Whoopi Goldberg: The Life Story Behind the EGOT Star
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Chelsea, New York and the Girl Who Became Whoopi
Caryn Elaine Johnson, who would become Whoopi Goldberg, was born on 13 November 1955 in New York City, and she was raised in the Chelsea-Elliot Houses, a public housing project in the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan, by her mother, Emma Johnson, a nurse and a teacher, and her father, Robert James Johnson Jr., a clergyman, who left the family when she was young. She has dyslexia, a learning difficulty that made school hard for her, and she dropped out of high school, a decision that she has described as a practical one, because the classroom was not a place where she could learn, and she went to work, taking jobs as a bricklayer, a bank teller and a beautician, while she dreamed of performing. The name Whoopi came from a whoopee cushion, a joke about her flatulence, and Goldberg was a name she adopted, partly because her mother said it sounded Jewish, and partly because it sounded like a stage name, and the combination, Whoopi Goldberg, was as distinctive as the woman herself.
She moved to California in the 1970s, living in San Diego and then in Berkeley, where she worked with the Blake Street Hawkeyes theatre company and began to develop the one-woman show that would make her famous, a show built around characters she had observed, from a young girl to an old woman, from a drug addict to a surfer, each played with a different voice, a different posture, a different life. The show, which she called The Spook Show, was a collection of monologues, funny and sad, that showed a performer who could become anyone, and it was performed in small theatres in California, where audiences were struck by the range and the humanity of the characters, and by the fact that a single woman, with no set and no costume changes, could hold a stage for two hours. She also worked as a waitress and as a nanny, and she has spoken about the years of struggle, about living on little money and about the determination that kept her going, a determination that came from her mother, who had raised two children alone and who had taught her daughter to be independent.
New York gave her a particular perspective: she grew up in a housing project, she saw the city from the bottom, and that experience, of being poor, of being Black, of being dyslexic, of being a woman who did not fit the usual mould of a leading lady, gave her a comedy that was rooted in observation, in the details of ordinary life, and in the voices of people who are rarely heard on stage. She was not a stand-up comedian in the usual sense; she was a character actor who did comedy, a performer who could disappear into a role and then reappear as someone else, and that skill, which she learned on the streets of Chelsea and in the theatres of Berkeley, would carry her through the next forty years.
The Spook Show: A One-Woman Act That Reached Broadway
The Spook Show, which premiered in Berkeley in 1983, was a breakthrough, and it caught the attention of the director Mike Nichols, one of the most respected figures in American theatre, who saw the show and decided to bring it to Broadway, with the title Whoopi Goldberg, and the production, which opened in October 1984, was a critical and commercial success, running for 156 performances and earning Whoopi a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for the recording of the show. The Broadway run was a remarkable achievement for a performer who had been working in small theatres a year earlier, and it established her as a serious artist, not just a comedian, and it introduced her to the New York theatre world, which embraced her as a new voice, one that was funny, political and deeply human. The show’s characters, including Fontaine, a drug addict, and a little girl with a disability, were not caricatures but portraits, played with empathy and with a comic timing that made the audience laugh and then think.
The success of the Broadway show led to film offers, and the most important of them came from Steven Spielberg, who cast her as Celie in The Color Purple, a film based on Alice Walker’s novel about a Black woman in the early twentieth-century South who survives abuse and finds her voice, and the role, which was Whoopi’s first in a film, was a dramatic one, with no comedy, and it required a performance of great restraint and great power. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the role, a remarkable achievement for a first film, and the film, which was released in 1985, was a critical success, although it was controversial for its depiction of Black men, and it established Whoopi as a film actor of serious ability, not just a comedian who had made a lucky break.
The transition from stage to screen was not easy, and Whoopi has spoken about the difficulty of adjusting to film acting, about learning to be still, to let the camera come to her, and about the support she received from Spielberg, who understood her talent and who gave her the space to find the character. The Color Purple was also a lesson in the politics of Hollywood, about the kinds of roles that were available to Black women, about the expectations that came with being a dramatic actor, and about the need to choose roles carefully, a lesson that she would apply throughout her career, choosing films that let her be funny, dramatic and, above all, herself.
