Whoopi Goldberg breakthrough role was playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South in the period drama film The Color Purple (1985). For her performance, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
While on Broadway, Goldberg's performance caught the eye of director Steven Spielberg. He was about to direct the film The Color Purple, based on the novel by Pulitzer Prize winner Alice Walker, and offered her a leading role. The Color Purple was released in late 1985 and was a critical and commercial success. It was later nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including a nomination for Goldberg as Best Actress.
After hearing Alice Walker read The Color Purple on the radio, Whoopi Goldberg says she took it upon herself to write the author a letter. If she ever turned her novel into a movie, Whoopi would love to play "dirt on the floor." As it turns out, Walker already knew who Whoopi was—and she wanted her for a much bigger role. Watch to see why Whoopi wasn't allowed to tell anyone she had landed the leading role of Celie, and how she felt walking onto the set that first day.
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