The daughter of Robert James Johnson Jr., a Baptist pastor, and Emma Johnson, a nurse, and teacher, Caryn Elaine Johnson was born in Manhattan, New York City, on November 13, 1955.
She was reared in the Chelsea-Elliot Houses, a public housing development in New York City.
She was reared by her mother, who Goldberg characterized as a “stern, strong, and smart woman,” along with her brother Clyde. She went to a nearby Catholic school called St. Columba’s.
She left Washington Irving High School. Whoopi’s recent ancestors came from Faceville, Georgia, Palatka, Florida, and Virginia.
In an incident recounted by Nichelle Nichols in Trekkies (1997), a little Goldberg was watching Star Trek when she exclaimed, “Uhura!” “Momma! A black woman is on television but is not a maid!”
Thanks to this, Goldberg has been a longtime admirer of Star Trek. She finally requested and was given the part of Guinan on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
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In the 1970s, Goldberg relocated to Berkeley, California, where she worked odd jobs as a bricklayer, bank teller, and mortuary cosmetologist. She also worked as a server in San Diego, California.
Courtney Love was one of her acting pupils when she joined the avant-garde theatrical group Blake Street Hawkeyes and started teaching comedy and acting. In addition, Goldberg participated in several plays.
She saw a midair collision of two planes in San Diego in 1978, which led to post-traumatic stress disorder and her developing a fear of flying.
