On the TV screen, she often looks ugly, ridiculous, absurdly dressed, not missing the opportunity to bestow someone with a bad word. But with all these shortcomings, the actress is so pure, kind and purposeful that she does not leave indifferent any spectator. Her roles in entertainment genres are ideally comic, and the drama with her participation acquires amazing depth and allows you to accept exactly the message that the director put into his picture.
Whoopi Goldberg is an amazing, extraordinary person who was born on November 13, 1955 and received the beautiful name Karyn Elaine Johnson from her parents. She began her life in the emigration region of Chelsea, in a very poor family of three. There was no father in this family and the mother had to work hard to feed her daughter and youngest son. There were times when a woman could not find a job and then there was nothing to do but to exist on social benefits.
With a smile for life
Whoopi, despite the difficulties of life, remained cheerful and cheerful. From an early age, she believed that happiness did not need a reason, and money did not matter. When it got dull, the girl went to Central Park or to the experimental children's theater. She visited the Helen Rubenstein Theater very often.
She loved the creative atmosphere floating among talented children. Here the future star could show herself in full, and the teachers praised the child and encouraged him in every possible way. Thanks to the children's theater, she began performing on stage at the age of eight, and later took part in Broadway musicals, taking small roles.
But with the school at Whoopi, things were not as positive as with acting. She was a lagging student with impaired writing and reading abilities. The girl could not stand the unbearable torment and dropped out of school, preferring mindless wandering around the streets.
In the late 1960s, the future star decided to leave her father's house and join hippies. She starts using drugs (marijuana). A little later, Whoopi sits down on heavier ones. Due to her condition, the girl does not work anywhere and exists only on benefits.
Her attempts to get rid of drug addiction - did not bring any results, she returned to them again and again until she met Alvin Martin. The man was a volunteer for the Against Drugs organization. Alvin helps her get rid of addiction and change her life. The result of his efforts is Goldberg's consent to marry him. A year later, the couple had a girl, whom her parents named Alexandra.
In order to protect the family from poverty, Whoopi takes on any job - laying bricks, making up the dead in the morgue, working as a night watchman.
By chance, a young woman manages to find a vacant seat in a new theater in San Diego. But for this she needed to move with her family. Alvin was against and refused to move, to which Whoopi goes to the west coast of America with his daughter. There she begins her theatrical career under the pseudonym Whoopi Goldberg. Becoming the founder in the creation of the city's theater "Repertory Theater", Whoopi moved to the "Black Street Theater", where he plays in several amateur troupes.
Whoopi acquired such a nickname "fart pillow" as a child. The actress made him her pseudonym, and her mother advised her the name of Goldberg, since Johnson isn't stellar enough.
Carier start
The very first role brought Whoopi not fame, but a great idea. During the play "Mother Courage" one of the actors did not come out, which is why the young woman had to play a role both for him and for herself. Against the background of this event, the idea arose in Goldberg's head to create a one-man show, where only she would perform all the roles. The project was implemented in 1983 and Whoopi got her first big success thanks to this project.
The talented actress was noticed by director Mike Nicholson and organized her performance on Broadway. She also took part in several productions and in such a famous musical as "Jesus Christ Superstar".
Since the mid-80s, the actress began her happy years - a creative breakthrough. Having asked for the film "Purple Blossom", Whoopi gets the main role and successfully copes with it. Such a bright film debut brought the actress an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe award. The dramatic role was so successful that Goldberg decided to try her hand at entertainment genres. With her participation the following films appear on the screens: "The Thief", "Act, Sister", "Jack the Jumper", "The Knight of Camelot", "Ghost".
She secured the image of a charming and at the same time eccentric character. Whoopi did not stop at the comedies and ventured into the role of a police officer in the film "Deadly Beauty". It turned out to be a hard film filled with the reality of life (drug addiction, alcoholism, crimes in the black ghetto).
Also, the actress managed to take part in the dubbing of cartoons and on television (a constant participant in the comedy show "Space Aid").
In '94, Goldberg was first invited to host the Oscars. She had such a tremendous success that she was invited to other ceremonies as a host. Whoopi Goldberg is an incredible star! She has received such awards as BAFTA, Star on the Walk of Fame, two Golden Globes. In addition, she has the highest awards - Tony, Emmy, Oscar, Grammy.
Personal life
She had several civil marriages, was married three times. For the first time, the actress became a grandmother at the age of 34, when the daughter of Alexander at the age of 16 gave birth to a girl Amara. In addition to this granddaughter, Whoopi has two more grandchildren. An amazing fact: Goldberg's great-grandmother on her mother's side once lived in Odessa.
In 1998, the actress decided to express her opinion about hypocrisy in the real world and for this she published a book - "Book". In 2017, the actress ventured into the production of marijuana-based drugs for women only. These pills will find their use among women suffering from menstrual pain.
Whoopi is serious about this and warns that it is impossible to get high on medical marijuana, because it has a purely analgesic effect. It is planned to release bath elixirs, drops in tea and various creams to be applied to the lower abdomen.
