What Would Whoopi Goldbergs Career in Movies Look Like if They Were Serious Roles?

Whoopi Goldberg has been one of the biggest names in Hollywood since she began her career in 1981, and she’s starred in some of the most famous movies of all time. The actress and comedienne is also a talk show host on The View, and she moderates the other ladies around the table as well. Her life has been one that many people think they’re familiar with, yet they’re not entirely certain they know much about. She’s been married three times, she’s a self-proclaimed cheater, she was a high-functioning addict for many years and she was a teenage mother. In fact, she was a grandmother at the age of 34 when her own daughter went onto become a teenage mother. Most women are just beginning their families at the age of 34.

Goldberg, despite her troubles (or perhaps because of them), has had a successful career playing roles that are hilarious and entertaining, and the world has loved her for decades. She won an Academy Award for her role in “Ghost”, and she’s actually only one of a very select group of people in Hollywood who have won what is referred to as an EGOT – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony – for her many successful roles.

But, what would Whoopi Goldberg’s movie career look like if her roles were not comedic? For example, what if her role as Oda Mae Brown, the psychic she played in “Ghost”, was not a funny one? Or what if her role in “Sister Act” wasn’t as a lounge singer turned faux nun in hiding from the Mob? Without comedy, would Whoopi Goldberg have taken home an Oscar? To be honest, it’s pretty far-fetched to imagine these roles as ones that aren’t serious – so we vote no. However, despite the fact that most of the movies in which Goldberg has starred are comedic, she did have a serious role in “The Color Purple” and she did excel on a more serious level. Looking at her now, you might not imagine that the often serious, often very difficult to read woman who moderates The View would be as funny as she is, but her career probably could have used a few more serious roles. Her comedic acting is spot on, and her portfolio would look good with a bit of diversity.

Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images

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