The actress has already achieved EGOT status.
Now, finally, shes a Master of Culture.
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For a solid decade, Whoopi Goldberg was the funniest woman in America.
Whenever the three appeared on a stage together, it was appointment TV.
They had chemistry as a trio of troublemakers.
On paper, it seems difficult to quantify what made Goldberg, now 64, such a star.
OrClaras Heart, in which shes the Jamaican helpmeet to a rich white family?
The capstone, the true pearl of all her onscreen efforts, of course, is Celie.
Shes not a comedian.
Those are not your pussies).
If theres one actress who has inherited a smidge of Goldbergs comedic legacy, its Tracee Ellis Ross.
The other element is what puts Goldberg in a class of her own.
Often, when she made everyone laugh, she was talking shit about potential bosses.
One can imagine her film work finding new life among the lip-syncing TikTok set.
Will it matter if its any good or if shes any good in it?
That rasp, those locs, that wit theyre indelible.
Soraya Nadia McDonald is the culture critic forThe Undefeated.