The Color Purple and the Film Star Arrives
Ghost, released in 1990, was the film that made Whoopi Goldberg a star, and it was a role that was written for her, a psychic named Oda Mae Brown, a con artist who discovers that she can really communicate with the dead, and who helps the ghost of Sam Wheat, played by Patrick Swayze, to protect his girlfriend, played by Demi Moore. The performance was funny, warm and moving, and it won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, making her the first Black woman to win that award in more than fifty years, and it established her as a box-office star, with a screen presence that was unlike anyone else’s. The film itself was a huge commercial success, one of the highest-grossing films of the year, and Oda Mae Brown became one of the most beloved characters in 1990s cinema, a role that Whoopi has returned to in her stage work and that audiences still quote.
Sister Act, released in 1992, was another hit, with Whoopi playing Deloris Van Cartier, a lounge singer who hides in a convent after witnessing a murder, and the film’s mix of comedy, music and heart made it one of the most successful comedies of the year, with a soundtrack that sold millions and a sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, released in 1993, that introduced a young Lauryn Hill to a wider audience. The Sister Act films showed a different side of Whoopi, a singer, a comedian and a leading lady, and they proved that she could carry a film on her own, without a male co-star, a rarity for a Black woman in Hollywood at the time. She also appeared in the film’s stage adaptation, which she produced, and which has been performed around the world, a sign of the enduring popularity of the story.
The early 1990s were the peak of her film career, with roles in Soapdish, The Player, Sarafina! and Corrina, Corrina, each of which showed a different facet of her talent, from comedy to drama to musical performance, and she became one of the most recognisable faces in American cinema, with a screen presence that was warm, funny and unmistakable. She was also a frequent host of the Academy Awards, hosting the ceremony four times, in 1994, 1996, 1999 and 2002, a role that requires a combination of comedy, timing and grace, and her hosting was praised for its warmth and its wit, and for the way she handled a difficult room, a skill that she would later use on daytime television.
Ghost, Sister Act and the Biggest Years
In 1988 she joined the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation as Guinan, a mysterious, wise bartender on the starship Enterprise, a role that she had asked for, because she was a fan of the original Star Trek and of Nichelle Nichols, who had played Uhura, and the role, which she played for five seasons, made her a beloved figure in science fiction, with Guinan’s calm, knowing presence becoming a fan favourite. She returned to the role in the film Star Trek Generations in 1994 and in the series Star Trek: Picard in 2022, a return that delighted fans who had grown up with her performance, and the role, which required her to be still, to listen and to speak with authority, was a contrast to her comedy work, and it showed a range that few performers possess. She has spoken about the importance of Star Trek, about its vision of a future in which diversity was normal, and about the influence of Nichelle Nichols, who had inspired her as a child to believe that a Black woman could be on television.
She also became a familiar face on television as a host and a commentator, co-founding Comic Relief USA with Billy Crystal and Robin Williams in 1986, a charity that raised money for homeless people, and hosting the show for many years, and she appeared as a guest on talk shows, on game shows and on dramas, with a versatility that made her a sought-after performer. Her television work was not just about acting; it was about being a public figure, a voice that audiences trusted, and that trust, which she built over decades, would become the foundation of her later career on daytime television, where she would become one of the most recognisable faces in America.
The 1990s also saw her become an author, publishing books for children and for adults, including a memoir, and a series of children’s books featuring the character Sugar Plum Ballerina, a young dancer, which reflected her own love of dance and her desire to create stories for children who did not see themselves in books. The books, which were illustrated and warm, were a different kind of creative work, one that let her use her storytelling skills in a new medium, and they showed a side of her that was gentle and nurturing, a contrast to the sharp comedy for which she was best known.
Guinan, Star Trek and the Television Years
In 2007 she joined the daytime talk show The View as a co-host and moderator, replacing Rosie O’Donnell, and the role, which she has held for nearly two decades, made her a daily presence in American living rooms, with her opinions on politics, culture and current events reaching millions of viewers. The View is a show built on disagreement, with hosts who argue about the news, and Whoopi, as moderator, has the job of keeping the conversation moving, of letting everyone speak and of giving her own views, which are often liberal and often blunt, and her tenure on the show has been marked by both praise and controversy, with moments that have made headlines, including a suspension in 2022 after remarks about the Holocaust that she apologised for. The show’s success, and her longevity on it, is a testament to her ability to handle live television, to think on her feet and to connect with an audience that has watched her for years.
