Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg (born Caryn Elaine Johnson) is an actress and television personality who is one of 22 stars to achieve EGOT status. Goldberg spent her early years in New York City and briefly lived in California before returning to New York to pursue a career in acting.

Goldberg made her Broadway debut in her eponymous one-woman show, which premiered in 1984. Her performance caught the eye of Steven Spielberg, who cast her in the lead role of his film adaptation of The Color Purple in 1985. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nomination for best actress.

In 2002, Goldberg became the first Black woman to achieve EGOT status after winning both a Daytime Emmy and Tony in the same year. She became the second Black woman to win an Academy Award for acting in 1990 for her performance in Ghost. Her other film credits include Sister Act (1992), Girl, Interrupted (1999), For Colored Girls (2010) and Till (2022). She also starred on Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1988 to 1993. Goldberg joined The View in 2007, replacing cohost Rosie O’Donnell.

Goldberg was married to drug counselor Alvin Martin, with whom she shares daughter Alexandrea Martin, from 1973 to 1979. She was also married to filmmaker David Claessen from 1986 to 1988 and actor Lyle Trachtenberg from 1994 to 1995.