Whoopi Goldberg Net Worth

What is Whoopi Goldberg's net worth and salary?

Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, author, talk show host, singer-songwriter, and political activist who has a net worth of $20 million. Whoopi Goldberg rose to prominence in the mid-1980s and quickly became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars through the 1990s. Known for her sharp comedic timing and dramatic range, Goldberg built a career that spanned film, television, theater, and music. She is one of the few entertainers in history to achieve EGOT status, winning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Her Grammy came in 1986 for Best Comedy Recording, her Oscar in 1991 for Best Supporting Actress in "Ghost," her Tony in 2002 for producing "Thoroughly Modern Millie," and her Daytime Emmy in 2002 for "Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel."

Goldberg's breakout came with Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple" in 1985, and she went on to star in a string of box-office successes, including "Ghost," "Sister Act," and Disney's "The Lion King." On television, she has been a fixture on "The View" since 2007, where she serves as moderator and co-host. In addition to her entertainment career, Goldberg has been an outspoken activist, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, lending her voice to causes including LGBT rights, HIV/AIDS awareness, and social justice.

Salary

Whoopi's annual salary for co-hosting "The View" is $6 million.

Whoopi Goldberg was born Caryn Elaine Johnson in New York City on November 13, 1955. She attended St. Columba's, a Catholic school in Manhattan's Chelsea-Elliot neighborhood. Struggling with dyslexia, she eventually dropped out of high school. In her youth, she lived briefly in East Germany, working in theater productions before moving to Berkeley, California. There she took on a series of odd jobs, including waiting tables and bricklaying, while pursuing acting through the Blake Street Hawkeyes theater collective. She also taught comedy and acting classes while honing her craft in experimental theater.

Film and Television Career

Goldberg's screen debut came in the 1982 experimental film "Citizen: I'm Not Losing My Mind, I'm Giving It Away." She then developed her one-woman stage show, "Whoopi Goldberg," in 1983, built around a series of character monologues. The show transferred to Broadway, running for 156 performances and earning her national acclaim.

Her breakthrough came in 1985 when Steven Spielberg cast her as Celie in "The Color Purple." The performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. In 1990, she starred opposite Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in "Ghost," which earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and cemented her status as a major star.

In 1992, she led the hit comedy "Sister Act," which grossed more than $200 million and spawned the sequel "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit." Goldberg became the first Black woman to host the Academy Awards in 1994, later hosting three more times. Throughout the 1990s, she appeared in films including "Corrina, Corrina," "The Little Rascals," and "Boys on the Side." She also became a recurring character in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" as Guinan.

In the 2000s, Goldberg expanded into producing, serving as executive producer of "Hollywood Squares" from 1998 to 2004. She also acted in "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," "Girl, Interrupted," and "Rat Race." Later projects included Tyler Perry's "For Colored Girls" (2010), Pixar's "Toy Story 3" (2010), and Perry's "Nobody's Fool" (2018). She also developed the Oxygen reality series "Strut" in 2016.

The View

In 2007, Goldberg joined "The View" as moderator, replacing Rosie O'Donnell. Her debut drew 3.4 million viewers and lifted ratings by seven percent. Known for her candid opinions, she has often stirred controversy, including a 2022 suspension after remarks about the Holocaust that sparked widespread criticism. Despite controversies, she has remained central to the program's identity and has been nominated for more than 20 Daytime Emmys for her work on the show.

(Photo by D Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Other Ventures

Beyond acting and television, Goldberg has authored several books for both children and adults. She has continued stage work, producing and occasionally starring in Broadway productions, including a 2010 revival of "Sister Act." As an entrepreneur, she co-founded Whoopi & Maya, a medical cannabis company focused on women's health, which closed in 2020. In 2021, she launched "Emma & Clyde," a cannabis line honoring her late mother and brother.

Accolades

Goldberg has collected more than 50 awards across her career. In addition to her EGOT honors, she won a BAFTA and Golden Globe for "Ghost," three People's Choice Awards, and the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2001. She was inducted as a Disney Legend in 2017 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001. At one point in the 1990s, she was rumored to be the highest-paid actress in Hollywood.

Activism

Goldberg has long been involved in activism. She marched for LGBTQ rights and AIDS awareness in the 1980s, received GLAAD's Vanguard Award in 1999, and co-launched Cyndi Lauper's "Give a Damn" campaign in 2010. She also contributed to Comic Relief, raising funds for homelessness and health causes, and serves on the advisory council of the National Museum of American Illustration.

Personal Life

Goldberg has been married three times: Alvin Martin (1973–1979), David Claessen (1986–1988), and Lyle Trachtenberg (1994–1995). She has one daughter, Alexandrea Martin, who followed her into acting and producing. Goldberg became a grandmother at 34 and is also a great-grandmother.

She has been open about her struggles with dyslexia, drug addiction, and PTSD following a plane crash she witnessed in 1978. Goldberg has also publicly discussed her abortion experience in the anthology "The Choices We Made: Twenty-Five Women and Men Speak Out About Abortion." She has had high-profile relationships with Ted Danson and Frank Langella, but has stated she does not plan to marry again.

Her mother, Emma, died in 2010, and her brother, Clyde, passed away in 2015.

Real Estate

Over the years, Whoopi Goldberg has owned an impressive portfolio of properties across the United States. In 1993, she purchased a Pacific Palisades mansion in Los Angeles for about $2.6 million, which she later sold in 2018 for $8.8 million. She also maintained a 745-acre estate in Marlboro, Vermont, which she sold in 2012 for roughly $1.5 million. Goldberg once owned a historic Victorian home in Berkeley, California, that she sold in 2015 for just over $2 million, and she previously held a SoHo loft in Manhattan's 101 Wooster Street building that changed hands in 2010 for approximately $3 million.

Her primary residence today is a sprawling estate in the gated Llewellyn Park community of West Orange, New Jersey. Goldberg purchased the property in 2009 for $2.8 million, and it has remained her main home ever since.

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