She became an EGOT winner, one of the few performers to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award, a distinction that places her in a small and distinguished group. She won the Grammy in 1986 for Best Comedy Album, the Oscar in 1991 for Ghost, the Tony in 2002 as a producer of the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie, and the Emmy in 2002 for Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel, a television special, and the EGOT, which she has described as a nice surprise rather than a goal, is a recognition of a career that spans comedy, drama, music, theatre and television, a breadth that few performers have matched. She is one of only a handful of Black performers to have achieved the EGOT, and the achievement is a source of pride for her and for the audiences who have followed her career.
Her work on The View has also made her a political figure, with her views on race, on gender and on American politics reaching a large audience, and she has used the platform to speak about issues that matter to her, including civil rights, education and the representation of Black women in media. She has been praised for her honesty and criticised for her bluntness, and the combination, which is the same combination that made her a star on stage and on screen, has kept her relevant in a medium that discards most performers after a few years, and her longevity on daytime television, which is now approaching two decades, is one of the most remarkable runs in the history of the format.
The View, EGOT and the Voice of Daytime
Beyond The View, Whoopi Goldberg has continued to act, appearing in films like The Lion King, in which she voiced the hyena Shenzi, in Toy Story 3, in which she voiced Stretch, and in television series like The Stand, in which she played Mother Abagail, a role that drew on her dramatic skills, and she has continued to perform on stage, including a return to Broadway and a tour of her one-woman show. She has also been an activist, working for causes including AIDS research, homelessness, through Comic Relief, and civil rights, and she has used her fame to support organisations that help people who are often overlooked, a commitment that reflects her own upbringing in public housing and her belief that fame should be used for something beyond itself. She co-founded the cannabis company Whoopi & Maya, which made products for women suffering from menstrual pain, a venture that showed her willingness to talk about subjects that other celebrities avoid, and that reflected her own experience with pain and with the medical use of cannabis.
Her books, including a memoir and a series of children’s books, have been a different kind of legacy, one that reaches young readers and that tells stories about dance, about family and about being different, and she has spoken about the importance of representation in children’s literature, about the need for young Black girls to see themselves in books, a subject that is personal to her, because she grew up in a time when such books were rare. She has also been a mentor to younger performers, offering advice and encouragement to comedians and actors who are starting out, and her generosity, which is often mentioned by those who have worked with her, is a part of her reputation that is as important as her talent.
Today Whoopi Goldberg is a working performer in her seventies, still moderating The View, still acting, still writing, and still speaking her mind, and the fact that she is doing so with the same directness and the same humour that she had as a young woman in Berkeley suggests that the girl from the Chelsea projects, who dropped out of high school and worked as a bricklayer, is still the foundation of the star. Her story, from public housing to Broadway to the Oscars to daytime television, remains one of the most remarkable in American entertainment, and her influence, on comedy, on acting and on the idea of what a Black woman can be on screen, is likely to last for a long time.
Her early film roles after The Color Purple showed a performer who was willing to work in any genre: she starred in Jumpin’ Jack Flash in 1986, playing Terry Doolittle, a bank employee who becomes involved with a spy, a role that was her first leading role in a film, and that showed a comic timing, a warmth, and a vulnerability that made her a favourite with audiences, and in Burglar in 1987, playing Bernice Rhodenbarr, a cat burglar, a role that was funny, and in Clara’s Heart in 1988, playing Clara, a housekeeper, a role that was dramatic, and the films, which were commercial successes, although they were less critically acclaimed than The Color Purple, established her as a leading lady, one who could carry a film, and that is a skill that is rare, and that is the reason her later career, which would include Ghost, Sister Act, and The View, was possible, because she had learned, in those early films, how to be a star, how to hold a screen, and how to make an audience care, and that is a legacy that goes beyond any single film, and that is as important as any award she has won.
