Actually, Whoopi Goldberg wouldn’t mind retiring at all. “But it’s not possible yet. I can’t afford it,” the US actress told the US website “Entertainment Tonight.” “I still have bills to pay.” That’s why Goldberg, who turns 70 on Thursday, is still on US television almost every day as one of the hosts of the talk show “The View”—for almost 20 years now.
With her assertive discussion style and often controversial opinions, Goldberg often rubs people the wrong way on the show—but this also contributes to its success. She has put acting on the back burner because of it, which disappoints many fans. “What happened to Whoopi Goldberg?” the “Washington Post” once commented. “Can you remember a time when she didn’t disappoint?”
At one point the highest-paid actress in the world
Yet Goldberg once had a dream career as an actress. Star director Steven Spielberg saw Goldberg on Broadway in New York and offered her the lead role in the Southern drama “The Color Purple.” “At first I refused,” the actress once said in an interview. “Nobody wants to embarrass themselves.” Then she was persuaded – and was rewarded with an Oscar nomination for Best Actress
Five years later, Goldberg was nominated for an Oscar again, this time for Best Supporting Actress in the drama “Ghost,” and this time she won. Dressed as a singing nun, Goldberg soon showed her comedic side in “Sister Act,” finally achieving her breakthrough. For a time, she was considered the highest-paid actress in the world.
Difficult childhood, unstable relationships
But life was never truly easy for Goldberg; she always had to assert herself loudly. She was born Caryn Elaine Johnson, the daughter of a nurse and teacher and a minister, in a public housing project in Manhattan. Her mother raised her alone; Goldberg dropped out of school, lived on the streets for a while, used drugs, and worked various jobs to make ends meet
Her own family life never truly stabilized either. Goldberg was married three times and divorced three times. Her only daughter, Alexandrea, became pregnant at 14. “That was pretty astonishing. But I said, ‘Okay, let’s stick together and get through this.’”
Goldberg considers daughter a “terrible actress”
The baby went to live with Goldberg’s mother, while Alexandrea also launched a film career. She appeared alongside her mother in “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.” Goldberg says her relationship with her daughter, who now has three children, is good—even though she ultimately advised her against pursuing a film career
“She’s a terrible actress. I told her, ‘Maybe it’s just not for you.’” Daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren, and now even a great-grandchild—that’s enough family for her, says Goldberg. She doesn’t want to get married again. “I’m not looking for someone to be with or live with forever. I don’t want anyone in my house.”
Testamentary ban on holograms
Goldberg already has specific ideas about what will happen after her death. “I don’t want to be a hologram. That’s been in my will for 15 years.” She finds these three-dimensional projections of people like Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston “a little creepy, eerie.” “I’ll just be dust in the wind. I’ll travel the world, I’ll be everywhere. Maybe I’ll be in your garden.”
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