Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg is one of an elite group of artists who have won the Grammy, the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, the Emmy and Daytime Emmy and a Tony Award. 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. Born and raised in New York City, Whoopi 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, Grammy Award-winning album and the HBO special that helped launch her career. Whoopi 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 and she has starred in such films as “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” “Clara’s Heart,” “The Long Walk Home,” “Soapdish,” “Sister Act,” “Made in America,” “Boys on the Side,” “Ghosts of Mississippi,” “How Stella Got Her Groove Back,” “Girl, Interrupted,” and “The Lion King, among others. She appeared in the 2015 feature film adaption of Adriana Trigiani’s beloved novel, “Big Stone Gap,” opposite Ashley Judd, Patrick Wilson and Jenna Elfman. Whoopi’s many television credits range from series, mini-series and talk shows to movies and specials. She currently moderates ABC’s Emmy Award-winning “The View,” for which she has won a Daytime Emmy Award. Whoopi has also produced numerous series, specials and movies for television, as well as theatrical productions on Broadway and around the world, including the Tony Award-winning Thoroughly Modern Millie, and the Tony-nominated Sister Act: The Musical. She produced and made her directorial debut with the Emmy Award-nominated documentary, “Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley,” which premiered at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival before its critically-acclaimed run on HBO. Whoopi and her partner Tom Leonardis produced the docu-series “According to Alex” for BET and “Strut,” an original series for Oxygen which follows a group of transgender models breaking down barriers in the world of fashion. Whoopi’s Broadway credits include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Xanadu and she made her West End stage debut in a special limited run as Mother Superior in Sister Act: The Musical in 2011. In 1992, Whoopi made her debut as an author with her first children’s book, Alice. She also wrote Whoopi’s Big Book of Manners and the Sugar Plum Ballerinas book series for young readers and her books for adults include Book, Is It Just Me? and If Someone Says ‘You Complete Me’…Run!