Claim: Sister Act features an American actress in a lead role.

Sister Act is a 1992 American musical comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Joseph Howard . Featuring musical arrangements by Marc Shaiman , the film stars Whoopi Goldberg as a Reno lounge singer who has been put under protective custody in a San Francisco convent of Poor Clares and has to pretend to be a nun when a mob boss puts her on his hit list . Also in the cast are Maggie Smith , Kathy Najimy , Wendy Makkena , Mary Wickes , and Harvey Keitel .   One of the most financially successful comedies of the early 1990s , grossing $ 231 million worldwide , the film was rated # 83 on Bravo 's The 100 Funniest Movies list .   It spawned a 1993 sequel , entitled Sister Act 2 : Back in the Habit , and a musical adaptation that premiered at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena , California , in 2006 , and opened at the West End 's London Palladium with previews from May 7 , 2009 . The musical then opened on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre in April 2011 , with previews beginning March 24 , 2011 .