Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg

Birth name:

Caryn Elaine Johnson

Date of birth:

13 November1955

Place of birth:

New York City, New York, USA

Awards forTrek:

Saturn Award nominee

Roles:

Actor

Character(s):

Guinan

Whoopi Goldberg (born13 November1955; age 70) is an actor and comedian who portrayedGuinan on occasion fromsecond throughsixth seasons ofStar Trek: The Next Generation. She reprised the role (uncredited both times) inStar Trek Generations andStar Trek Nemesis and two episodes ofStar Trek: Picard. She earned aSaturn Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for her appearance inGenerations.

Goldberg was born in New York City, New York, asCaryn Elaine Johnson. As a young girl, she sawNichelle Nichols onStar Trek: The Original Series and ran to her mother, shouting, "There's a black lady on TV and she ain't no maid!" She was eager to appear in the filmStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and there was some discussion about her possibly portraying a Klingon princess, though the idea was declined byLeonard Nimoy. (The View from the Bridge, hardcover ed., p. 211) Goldberg is a "huge fan" ofThe Next Generation and was eager to star in the show. She was later responsible for gettingDwight Schultz his role asReginald Barclay onThe Next Generation, having co-starred with Schultz in the 1990 filmThe Long Walk Home.[1]^(X)

DirectorLes Landau recalls, "Whoopi is a pleasure to work with. She's very, very creative and inventive. From a personal point-of-view, what was really thrilling was that I was the first director in Hollywood to work with Whoopi after she won the [Best Supporting Actress] Oscar forGhost. Whoopi is enthusiastic. Whenever she gets on the set, she knows how to approach the scene. And her instincts are generally right." (The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine issue 21, p. 46)

The writers of theStar Trek: Deep Space Ninesecond season episode "Rivals" intended the character ofMartus Mazur to be a son of Guinan who was also to appear in the episode, but Whoopi Goldberg was unavailable. (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 109) Both she andChris Sarandon, who was cast to play the rewritten character, appeared in the 1996 motion pictureBordello of Blood. DS9 guest starWilliam Sadler also starred in the movie.

Goldberg dated and lived with DS9 guest actorFrank Langella for five years, from 1996 through 2000. The two met on the set ofEddie (1996).[2]

Career[]

Goldberg trained under famed acting teacher Uta Hagen at the HB Studio in New York. A comedic and acting talent since the 1980s, Goldberg made her first screen appearance in the 1981 ensemble filmCitizen: I'm Not Losing My Mind, I'm Giving It Away, oppositeDarryl Henriques. In 1983, she conceived her own one-woman play,The Spook Show. The play was brought to Broadway in October 1984, simply titledWhoopi Goldberg, and ran for 156 performances through March 1985. The production won Goldberg a Theatre World Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One Person Show.

Goldberg's breakthrough film role came with her portrayal of Celie Johnson inThe Color Purple (1985, withLeon Rippy andLaurence Fishburne). She earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in this film. Also earning Oscar nominations for their work in this film were set designerLinda DeScenna and music adaptorFred Steiner.

In addition to her Oscar nomination, Goldberg won a Golden Globe, an Image Award, and a National Board of Review for her role inThe Color Purple. She followed this film with an Emmy Award-nominated guest appearance onMoonlighting. In the latter half of the 1980s, Goldberg starred in six feature films, includingJumpin' Jack Flash (1986, co-starringStephen Collins andCarol Kane, with cinematography byMatthew F. Leonetti),Fatal Beauty (1987, withBrad Dourif,Harris Yulin, andCharles Hallahan), andHomer and Eddie (1989, featuringTony Epper,Tommy "Tiny" Lister, Jr.,Nancy Parsons,Jimmie F. Skaggs,Vincent Schiavelli, andTracey Walter; production management byMarty Hornstein).

Since the 1980s, Goldberg has been hosting theComic Relief HBO specials with fellow comicsBilly Crystal andRobin Williams. The fourth show featured actressPam Pruitt-McGeary. The three of them shared an Emmy nomination for hosting 1995'sComic Relief VII. During one of theComic Relief specials, the bridge crew of theUSSEnterprise-D finds an old VHS cassette of the special, including a screen capture of the three hosts, mispronouncing her name as "Whoo-pie" and noticing, but dismissing, the resemblance to Guinan.

She received her second Academy Award nomination – and her first win – for her supporting role as psychic Oda Mae Brown in the 1990 filmGhost, which also starredStephen Root and Vincent Schiavelli. Other awards she won for this role include a Golden Globe, an Image Award, a Saturn Award (from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films), and a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Award. Goldberg later received an Emmy Award nomination (her second) for a 1991 guest appearance onA Different World (starringDawnn Lewis).

