Whoopi Goldberg Whoopi Goldberg is the actress and comedian who portrayed Guinan on occasion from Season 2 through Season 6 of . She also appeared uncredited as Guinan in the films and . She earned a Saturn Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress from the Academy of Science Fiction , Fantasy & Horror Films for her appearance in " Generations " . Goldberg was born in New York City , New York , USA , as Caryn Elaine Johnson . As a young girl , she saw Nichelle Nichols on the and ran to her mother , shouting , " " There ' s a black lady on TV and she ain ' t no maid ! " " She was eager to appear in the film and there was some discussion about her possibly portraying a Klingon princess , though the idea was declined by Leonard Nimoy . ( " The View from the Bridge - Memories of Star Trek and a Life in Hollywood " , hardcover ed . , p . 211 ) Goldberg is a " huge fan " of " The Next Generation " and was eager to star in the show . She was later responsible for getting Dwight Schultz his role as Reginald Barclay on " The Next Generation " , having co - starred with Schultz in the 1990 film " The Long Walk Home " . Director Les Landau recalls , " " Whoopi is a pleasure to work with . She ' s very , very creative and inventive . From a personal point - of - view , what was really thrilling was that I was the first director in Hollywood to work with Whoopi after she won the [ Best Supporting Actress ] Oscar for " Ghost " . Whoopi is enthusiastic . Whenever she gets on the set , she knows how to approach the scene . And her instincts are generally right . " " ( ) The writers of the episode intended the character of Martus Mazur to be a son of Guinan who was also to appear in the episode , but Whoopi Goldberg was unavailable . ( " " ) Both she and Chris Sarandon , who was cast to play the rewritten character , appeared in the 1996 motion picture " Bordello of Blood " . DS9 guest star William Sadler also starred in the movie . Goldberg dated and lived with DS9 guest actor Frank Langella for five years , from 1996 through 2000 . The two met on the set of the 1996 comic film " Eddie " . Career . Goldberg trained under famed acting teacher Uta Hagen at the HB Studio in New York . A comedic and acting talent since the 1980s , Goldberg made her first screen appearance in the 1981 ensemble film " Citizen : I ' m Not Losing My Mind , I ' m Giving It Away " , opposite and TNG actor Darryl Henriques . In 1983 , she conceived her own one - woman play , " The Spook Show " . The play was brought to Broadway in October 1984 , simply titled " Whoopi Goldberg " , and ran for 156 performances through March 1985 . The production won Goldberg a Theatre World Award and Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One Person Show . Goldberg ' s breakthrough film role came with her portrayal of Celie Johnson in ' s 1985 drama , " The Color Purple " opposite Leon Rippy . She earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in this film . Also earning Oscar nominations for their work in this film were set designer Linda DeScenna and music adaptor Fred Steiner . In addition to her Oscar nomination , Goldberg won a Golden Globe , an Image Award , and a National Board of Review for her role in " The Color Purple " . She followed this film with an Emmy Award - nominated guest appearance on the television series " Moonlighting " . In the latter half of the 1980s , Goldberg starred in six feature films , including 1986 ' s " Jumpin ' Jack Flash " ( co - starring Stephen Collins , with cinematography by Matthew F . Leonetti ) , 1987 ' s " Fatal Beauty " ( with Brad Dourif and Harris Yulin ) , and 1989 ' s " Homer and Eddie " ( featuring Tony Epper , Tommy " Tiny " Lister , Jr . , Nancy Parsons , Jimmie F . Skaggs , Vincent Schiavelli , and Tracey Walter ; production management by Marty Hornstein ) . Since the 1980s , Goldberg has been hosting the " Comic Relief " HBO specials with fellow comics and Robin Williams . The three of them shared an Emmy nomination for hosting 1995 ' s " Comic Relief VII " . During one of the " Comic Relief " specials , the bridge crew of the finds an old VHS cassette of the special , including a screen capture of the three hosts , mispronouncing her name as " Whoo - pie " and noticing , but dismissing , the resemblance to Guinan . She received her second Academy Award nomination – and her first win – for her supporting role as psychic Oda Mae Brown in the 1990 film " Ghost " , which also starred Stephen Root and Vincent Schiavelli . Other awards she won for this role include a Golden Globe , an Image Award , a Saturn Award ( from the Academy of Science Fiction , Fantasy & Horror Films ) , and a BAFTA ( British Academy of Film and Television Arts ) Award . Goldberg later received an Emmy Award nomination ( her second ) for a 1991 guest appearance on " A Different World " . Among Goldberg ' s best known starring roles is that of Delores Van Cartier , aka " Sister Mary Clarence " , in the 1992 comedy " Sister Act " , for which she won an Image Award and received nominations from the Golden Globes and the MTV Movie Awards . She reprised the role for the 1993 sequel " Sister Act 2 : Back in the Habit " . Her other film credits during the early 1990s include " Soapdish " ( 1991 , with Teri Hatcher ) , " Made in America " ( 1993 , co - starring Clyde Kusatsu ) , and " Corrina , Corrina " ( 1994 , featuring Brent Spiner ) . She also had a cameo at the beginning of National Lampoon ' s " Loaded Weapon 1 " , starring William Shatner . Goldberg hosted the Academy Awards ceremony in 1994 and again in 1996 . She received Emmy nominations for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for both occasions . Goldberg was among the many " Star Trek " performers to appear in the 1996 drama " Ghosts of Mississippi " . Among her co - stars in this film were Bill Cobbs , Spencer Garrett , Jerry Hardin , Thomas Kopache , Jordan Lund , Virginia Madsen , Terry O ' Quinn , Brock Peters , Richard Riehle , Bill Smitrovich , and Susanna Thompson . Goldberg followed this with supporting roles in such films as " How Stella Got Her Groove Back " ( 1998 ) , " The Deep End of the Ocean " ( 1999 ) , and " Girl , Interrupted " ( 1999 ) . In the 2001 comedy " Rat Race " , Goldberg played the mother of Lanei Chapman ' s character , both involved in a chaotic race to win $ 2 million . That film also featured Peggy Jo Jacobs and Andrew Kavovit . That same year , Goldberg made a cameo appearance in " The Hollywood Sign " , starring Dominic Keating . Goldberg has also lent her voices to a number of projects . Perhaps most notable among these is her voice role as Shenzi the hyena in Disney ' s hit 1994 film , " The Lion King " ( the late Madge Sinclair voiced Sarabi in this film ) . She also voiced Gaia on the animated series " Captain Planet and the Planeteers " , working with her " TNG " co - star LeVar Burton . In " The Pagemaster " that same year , Goldberg and her " Next Generation " co - star Patrick Stewart and voice artist Frank Welker were heard as a trio of talking books . Christopher Lloyd starred and voiced in this film , as well , while George Hearn , Robert Picardo , and Leonard Nimoy also had voice roles ; Ed Begley , Jr . had an acting role in the film . More recent voice credits include as a ranger in 1998 ' s " The Rugrats Movie " and the voice of the title reindeer in LeVar Burton ' s " Blizzard " . From 1998 through 2002 , Goldberg was the producer of the popular game show " Hollywood Squares " . She also regularly occupied the famous " center square " on the show . Goldberg received four Daytime Emmy Award nominations as the show ' s producer . Goldberg shared a Tony Award as one of the producers of the Broadway play , " Thoroughly Modern Millie " . She also won a Daytime Emmy Award as host of the 2001 TV documentary " Beyond Tara : The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel " . She earned her latest Emmy nomination for a 2005 televised broadcast of the revival of her one - person play entitled " Whoopi : Back to Broadway - The 20th Anniversary " . In August 2007 , it was announced that Goldberg will become the new moderator on the ABC talk show " The View " , replacing the controversial . Goldberg joined the show on 4 September . Goldberg hosted the 62nd Annual Tony Awards at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City on 15 June 2008 . Her TNG co - star , Patrick Stewart , was a 2008 nominee for his performance in the Broadway production of " Macbeth " . Goldberg can be seen in the new film " For Colored Girls " written and directed by Tyler Perry .