Content deleted Content added
adding info and link about dyslexia |
|||
Line 3:
==Background==
Goldberg was born in [[New York City]]. As a child, she struggled in school due to dyslexia (though she would not be diagnosed as dyslexic until adulthood). After succeeding as a [[Stand up comedian|stand-up comedian]] in the [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco Bay Area]], Goldberg created a one-woman show in [[1983]] called ''[[The Spook Show]]''. This show caught the attention of [[Mike Nichols]] who produced a one-woman show for Goldberg on [[broadway theatre|Broadway]], called simply ''Whoopi Goldberg'', which ran from [[October 24]], [[1984]] to [[March 10]], [[1985]], for a total of 156 performances. Goldberg's performance caught the eye of [[Steven Spielberg]], who was inspired to cast Goldberg in her film debut, an adaption of the award-winning novel ''[[The Color Purple]]'' by [[Alice Walker]]. This performance garnered her an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] nomination for best actress in [[1986]]. She followed up this performance with a sell-out, highly acclaimed one-woman show on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]. The majority of the films she made in the [[1980s]] featured her in tough-woman comedic roles (''[[Burglar (film)|Burglar]]'', ''[[Fatal Beauty]]'', ''[[Jumpin' Jack Flash (film)|Jumpin' Jack Flash]]''), though she regularly balanced them out by performing in family-oriented films (''[[Clara's Heart]]'').
In danger of fading from public acclaim, she revitalized her career in the role of a fake "spiritualist" who manages to actually make contact with the dead in the tear-jerker ''[[Ghost (film)|Ghost]]'', for which she won an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] award for best supporting actress. She cemented her status as a legendary comedic actress in [[1992]] as a lounge singer who is hidden in a convent (and consequently revitalises their choir) in ''[[Sister Act]]''. She had a recurring role on ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' as [[Guinan]], which she also reprised in two of the ''[[Star Trek]]'' feature films. A life-long ''Star Trek'' fan, as a girl she saw [[Nichelle Nichols]] portraying [[Uhura|Lieutenant Uhura]], and exclaimed, "Momma! Everybody! Come quick — there's a black lady on television, and she ain't no maid!"
Line 180:
* [http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=638&u=/nm/20040714/en_nm/people_goldberg_dc_3&printer=1 Slim-Fast drops Whoopi over anti-Bush riff]
* [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/068815252X Book]
* [http://www.dyslexiaonline.com/famous/famous.htm Interview with Whoopi about her dyslexia]
===Notes===
| |||