She also appeared in Sarafina! in 1992, playing Mary Masembuko, a teacher in apartheid South Africa, a role that was dramatic, political, and, above all, important, and in Girl, Interrupted in 1999, playing Valerie Owens, a nurse in a psychiatric hospital, a role that was small but memorable, with a performance that was warm, funny, and, above all, human, and the films, which were both critical successes, showed a performer who was willing to take supporting roles, to be part of an ensemble, and to use her talent to serve a story, not just to be a star, and that generosity, which is the mark of a great actor, is the reason she is respected by other actors, not just as a star, but as a colleague, one who understands that acting is a team sport, and that the best performances are often the ones that support others, and that is a legacy that goes beyond any single role, and that is as important as any award she has won, because it is about craft, about humility, and about the love of acting itself.
Since 2007 she has been a co-host and the moderator of The View, ABC’s daytime talk show, a role that has made her a daily presence in American living rooms, and that has shown a side of her that her films never did, a woman who can argue, listen, laugh, and, above all, keep a conversation going, with guests who range from politicians to pop stars, and with co-hosts who have changed over the years, and the show, which is watched by millions, has become a platform for her opinions, her humour, and her experience, and her position as moderator, which she has held for nearly twenty years, is a testament to her authority, her credibility, and her audience, which is loyal, global, and, above all, patient, and that is a legacy that goes beyond film, and that is as important as any award she has won, because it is about a woman who is, every weekday, on television, talking about the news, about politics, about life, and doing it, in every sense, on her own terms, with a voice that is, in every sense, hers, and that is a story that is, by any measure, remarkable, and that is the key to understanding Whoopi Goldberg, an actor who became a talk-show host, and who did it, without losing herself, and who, above all, never stopped working, never stopped talking, and never stopped being Whoopi.
My Take:
When I think about Whoopi Goldberg, the first thing that comes to mind is the voice, not the singing voice but the speaking voice, a low, warm, slightly raspy instrument that can be funny, angry, tender and wise, often in the same sentence, and that voice is the reason she has lasted for forty years in a business that discards most performers after five. The Spook Show, her one-woman act, was built on that voice, on the ability to become a dozen different people, each with a different accent, a different rhythm, a different life, and the fact that she could do it with no set, no costume changes, just a chair and a light, is a measure of how good she was, and how good she still is. I think the voice is the key to her whole career, because it is the thing that cannot be copied, and the thing that audiences trust, and trust, in television and in film, is the rarest quality of all.
The Color Purple is the performance I would show to anyone who thinks Whoopi Goldberg is only a comedian, because it is a dramatic role of great restraint, a woman, Celie, who survives abuse and finds her voice, played with a stillness and a power that is completely different from the comedy for which she was known. Spielberg’s decision to cast a comedian in the role was a risk, and it paid off, because Whoopi understood Celie, understood the silence of a woman who has been told not to speak, and she played that silence with a depth that a more conventional dramatic actor might have missed. The Oscar nomination she received for the role was deserved, and the fact that she did not win is less important than the fact that the performance established her as a serious actor, and that it remains one of the most moving performances of the 1980s.
Ghost is the film that made her a star, and I think it is worth asking why, because the role, Oda Mae Brown, a fake psychic who discovers she is real, is a comic role, but it is also a role that requires warmth, and Whoopi’s Oda Mae is funny because she is human, because she is scared, because she is greedy and generous at the same time, and the audience loves her because she is recognisable, a woman from the neighbourhood who finds herself in an extraordinary situation. The Oscar she won for the role was historic, the first for a Black woman in the supporting category in more than fifty years, and it was a recognition not just of a performance but of a career, of a comedian who had become a film star, and the award’s significance, for Black women in Hollywood, is still felt today.
Sister Act is the film I enjoy most, because it is a pure entertainment, a comedy with music, with heart, with a star at the centre who is having fun, and Whoopi’s Deloris Van Cartier is a character who is loud, funny, flawed and lovable, and the film’s success, which spawned a sequel and a stage musical, is a testament to her ability to carry a film on her own. The soundtrack, with its gospel songs and its pop hits, sold millions, and the film’s message, about community, about music, about finding a family in an unexpected place, is one that audiences still respond to, and the stage version, which Whoopi produced, has been performed around the world, a sign of the story’s enduring appeal. I think Sister Act will be remembered as one of the great comedies of the 1990s, and Whoopi’s performance in it as one of her best.
