Happy Birthday, Whoopi Goldberg: See the EGOT Winner's Life in Photos

By Jane Asher
Updated Nov 13, 2016 @ 7:30 am
Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.
Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty

Actress, comedian, talk show host, Broadway star, and all-around awesome human being, Whoopi Goldberg turns 61 years old today, and to commemorate the momentous occasion, we're taking a look back at her impressive EGOT life in photos.

What's an EGOT, you ask? When an actor or entertainer manages to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, they are inducted into the (unofficial) EGOT club, which today includes just 12 entertainers (among them are Audrey Hepburn, actor-director Mel Brooks, and composer Richard Rogers).

Goldberg's first win came in 1985, a best comedy album Grammy Award for Whoopi Goldberg – Original Broadway Show Recording. She then made her her mark on Hollywood the same year in the moving film The Color Purple, starring alongside Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover as Celie Johnson, a young African-American woman growing up in the South. The movie premiered to critical success and the rising actress won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.

She went on to star in 1990's Ghost, for which she won an Oscar in the best supporting actress category. In 2002 she won an outstanding special class program Daytime Emmy for hosting Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel, an AMC special.

That same year Goldberg won her Tony Award, the final piece of the EGOT puzzle, as a producer of the Broadway musical Thoroughly Modern Millie, which won best musical in 2002.

VIDEO: Emmy Awards 2016: See the Stars on the Red Carpet

Happy birthday to the extremely talented entertainer! Take a look at her best on and off screen moments from over the years below.

Start Slideshow

1 of 10

The Color Purple, 1985

Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

Goldberg's first major movie role as Celie Johnson won her a Golden Globe Award for best actress in 1986.

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 10

28th Annual Grammy Awards, 1986

Credit: Ron Galella/WireImage

Goldberg holds a Grammy Award for best comedy recording, her first trophy on her way to EGOT status.

3 of 10

Ghost, 1990

Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

Goldberg starred alongside Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze as Oda Mae Brown, a medium who helps a murdered Swayze make things right and connect with his mourning girlfriend (Moore) in the mortal world.

Advertisement

4 of 10

63rd Academy Awards, 1991

Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage

Goldberg won an Oscar in the best supporting actress category for her work in 1990's Ghost.

5 of 10

Sister Act, 1992

Credit: Gado/Getty

Another one of Goldberg's career-defining roles is Deloris, a singer from Reno who witnesses a murder and is then hidden in a convent under a witness protection program. Many laughs and many songs ensue.

6 of 10

Girl, Interrupted, 1999

Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

Although many people remember this film for Angelina Jolie's enigmatic and Oscar-winning performance as Lisa, we can't forget Goldberg's turn as nurse Valerie.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 10

Host of the 74th Academy Awards, 2002

Credit: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty

Goldberg hosted the show for the fourth and final (as of now) time in 2002.

8 of 10

56th Annual Tony Awards, 2002

Credit: James Devaney/WireImage

Goldberg completed her EGOT with a Tony Award for her production work on Thoroughly Modern Millie, which won best musical that year.

9 of 10

The View, 2007 to Today

Credit: Heidi Gutman/ABC

Goldberg first joined The View as one of the show's hosts in 2007 and won a Daytime Emmy for her work on it in 2009. She's still going strong as a moderator on the show today.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

10 of 10

Walking the Opening Ceremony Fashion Show, 2016

Credit: JP Yim/Getty

Goldberg walked in the politically charged Opening Ceremony fashion show at NYFW in September 2016. The EGOT champ killed it, as per usual.

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Up Next

By Jane Asher