Whoopi Goldberg Reminisces On Her Oscar Win For The Movie, 'Ghost'

Whoopi Goldberg recently relived the moment of her historic Oscar wins for her role in "Ghost." As she played the clip from the 1991 awards in her home in New Jersey, Goldberg burst into a smile as host Denzel Washington opened the envelope and announced her as the best-supporting actress for her role as psychic Oda Mae Brown.

She talked about what she wore and other experiences. "I looked excellent," she mentioned. "My hair was cool. The dress was cute."

In the video, Goldberg donned a black glittering column gown from professional designer Nolan Miller. "I couldn't look glamorous like other people look glamorous. I wasn't thin, and I wasn't a white lady, so I had to find my style."

As she continued watching the video, Goldberg observed that it was great to see her brother Clyde Johnson who died in 2015. "I remember just being happy to be there, get the speech out of the way, and get off the stage."

"Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted this," Goldberg said in the video. "My brother's sitting there. He says, 'Thank God we don't have to listen to her anymore.'"

In the video clip, the iconic star admitted to getting stoned before accepting her award. "Smoking cigarettes and pot now and then are my habits. And I thought, 'I've got to relax.' So I smoked this wonderful joint that was the last of my homegrown," Goldberg explained.

She also disclosed that she was shocked by her win that she became terrified of making it up the stage.

"When the presenter Denzel Washington said my name and I popped up, I thought, 'Oh f—…okay, up the stairs … around the podium there are millions of people, pick up the statue, get the statue," she said.

Although she behaved like all was well, she mentioned that her mother could see through her facade. She could tell that her daughter was stoned because of her glistening eyes and later called to chastise her.

"My mother called me and said, 'You smoked, didn't you?' The "The View" co-host recalled. "I know you are not meant to admit that you smoked pot, but just because I do it doesn't mean you should," she added.

Actor Patrick Swayze played a massive role in helping Goldberg get into the movie and invariably winning an Oscar. In an interview with Loose Women, the "Color Purple" actress explained how the actor fought for Goldberg to get the role.

"He got hired to do Ghost," Goldberg shared. "And asked them, 'Why hasn't Whoopi Goldberg…have you talked to her?' And they were like, 'No, no, we didn't go to her.' And he was like, 'Why not?'"

"He said, 'No, no, I'm not committing to this until I talk to her and see if she wants to do this movie,'" Goldberg added.

The actor would later ask her if she was interested in the role. When she replied in the affirmative, he gave out a deadline.

He [Patrick Swayze] said, 'If You're not gonna hire her, I will not be in this film,'" Goldberg reminisced.

Goldberg's Oscar win was not only motivational; it was historic. On that night, she became the first Black woman to receive an Oscar in 50 years. 

The first Black person to bag the award in any category was Hattie McDaniel in 1940. She was a supporting actress in "Gone With the Wind." 

 After that, only three people of color have received the honor: Sidney Poitier, who won the best actor for "Lilies of the Field," Denzel Washington, who won the best supporting actor in 1990 for "Glory," and Louis Gossett Jr., best-supporting actor for "An Officer and a Gentleman."

However, this wasn't Goldberg's first win. In 1986, she earned a nomination for best actress in "The Color Purple." She also had a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. "I didn't want to jinx it," she explained. "I just thought, 'You've got to go in this without any expectations, and whatever happens, happens.'"

Even after its production, no one would have predicted the box office behemoth the movie would be.

"We weren't sure what the hell we were shooting," Goldberg mentioned. On the set, she and Swayze said jokingly that the movie might be "the dopest thing we've ever done."

"I don't think any of us thought it would have this sort of impact," she adds. "And then the box office numbers started coming in, and everybody was like, 'Do we have a back end on this movie? Because I'd like some.'"

"Ghost" swung around the top two spots about two months after its release. It didn't fall out of the top five until Thanksgiving weekend. It became the highest-grossing movie of the year, totaling about 217 million dollars globally and $500 million worldwide.