Whoopi Goldberg on Tour
For all her achievements in theater, movies and television, Whoopi Goldberg has never lost her reverence for the connections she forges with audiences at her reliably outrageous stand-up performances.
Her appearance in November, 2019 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City marked another milestone for a performer who first came to wider attention with Whoopi Goldberg, the one-woman stage show she brought to Broadway with the help of director Mike Nichols in 1984. The acclaim for her skills drew the notice of Steven Spielberg, who cast her in the lead role of The Color Purple. Goldberg's Academy Award nomination led to her successful run in a huge variety of dramas and comedies, including such smash hits as Ghost in 1990 and Sister Act two years later.
Her forays into television include her Emmy-winning run as executive producer and resident "center square" personality on her revival of the game show Hollywood Squares. Never afraid to share her views, Goldberg continues to elicit laughs and provoke thoughts as the moderator of ABC's The View.
In March of 2019, she appeared at New York's Beacon Theatre as cohost for Love Rocks NYC, the star-studded annual benefit for the nonprofit organization God's Love We Deliver.
Whoopi Goldberg Background
Born and raised in New York, Whoopi Goldberg caught the performing bug at an early age. Her first audiences were the relatives who gave Goldberg her distinctive nickname, comparing the aspiring comedian to a whoopee cushion.
Her years studying comedy and theater in California and New York led to the development of the characters who filled her first stage hit, which was named The Spook Show before she and director Mike Nichols brought it to Broadway as Whoopi Goldberg in 1984. In 1985, she earned an Academy Award nomination for her first major screen role, in Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple. That launched a movie career that has included such beloved films as Ghost, Sister Act and The Lion King.
Among her television credits are her groundbreaking talk show The Whoopi Goldberg Show and the Emmy-nominated NBC sitcom Whoopi. Her Emmy-winning revival of Hollywood Squares ran from 1998 to 2004. In 2007, she joined Barbara Walters on ABC's The View as the show's new moderator.
One of America's most decorated performers, Goldberg is among the few to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. Her other honors include two Golden Globes, a Drama Desk Award, two American Comedy Awards, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.