Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Elaine Johnson, known professionally by her stage name, Whoopi Goldberg, is an American actress, comedian, and television host. She has been nominated for 13 Emmy Awards for her work in television, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Emmy Award, a Grammy Award, an Oscar, and a Tony Award. She was the second black woman in the history of the Academy Awards to win an acting Oscar...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actress
Date of Birth13 November 1955
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
Most people still have this idea that if you're doing what is considered a sport you don't get to be a girl. You get to be a tomboy, which is one of those words that I actually hate.
The people who can be helping to make movies that have blacks and Latinos and women and all that - that movie doesn't come to you. Because the idea is that there's no place for black movies.
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.'
You have to believe in yourself in spite of what other people believe.
I'm fighting the label of 'Black' actress simply because it's very limiting in people's eyes, especially people who are making movies.
There are roles I am never considered for. Meryl Streep roles, let's say. Why not? I really wanted to do 'Ironweed,' for example, because the depression era in this country was one of the best for multiracial people, because everybody was poor. Everybody lived in the tents, and under buildings, and under gratings, together.
I don't think in terms of failure....I don't feel like anyone outside of me should be setting limitations. People should be encouraged to shoot for the moon.
[On her monologue as the thief 'Fontaine':] People always got things. People always want things. So I provide a service.
Thank you, God, because I am lucky. Also let's face it, it turns out I'm black. And I'm having a career quite different from lots of people, so I feel doubly lucky.
If you can handle the fact that people are going to be mad at you when you do what you think is right, you'll be alright.
Now, I've always known that there were bullies in the world. We've seen a lot of it in politics lately as well as in daily life. You see it where people who may be stronger, or bigger, or better with verbiage than other folks... show off. To me, that's what bullying is, showing off. It's saying, I'm better than you, I can take you down. Not just physically, but emotionally.
I don't have pet peeves like some people. I have whole kennels of irritation.
Chocolate and candy. That's what we brought in to our friends. We worked in East Berlin with other artists who were smuggled out to come work in the Western Bloc. It was extraordinary because people [in East Berlin] just wanted to know what was happening. Music. Fashion. The news. All of the things we get every day.
We have a lot of trans friends. We know lots of people who have been trying to [model]; we know a lot about it.