Among Goldberg's best known starring roles is that of Delores Van Cartier, aka "Sister Mary Clarence", in the 1992 comedySister Act, for which she won an Image Award and received nominations from the Golden Globes and the MTV Movie Awards. She reprised the role forSister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993). Her other film credits during the early 1990s includeSoapdish (1991, withTeri Hatcher),Made in America (1993, co-starringClyde Kusatsu), andCorrina, Corrina (1994, featuringBrent Spiner). She also had a cameo at the beginning ofLoaded Weapon 1 (1993, starringWilliam Shatner).

Goldberg hosted the Academy Awards ceremony in 1994 and again in 1996. She received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for both occasions.

Goldberg was among the manyStar Trek performers to appear inGhosts of Mississippi (1996, withBill Cobbs,Spencer Garrett,Jerry Hardin,Thomas Kopache,Jordan Lund,Virginia Madsen,Terry O'Quinn,Brock Peters,Richard Riehle,Bill Smitrovich, andSusanna Thompson). Goldberg followed this with supporting roles in such films asHow Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998, starringAngela Bassett),The Deep End of the Ocean (1999), andGirl, Interrupted (1999, starringWinona Ryder) andRat Race (2001, featuringLanei Chapman,Peggy Jo Jacobs andAndrew Kavovit). That same year, Goldberg made a cameo appearance inThe Hollywood Sign, starringDominic Keating.

Goldberg has also lent her voices to a number of projects. Perhaps most notable among these is her voice role as Shenzi the hyena inThe Lion King (1994, withMadge Sinclair voicing Sarabi). She also voiced Gaia on the animated seriesCaptain Planet and the Planeteers, working with herNext Generation co-starLeVar Burton.

InThe Pagemaster that same year, Goldberg and herNext Generation co-starPatrick Stewart and voice artistFrank Welker were heard as a trio of talking books.Christopher Lloyd starred and voiced in this film, as well, whileGeorge Hearn,Robert Picardo, andLeonard Nimoy also had voice roles;Ed Begley, Jr. had an acting role in the film. Later voice credits include as a ranger in 1998'sThe Rugrats Movie and the voice of the title reindeer in LeVar Burton'sBlizzard.

From 1998 through 2002, Goldberg was the producer of the popular game showHollywood Squares. She also regularly occupied the famous "center square" on the show. Goldberg received four Daytime Emmy Award nominations as the show's producer.

Goldberg shared a Tony Award as one of the producers of the Broadway play,Thoroughly Modern Millie. She also won a Daytime Emmy Award as host of the 2001 TV documentaryBeyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel. She earned her latest Emmy nomination for a 2005 televised broadcast of the revival of her one-person play entitledWhoopi: Back to Broadway – The 20th Anniversary.

In August 2007, it was announced that Goldberg would become the new moderator onThe View, replacing the controversialRosie O'Donnell. Goldberg joined the show on 4 September.[3][4]

Goldberg hosted the 62nd Annual Tony Awards at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City on 15 June 2008. HerNext Generation co-star, Patrick Stewart, was a 2008 nominee for his performance in the Broadway production ofMacbeth.[5][6]

Goldberg appeared inFor Colored Girls (2010, written and directed byTyler Perry).

Appearances as Guinan[]

Additional appearances[]

Guinan hologram
TNG: "Hollow Pursuits"

Guinan (Nexus "echo")
(Star Trek Generations)

Star Trek interviews[]

• TNG Season 2 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Two" ("Whoopi Goldberg", "Gene Roddenberry"), interviewed on20 September1988
• TNG Season 3 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Three" ("Guinan Returns"), interviewed on6 December2001
• TNG Season 5 DVD special feature "A Tribute to Gene Roddenberry" ("Gene Roddenberry Building Dedicated toStar Trek's Creator", "Gene's Final Voyage"), interviewed on6 June1991 and 6 December 2001
• TNG Season 6 DVD special feature "Mission Overview Year Six" ("Resolving the Cliffhanger"), interviewed on 6 December 2001
• TNG Season 7 DVD special feature "Starfleet Moments & Memories Year Seven" ("A Unique Legacy", "A Unique Family"), interviewed on 6 December 2001

External links[]

• Whoopi Goldberg atWikipedia
• Whoopi Goldberg atInstagram
• Whoopi Goldberg at theInternet Broadway Database
• Whoopi Goldberg at theInternet Movie Database