Whoopi Goldberg was born Caryn Johnson in New York City and spent the first years of her life in a public housing project in Manhattan. She made her performing debut at age eight with the Helena Rubinstein Children's Theatre at the Hudson Guild. After dropping out of high school, she found work as a summer camp counselor, and in the choruses of the Broadway shows Hair, Jesus Christ Superstar and Pippin.
In 1974, after a failed marriage, she moved to California with her young daughter and, the following year, helped found the San Diego Repertory Theatre and joined the improvisational theater group Spontaneous Combustion. It was at this time that she adopted her distinctive stage name and began to develop the character monologues that were to make her famous. After moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, she joined another improvisational group, the Blake Street Hawkeyes, acquired a following for her work as a stand-up comedian, and toured the U.S. and Europe with her one-woman production, The Spook Show.
Whoopi Goldberg Biography Photo
In 1983 the legendary director Mike Nichols saw her perform and, the following year, presented her on Broadway in a one-woman show of her own creation. The show was an enormous success, and brought her to the attention of Steven Spielberg, who cast her in the leading role in his film of Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Making her film debut in this coveted role instantly established her as one of Hollywood's leading actresses. Her performance in Ghost won her an Academy Award. She followed this with memorable performances in the box-office smash Sister Act and the critically acclaimed Robert Altman film, The Player. Her other film credits include Made In America; Corinna, Corinna; Star Trek: Generations and Boys on the Side. In addition to her acting roles, Whoopi Goldberg has hosted her own television talk show and has earned rave reviews for hosting the annual Academy Awards telecast.
achievement.org
0 comments:
Post a Comment