American actress and comedienne who went from welfare to movie star in a few short years. She grew up in a Manhattan housing project, the daughter of a Headstart teacher who raised her two kids alone. Whoopi acted in local theater groups and dropped out of high school at 14 for drugs and sex, getting thoroughly strung out on heroin. When she got into rehab, she had an affair with her counselor, Martin Alvin, who fathered her daughter, Alexandra. Her daughter also got pregnant early, at 15, and chose to have the baby, making Whoopi a grandmother at 34.
Moving to San Diego in 1975, Goldberg acted while working as a beautician in a morgue. She apprenticed in the tough route of standup comedy improv where she honed her timing and delivery. Doing improv, she was seen by Stephen Spielberg who cast her in the film, “The Color Purple.” She delivered an outstanding performance. From 1988, she portrayed an intergalactic bartender, Guinan, on “Star Trek, The Next Generation” for six seasons. In 1990, she won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for her role as the fortune-telling con artist in “Ghost,” which led to the smashingly successful “Sister Act” movies.
Goldberg met Ted Danson on the Arsenio Hall show in 1991. In mid-April 1992 they began work as co-stars in a comedy, “Made in America,” which was released in 1993 as his marriage folded and their affair was touted by the media. Their romance, begun in June 1992, lasted 18 months. On 10/15/1994, Goldberg married Lyle Trachtenberg, 40, whom she had met the prior year. A mismatch from the beginning, they separated on 10/17/1995.
While Whoopi was in New York City shooting “Eddie,” a romance bloomed with costar Frank Langella, 55. Langella’s wife, Ruth, with whom he had two teenage kids, filed for divorce on 11/07/1995. This relationship ended after five years in March 2000. In 2001, Whoopi was seen his a new beau, Michael Visbal.
Whoopi hosted the Oscars for the first time in 1994. Her autobiography, “Book,” was published in October 1997. For years she has been involved in a spiritual quest that has led her to study the kabala. She was once more a humorous and delightful host of the Academy Award show on 3/25/2002. She was a witty member of Hollywood Squares for four years, 1998-2002. In August 2007 she joined the cast of the popular daytime talk show, The View.
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