Whoopi Goldberg Net Worth

Some people are simply brimming with talent, and one of them is Whoopi Goldberg. She has been gracing the screens since the 80s, making her popular worldwide. You may know her from ABC’s “The View” show, Sister Act, or the famous Lion King animation movie. Goldberg is considered a legend in the entertainment industry and holds numerous awards for her impeccable acting performance. She stands out as one of 16 entertainers to win the EGOT(Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and a Tony Award.)

Let’s look at Whoopi Goldberg net worth, her journey to stardom, and the milestones in her career.

What Is Whoopi Goldberg Net Worth?

 Whoopi Goldberg’s net worth is $60 million, with an $8 million annual salary. She is a comedian, actress, talk show host, singer-songwriter, author, and political activist. 

A better part of Golberg’s fortune came from her acting career and hosting TV shows, the most lucrative being The View. Also, being an author and disco joker, among many other professions, has contributed to her wealth. According to data from multiple sources, Whoopi reportedly earns about $8 million annually for her role on ABC’s The View.

Whoopi is one of just sixteen celebrities to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Academy Award, and a Tony Award in the same year. It’s no surprise, therefore, that her net worth is that much.

Who Is Whoopi Goldberg?

Her real name is Caryn Elaine Johnson, born on November 13, 1955, in Manhattan, New York. She’s the daughter of Emma Johnson and Robert James Johnson.

Whoopi Goldberg has been married three times. For six years (1973 to 1979), she was married to Alvin Martin. She later got married to David Claessen for two years (from 1986 to 1988), and finally Lyle Trachtenberg for a year (1994 to 1995). Whoopi has also had celebrity affairs with famous people like Ted Danson and Frank Langella.

Goldberg has a daughter, Alexander Martin, who is also an actress. Their single mum raised her and her brother Clyde K. Johnson (late) in a public housing project. She attended St. Columba’s Catholic School, Elliot, and later attended Washington Irving High School, which she later dropped.

In 1970, Goldberg relocated to San Diego and worked as a waitress. She then moved to Berkeley, where she did small jobs, including a mortuary cosmetologist, bricklayer, and bank teller. Goldberg later joined the Blake Street Hawkeyes troupe and theater productions, teaching acting and comedy. She later took acting classes given by Uta Hagen, a German American actress.

Goldberg says her nickname “Whoopie” comes from the whoopee cushion because of excessive flatulence, while “Goldberg” is a family name. 

Whoopi Goldberg’s Career

Her first onscreen role was in 1982 on Citizen: I’m Not Losing My Mind, I’m Giving It Away. According to her, there were fewer acting jobs for women of color. This motivated her to start a hilarious one-woman show, The Spook Show, in 1983, in which she assumed different characters.

After holding several shows, director Mike Nichols showed interest in her, and he helped move the show to Broadway. The show was renamed Whoopi Goldberg, and this was where Steven Spielberg discovered her. She then starred in Bagdad Cafe comedy.

Her first big break was in “The Color Purple,” a film where she played Celie Harris, where she’s abused by her husband and eventually finds love with another woman. The film was a major success and was nominated for 11 Academy awards. By the end of the 1980s, Goldberg had starred in seven films.

The 90s were the best years in Goldberg’s acting career as she starred in a series of successful films such as Ghost which featured famous actors, Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore..

With Ghost, she was the first African American woman to be nominated for both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress. She went on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the second black woman to win an Academy Award for acting. Furthermore, Whoopi starred in Sister Act, a masterpiece during that time. She was nominated for Golden Globe Awards while the film grossed over $200 million.

Goldberg also starred in films and comedies such as Sister Act 2, Sarafina, The Lion King, Corrina, Corrina, The Player, and Nobody’s Fool.  In addition to acting, Whoopi has hosted several talk shows and game shows over her career, including “The View” and “The Whoopi Goldberg Show.”

Goldberg was the first woman of color to host the Academy Awards ceremony. She has won numerous awards and accolades for her performance in the acting industry.

Other Ventures

Besides acting, Goldberg is an author of seven children and four nonfiction books, including Sugar Plum Ballerinas(1- 6), Alice, and Is It Just Me? Or Is It Nuts Out There? She was also a co-founder of the Whoopie-Maya company that made cannabis products to help women who experience painful menstrual cramps. However, the company was closed in 2020 because of disputes with Maya Elizabeth, her partner.

Property

Goldberg is known to have enormous and luxurious residences. For example, she had a home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, which she bought in 1993 for $2.527, but she sold it for 8.8 billion in 2018. In addition, she also purchased a Victorian-style home in Berkeley in 1985. She had bought the house for $335,000 but later sold it for more than $2 million.

In 2003, Goldberg bought a home in Vermont on 765 acres of land for $960,000. She sold it for $1.5 million. Furthermore, she purchased a deluxe in Soho, New York, in 2007 and sold it in 2010 for $7.4 million.

Currently, the Academy winner lives in a Georgian Colonial-style mansion in a gated community in Llewellyn Park, New Jersey. She purchased the home in 2009 for $2.8 million.

Philanthropy

Goldberg has supported several charity organizations, such as AIDS LIFE, Red Cross, Save the Children, UNICEF, and Comic Relief. She’s also an advocate for human rights, where she’s known to be in the moderating panel on terrorism, children and arms conflict, and violent extremism. She’s also a big supporter of the LGBTQ community.

Whoopi Goldberg Life Facts

• In 1978, Goldberg witnessed a plane collision which made her suffer from Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and she became aerophobic.
• Goldberg revealed she was a drug addict before she became a household name. According to her, “it was a rite of passage.” She was also an adept tobacco consumer, but she quit after watching a film of two children who suffered cystic fibrosis.
• The Oscar-award-winning actress knew she wanted to be in the acting industry when she was little. She even pretended that she had Oscar speeches in front of her family. The amazing part is that her mother supported and encouraged her throughout; she even took her to watch films.
• When Goldberg was young, she used to struggle to read and write. She was always referred to as “dumb,” which contributed to her dropping from school. She later came to learn that she had dyslexia.
• On January 31, 2022, Goldberg was suspended from ABC’s “The View” for two weeks over hurtful remarks while on the show. She argued the Holocaust was not about race; instead, it was about man’s inhumanity to man. However, she apologized on Twitter the same day and on the show the following day.

What’s Next for Whoopi Goldberg?

Over 30 years have passed since Goldberg starred in Sister Act 2, but now the Oscar winner might grace the screens with Sister Act 3. So, naturally, everyone is excited and hoping that the film will be better than ever after all these years and an EGOT later. This move may also increase Whoopi Goldberg’s net worth.

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