There have been a few “pinch me” moments in my career, but nothing compares to connecting with the illustrious Whoopi Goldberg to learn more about her memoir Bits and Pieces, which comes out tomorrow! Perhaps the most shocking discovery is realizing the parallels our lives share.
Having followed her career for a good chunk of my life, Whoopi’s groundbreaking films like The Color Purple, Ghost, and Corrina, Corrina left a huge impression on me as a kid. Her ability to bring life into the characters she plays is masterful, constantly proving how adept she is — and then some — at what she does. It’s no wonder Whoopi is the first black woman to achieve EGOT status (Emmy, Grammy, Oscars, and Tony awards).
Outside of her (incredible) acting endeavors, Whoopi’s also become an equity partner of the kid-friendly streaming service platform Blkfam, further proving her commitment to ensuring that Black families can see themselves positively reflected in the media from childhood on. Oh, and she founded Whoopi Prosecco while she's at it, because who doesn't love a good drink? She pours intentionality into everything she does — on TV and in your champagne glasses alike.
The fact that the world now gets a chance to become more familiar with the origins of Whoopi's wonderful intentionality through her memoir feels like a gift. Ahead, we talk about how their love set the tone for Whoopi’s outlook on life, how their memory lives on in her, and we get to touch on the active imagination she still feeds today.
Whoopi Goldberg's mother, Emma Johnson
“I feel great. I’m somewhat reluctant to share very much about my personal life ‘cause I feel like so much has already been shared, but it just seems like I needed to do this,” Whoopi said when I ask her how she’s feeling about sharing a very special part of her heart with readers. “I try to listen to my instincts and everything said, ‘Now’s the time. You might as well do it,’ and so I wrote it,” she continued.
And while that passionate impetus ignited the flame, she also admitted that she was beginning to forget things, so she wanted to make sure she remembering as much as she can by telling these stories now.
One thing that hasn’t changed for the actress is how much she sees and hears her mother, not just in herself, but in other family members. “I see it all the time. I hear her, and now my grandkids hear her as well. I have a great-granddaughter — who’s 10 and never got to meet my mother — but my oldest granddaughter talks to her like she is my mother,” she said with a fond smile. It never ceases to amaze me how connected we are to our ancestors even if we’ve never had the pleasure of being in their company.
Whoopi Goldberg and her brother Clyde Johnson.
Whoopi feels incredibly fortunate she was able to have grown up in a household where her mother and brother were. “Listen, I’m really lucky that she was my mother. I feel like it was a good pairing. Same with my brother. I just don’t know what life would’ve been like had I been born to different people with all of my idiosyncrasies,” she said.
And that’s one of the things that stood out to me throughout Bits and Pieces. Whoopi’s mother truly created an environment that fostered the individual personalities of her children, while also teaching them valuable lessons that still live within Whoopi today.
Emma Johnson, Whoopi Goldberg's mother.
“Most of my being is a product of growing up in this particular household; how I listen to people, why I listen to people, how I will and will not allow people to speak to me,” she stated without hesitation, “All of these things that go into her raising children who were aware of themselves and where they might fit in the universe, and her knowing the universe was much bigger than even she understood, so that I could end up anywhere on any planet; the same with my brother. We could end up anywhere and we’d be alright.”
Her mother also made sure that Whoopi and her brother knew not to judge people at first glance until you actually spent time with them, and to be unafraid to disagree with people. “If people don’t want to be your friend after you disagree, then they’re not people for you to be with,” she shared.
The other thing Whoopi recalls about her mother is how intentional she was about not allowing herself to be boxed in by her circumstances as if they were the beginning and ending point of her life. “She just never would accept the world other people kept trying to put her in. She was like, ‘Look, I will do whatever I need to do to get away from this and elevate myself.’ Her attitude was if you’re not curious, you’re not living,” Whoopi said.
Whoopi Goldberg and her mother Emma Johnson.
The more we talked, the more she expressed her gratitude for her mother and brother again. “I don’t know how it could’ve been any better,” she said with pride. “We were three strange people who really loved each other and because she [her mother] loved us, we knew we weren't different like people thought we were,” she reiterated.
She then briefly addressed her dyslexia with me. While that could bring many down — especially actors young in their career — Whoopi's didn't.
“Dyslexia didn’t mean I was not smart. Dyslexia meant that I perceived things differently. She [Whoopi's mother] said, ‘There’s nothing wrong with that. You just have to get used to teaching people because they don’t know how to listen the way you do. You’re listening with different ears. You have to know that everyone is trying to absorb the information that’s out there, but we don’t all hear it the same way…’” Whoopi pointed out.
Whoopi Goldberg as a child
Before our conversation comes to a close, I can’t help but talk about our shared love of all things horror. I literally clapped with delight when I came to the part in the book where she mentions it because it’s something I used to think I had to apologize for as a kid.
Yet, here’s this monumental actress who loves the genre just as much. When I ask her which three horror movies she’d watch back to back, she lit up before saying, “The Haunting — Robert Wise’s version, The Exorcist — a quintessential horror movie in her opinion, and Poltergeist, or Nightmare on Elm Street.”
She recalled that horror movies used to come on television every Saturday night, and she’d watch them because she was too young to go to parties. “I love all of the old Universal monsters, all the Hammer monsters. I want a movie about all of them.”
When she’s not watching horror movies, Whoopi feeds her imagination by listening to audiobooks at night. She said, “For me, imagination still comes from someone telling me a story and I can end up wherever I end up in the book.” As far as whether people allow themselves to be in touch with their inner child, she said people can lose it because they don’t realize how important that inner child plays.
“But they find it. They go looking for it,” she said with that familiar smile I can’t believe has followed me from my television to my computer screen.
Whoopi Goldberg as a little girl.
Based on our conversation and the way she poured her love into Bits and Pieces, it’s easy to understand that the timing of her memoir couldn’t be more perfect — that intention plus action matters.
My own childhood is full of memories where my mother and older sister were the center of my universe. For a while, it was just the three of us in our small home before my stepdad and stepbrother came into the picture. The days spent with with them consisted of free trips to the library, Wild Adventures, feeding ducks at Lake Ella in Tallahassee, Florida, and so much more — not that different from Whoopi's days with her family.
It's always heartwarming when you get a chance to talk to other people and realize that our experiences aren't always that different. It's why I can confidently say that readers will be surprised at how full their hearts are by the time they reach the last page of Bits and Pieces. It’s a beautiful look at not just Whoopi's soul, but the endearing moments she shared with her family, her ancestry, and ultimately with all of us along the way.
Pre-Order Whoopi Goldberg's Memoir "Bits and Pieces" Today:
Be sure you order your copy of Whoopi Goldberg's memoir Bits and Pieces today. You're truly in for a treat — and just in time for Mother's Day!
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Lead image via Timothy White
