Whoopi Gldberg came to prominence in her Oscar nominated role in The Color Purple, but gained major recognition for her role in Ghost and commercial success in Sister Act. She also appeared in Star Trek: The Next Generation. She is one of the few people to win an Emmy Award, Grammy Award, Academy Award, and Tony Award. Her initial break through was as a stand up comedian in a show that was picked up by Mike Nichols. That led to Steven Spielberg casting her in The Color Purple and for which she got an Oscar nomination. She returned to her comedy roots in Jumpin Jack Flash that was also a thriller. Her next siginifcant role was in Ghost for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. The Long Walk Home was a politacl stament of civil rights and then she was back to comedy with Soapdish. This was followed by Sister Act which was a big commercial success. In the mix of her comedies she also played several detectives including in The Deep End of the Ocean. Girl Interrupted was a differnt style of film. She has continued to work on television and also in films. her film roles have not been starring roles, but are powerful and important in the films.
