That is, an ego. The amused triple award winner – EGOT stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony – and renowned comedian, actor, and talk show co-host sheepishly recalled the distinction that began off a list of accolades shared by only 15 other individuals on the earth.
Denzel Washington presented Goldberg with the 1991 Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as clairvoyant Oda Mae Brown in “Ghost” 30 years ago.
On the anniversary of the historic occasion, Variety showed her footage of the victory, which understandably brought back emotions.
“I looked really good,” she told Variety after viewing the clip over Zoom. “My hair was cool. The dress was cute.”
In an exclusive interview and cover story for Variety, she revealed that the dress was a black sequined gown by costume designer Nolan Miller, with whom she has previously collaborated.
“I couldn’t look glamorous like other people look glamorous,” she told Variety. “I wasn’t thin and I wasn’t a white lady, so I had to find my own style.”
As she won the historic prize, she looked stunning on the dais, thanking her family, co-stars Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore, and director Jerry Zucker.
Tiffany Haddish, a pre-teen, was one of the 42 million people who watched the address, according to Variety. Haddish, a huge fan of Goldberg’s, claimed she was too young to comprehend what she was seeing at the time. Since Hattie McDaniel won best-supporting actress for “Gone With the Wind” in 1939, Goldberg was the first Black actress to receive an Academy Award.
“When I saw [her win], I was like, ‘She’s amazing,’” Haddish told Variety. “I didn’t understand the enormity of what an Oscar was at that time. All I knew was that she deserved it.”
Goldberg had previously been nominated for the best actress award for her performance in “The Color Purple” in 1986. Halle Berry would not win the Academy Award for Best Actress for “Monster’s Ball” until 2001, a decade later.
After winning a Tony Award for producing Thoroughly Modern Millie and a Daytime Emmy for “Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel,” Goldberg became an EGOT in 2002. Her Grammy was for “Whoopi Goldberg: Direct from Broadway” in 1985.
These days, Goldberg is renowned for squabbling with co-host Meghan McCain on “The View,” lambasting a specific former president and tongue-lashing his disgruntled supporters.
She has also signed on to reprise her role as Guinan in Patrick Stewart’s “Star Trek: Picard” and is producing “The Emmett Till Story” while she prepares for a sequel to her earlier hit, “Sister Act 3,” according to Variety.