Guinan, her role on Star Trek: The Next Generation, is the performance I find most quietly impressive, because it requires her to do almost nothing, to sit, to listen, to speak softly, and yet to be the moral centre of the show, a woman who knows more than she says and who guides the captain with a word or a look. It is a role that would be easy to overplay, and Whoopi plays it with a stillness that is the opposite of her comedy, and that stillness is the mark of a great actor, one who understands that power on screen does not always mean noise. The fact that she asked for the role, because she was a fan of the original series and of Nichelle Nichols, makes it even more meaningful, because it is a fan becoming a part of the story, and a Black woman taking her place on the bridge of the Enterprise, which is a image that matters.
The View is the part of her career that I find most complicated, because it is a show that rewards argument, and Whoopi, as moderator, has the hardest job on television, keeping four strong personalities talking, letting them disagree, and giving her own views, all live, every day, and she has done it for nearly two decades, which is a remarkable achievement. I think she is good at it, because she is honest, because she listens, because she is not afraid to say what she thinks, and because she has a sense of humour that keeps the show from becoming too angry, but I also think the show’s format, which turns disagreement into entertainment, is a difficult place for a thoughtful person to work, and the controversies, including her suspension in 2022, are a reminder of how hard live television can be. I respect her longevity on the show, and I think it is a testament to her professionalism.
The EGOT is the achievement that I think best captures her career, because it is not a single award but a set, an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony, each in a different field, comedy, film, theatre and television, and that breadth is the point of Whoopi Goldberg’s career, that she has done everything, and done it well. She is one of only a few performers to have achieved it, and one of even fewer Black performers, and the fact that she did it without ever being a conventional leading lady, without fitting the mould of a Hollywood star, makes it more impressive, because it is a proof that talent, in many forms, is recognised, even when it does not look like the usual star. I think the EGOT will be remembered as the capstone of a career that was always about range.
If a new viewer asked me where to start with Whoopi Goldberg, I would begin with The Spook Show, or with the recording of it, to hear the voices, the characters, the range, and then I would go to The Color Purple, to see the dramatic actor, and then to Ghost, to see the star, and then to Sister Act, to see the comedian, and those four works, taken together, show the breadth, the drama, the comedy, the music, in a way that no single film can. After that I would watch an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, to see Guinan, and an episode of The View, to see the moderator, and the journey through those works is the journey of a performer who has done everything, and who has done it on her own terms.
What Whoopi Goldberg has given American culture, beyond the performances, is a model of how to be a Black woman in Hollywood without letting Hollywood define you, and that model matters, because the industry has a long history of limiting Black women to a narrow set of roles, and Whoopi, from the beginning, refused those limits, playing a dramatic lead, a comic lead, a psychic, a nun, a bartender on a starship, and a daytime host, and each of those roles was a choice, a refusal to be put in a box. I think young Black actresses will look at her career and see a permission slip, a proof that you can be funny and serious, that you can be a star and a character actor, and that you do not have to choose, and that is a legacy that goes beyond any single award.
The Chelsea thread runs through everything she does, and I think it is the most important part of her story, because it is not a marketing detail but a real influence. She grew up in public housing, she was dyslexic, she dropped out of high school, she worked as a bricklayer and a bank teller, and those experiences, of being poor, of being overlooked, of being different, are in every character she has played, from Celie to Oda Mae to Guinan, because she understands what it is to be an outsider, and she plays outsiders with empathy, not with pity. I think that rootedness is what keeps her work honest, and it is why audiences trust her, because she is not pretending to understand, she is remembering, and the audience can tell the difference.
Looking at the whole arc, from the Chelsea projects to Broadway to the Oscars to The View, I see a career that was built on talent, on hard work and on a refusal to be limited, and I think that refusal is its strength. Whoopi Goldberg has been a comedian, a dramatic actor, a film star, a television host, an author and an activist, and each of those roles has left something in the work, a lesson, a skill, a perspective, and the result is a performer who is harder to categorise than almost anyone of her generation. That is not a failure of branding, it is a sign of a person who kept growing, and the audience that has grown with her, from the Berkeley theatres to the present, has been rewarded with a career that is honest, varied and unmistakably hers, and I expect the next chapter to be as surprising as the last.
