.

Whoopi has repeatedly proven that she can play not only comedic but almost any role. Her dramatic portrayals in Rob Reiner's "Ghosts of Mississippi" and Andrei Konchalovsky's "Eddie" were further evidence of this. In the latter, she transformed into Edwina, a woman who escaped from a clinic with a brain tumor and was rejected by society. This work received the Grand Prix at the San Sebastian Film Festival.

'Eddie': Whoopi Goldberg and James Belushi

Her portrayal of Vera Baker in "Rat Race," an adventure comedy about people racing for two million dollars, was also interesting.

In 2019, Goldberg appeared in the mystical detective series "Instinct," playing the role of Joan Ross.

Whoopi Goldberg winning Best Supporting Actress - 63rd Oscars (1991)

Besides her active film career, the actress has been successful on television. She hosted her own talk show for several years and frequently participated in "Comic Relief." She still hosts the morning program The View on ABC.

In 2009, she won an Emmy as an outstanding daytime show host. She was frequently invited to host various significant events, including the Oscars ceremony. She also participated in voice acting for animated films.

Whoopi Goldberg's Personal Life

Whoopi has often admitted that family life is not for her. However, after her first marriage to Alvin Martin, the father of her only child, she made two more attempts to start a family. These attempts lasted no more than two years.

Whoopi Goldberg with daughter Alex and second husband David Claessen

Her second husband was photographer David Claessen, and her third was businessman Lyle Trachtenberg. Her marriage with Trachtenberg didn't even last a year:

I didn't want to share my feelings with anyone or be asked why I do certain things. But in relationships, that's unavoidable, so it took me a long time to realize that marriage isn't for me. You shouldn't get married just because everyone expects you to.

At one point, rumors suggested she had a non-traditional orientation, followed by a series of affairs. Despite her appearance being far from Hollywood standards, Whoopi charmed men in droves, as they say. There were rumors that one of Hollywood's James Bonds, Timothy Dalton, was in love with her. In the same context, names like Frank Langella and Eddie Gold, as well as Ted Danson and Danny Glover, were mentioned.

Whoopi Goldberg's third husband – Lyle Trachtenberg

Goldberg became a grandmother early: her daughter Alexandrea gave birth at sixteen, naming the girl Amara. Whoopi was just over thirty at the time. Later, Alex had two more children, and by her 60th birthday, her granddaughter delighted her with a great-granddaughter.

Whoopi Goldberg with her daughter and granddaughter

But Goldberg has no plans to grow old. She actively maintains her personal blog, with an army of followers, and a microblog on Twitter. Additionally, she writes scripts and children's stories, and in her eccentric book titled "Book," she sharply ridicules the hypocrisy and pretentiousness of society.

Whoopi Goldberg Now

In November 2020, the actress celebrated her 65th birthday. She approached this milestone with an active lifestyle, voting in the presidential election and advising her followers on how to fill out ballots correctly when voting remotely. Whoopi Goldberg was selected as the official ambassador for the 2022 Special Olympics, which are planned to be held in America. Besides her public engagements, the actress also spends time with her grandchildren and great-granddaughter. She even tried to bake a cake with her for her birthday.

Regarding new film projects, as soon as quarantine restrictions are lifted, Goldberg will continue filming Josh Boone's science fiction drama "The Stand," an adaptation of the novel by Stephen King. The film tells the story of a deadly virus leak at a secret base. The survivors form two opposing camps. Whoopi's character, Mother Abagail, is the spiritual leader of the "good side."