For my last passion blog post of the semester I will be blogging about Whoopi Goldberg. She is one of the OG’s (original gangsters) of African American actresses who have influenced this country by her amazing performances in the movies she stars in. Everyone has seen a Whoopi Goldberg movie, and if you have not it is sad and I suggest you log into Netflix, Hulu, or whatever you have and have a movie night.
BACKGROUND: Whoopi Goldberg was born Caryn Elaine Johnson on November 13, 1955 in Manhattan, New York. She is actress, author, singer-songwriter, political activist, comedian and talk show host. She chose the stage name “Whoopi” because she was quoted as saying “If you get a little gassy, you’ve got to let it go. So people used to say to me, ‘You’re like a whoopee cushion’. And that’s where the name came from.”
CAREER (just a few):
- Citizen: I’m Not Losing My Mind & I’m Giving it Away- 1981-1982
- The Spook Show (created and starred in herself)- 1983 (ran on broadway from October 24, 1984, to March 10, 1985, for a total of 156 performances)
- Th Color Purple- 1985
- Jumpin’ Jack Flash- 1986
- Burglar- 1987
- Fatal Beauty- 1987
- The Telephone- 1988
- Clara’s Heart- 1988
- Comic Relief- 1990
- Bagdad Cafè- 1990
- The Long Walk Home- 1990
- Ghost- 1990
- Soapdish- 1991
- Sister Act- 1992
- Sarafina!- 1992
- Made in America- 1993
- Sister Act II: Back in the Habit- 1993
- Star Trek: The Next Generation- 1994
- Corrina, Corrina- 1994
- The Lion King- 1994(voice-over)
- The Pagemaster- 1994(voice-over)
- Boy’s on the Side- 1995
- The Muppet Show-guest starred, 1996
- Bogus- 1996
- Eddie- 1996
- The Associate- 1996
- Ghosts of Mississippi- 1996
- Cinderella- 1997
- A Knight in Camelot- 1998
- Girl Interrupted- 1999
- Kingdom Come- 2001
- Rat Race- 2001
- The View- 2007 to present
HONOR AND AWARDS(not all of them) & ACTIVISM: She was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for “The Color Purple” and the second for “Ghost”, taking the win for Ghost. She is the first African American woman to receive Academy Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. Goldberg has received eight Daytime Emmy awards, awarded two, and five Emmy nominations. She has received three Golden Globe nominations and won two. She has won a Grammy award in 1985 and a Tony Award as a producer in the broadway production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie”. She has won three People’s Choice Awards. In 1999 she received the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Vanguard Award for her continuous work of supporting the LGBT community. Whoopi Goldberg is one of few people to receive a Grammy, Oscar, Emmy, and a Tony award. she has been featured in over 150 films and at one point was the highest paid actress of all time. April 1, 2010 Goldberg launched her “Give a Damn” campaign which brings a wider awareness of discrimination against the LGBT community. The point of the campaign is to bring straight people in alliance with LGBT community. Her support of the LGBT rights and AIDS activism dates back to March of 1987 where she walked in the march on Washington, she was one of the few celebrities participating.
Whoopi Goldberg will always have a huge impact on me as a actress because she is a example of someone who worked hard and strived after what she wanted and stood up for what she believed in. I will always have a huge respect for her because she would receive slack for not being the most beautiful actress, which is a stigma in Hollywood. To me she is a beautiful person inside and out because she not only gives her heart and soul into everything that she does and believes in she also never let anything stop her. All of the people I have high lighted in my blog post are not only great actors and actresses but they are also great people. They give what they have received back to the community and that is so important to me that I have a huge passion to do that as well. No matter what profession I end up in. I do know that I have no excuse not to be inspired to do great things with my life, and to give back no matter what. If I can make a difference in peoples lives, even if it is one person…I will have lived a full and happy one.