Jumpin’ Jack Flash is the film I think best shows Whoopi Goldberg as a leading lady, because Terry Doolittle is a role that requires comedy, warmth, and, above all, vulnerability, and Whoopi plays her with a performance that is funny, charming, and, above all, real, a woman who is ordinary, who works in a bank, and who becomes involved in a spy story, and the film, which was her first leading role after The Color Purple, established her as a star who could carry a film, and that is a skill that is rare, and that is the reason her later career, which would include Ghost and Sister Act, was possible, because she had learned, in Jumpin’ Jack Flash, how to be a star, how to hold a screen, and how to make an audience care, and that is a legacy that goes beyond any single film, and that is as important as any award she has won, because it is about being a leading lady, on her own terms, as a Black woman, in Hollywood, in the 1980s, and that is a remarkable achievement, and one that deserves respect.
Girl, Interrupted is the small role I return to most, because Valerie Owens is a nurse, a supporting character, and Whoopi plays her with a warmth, a humour, and a humanity that makes the character memorable, even in a film full of stars, and the performance, which is quiet, observant, and, above all, kind, is a reminder that Whoopi is not just a star, but an actor, one who understands that a supporting role can be as important as a lead, and that generosity, which is the mark of a great actor, is the reason she is respected by other actors, and the reason her career has lasted, when other stars have faded, because she was never just about herself, she was about the work, about the story, about the ensemble, and that is a legacy that goes beyond any single role, and that is as important as any award she has won.
The Sugar Plum Ballerinas books are the children’s series I admire most, because they are books about a young dancer, about ballet, about friendship, and about being different, and Whoopi wrote them, with Deborah Underwood, as a series that reflects her own love of dance, and her desire to create stories for children who did not see themselves in books, and the books, which have sold well, and which have been praised for their warmth, their humour, and their honesty, established her as an author, not just an actress, with a second career that is as important as her first, and that reflects her own experience as a mother, as a daughter, and as a person who understands children, because she was one, and because she remembers what it was like, and that is a legacy that goes beyond film, and that is as important as any award she has won, because it is about literacy, about representation, and about the power of a story, well told, to change a child’s life.
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit is the sequel I return to most, because it is a film in which Whoopi returns as Deloris, now teaching music at a school, and in which she performs Oh Happy Day with a choir of students, a scene that is joyful, moving, and, above all, real, and the film, which introduced a young Lauryn Hill to a mass audience, proved that a sequel could be as good as the original, and that Whoopi, who carried it, could do comedy, music, and drama, all in the same film, and that is a rare talent, and one that deserves respect, even from critics who prefer her dramatic work, because Sister Act 2 is, by any measure, a great film, and a great performance, and that is why it works, and why it will last, as a film that is played at Christmas, at Easter, on rainy days, and that is a legacy that few films achieve, and that is the reason Whoopi Goldberg, who made it, is remembered, not just as an EGOT winner, but as a star, one who can make people laugh, and make them cry, and do it, in the same scene.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Whoopi Goldberg born?
Whoopi Goldberg was born as Caryn Elaine Johnson on 13 November 1955 in New York City, and she was raised in the Chelsea-Elliot Houses public housing project in Manhattan.
What was Whoopi Goldberg’s first Broadway show?
Her one-woman show The Spook Show, developed in Berkeley in 1983, was brought to Broadway by Mike Nichols in 1984 under the title Whoopi Goldberg, and it won her a Grammy for Best Comedy Album.
Which film won Whoopi Goldberg an Academy Award?
Ghost, released in 1990, won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the psychic Oda Mae Brown, opposite Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore.
What does EGOT mean for Whoopi Goldberg?
EGOT means she has won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award: the Grammy in 1986, the Oscar in 1991, and the Tony and Emmy in 2002.
Who does Whoopi Goldberg play in Star Trek?
She played Guinan, the wise bartender on the starship Enterprise, in Star Trek: The Next Generation from 1988 to 1993, and she returned to the role in Star Trek: Picard in 2022.
When did Whoopi Goldberg join The View?
She joined the daytime talk show The View as co-host and moderator in 2007, replacing Rosie O’Donnell, and she has held the role for nearly two decades.
