Whoopi Goldberg detailed the darkest parts of her life in her new book, Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me, dedicated to her late mother, Emma Harris, and late brother, Clyde K. Johnson.
“Now, it’s time for a book about my nucleus family: my brother, Clyde, and especially about my mother, because none of the other stuff would have happened for me without her,” Goldberg, 68, wrote in the memoir, which was released on Tuesday, May 7. (Harris died at age 78 in 2010 after suffering a stroke while Johnson died at age 65 in 2015.)
Goldberg is no stranger to the publishing industry, having written various books over the years — including seven children’s books. Prior to the 2024 memoir, the actress’ most recent book was released in 2015, titled Whoopi’s Big Book of Relationships. Goldberg’s Bits and Pieces differs from her other published works as it’s more on the personal side.
From her mother’s death to her bouts with drug addiction, and even her own musings on motherhood, Goldberg kept things honest. Keep reading for the biggest revelations from Bits and Pieces:
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Goldberg’s Childhood
The View star wrote that she only “understood” her mother’s plight after becoming an adult.
“My father and mother had separated, so I didn’t grow up with him,” Goldberg wrote. “She tried to get him to pay some support through the courts, but helping Black women living in the projects wasn’t high on the state court’s priority list, and she couldn’t afford a lawyer who might have gotten something done.”
Despite the struggles, her mother “refused to apply for welfare” because Harris “didn’t like the stigma.” Goldberg added, “I saw her cry once or twice about being unable to pay her taxes. But as a kid, I never grasped that we were always one paycheck away from the worst-case scenario.”
Her Mom’s Mental Health Struggles
Goldberg recalled how her mother disappeared for two years during her childhood. It was later revealed that Harris was hospitalized and underwent electroshock therapy causing her to forget Goldberg and her brother.
“I didn’t understand until later that my mother had been sent to Bellevue Hospital for having a nervous breakdown,” she wrote. “She had been acting differently for a couple of months, like she wanted to be alone and not have me and Clyde to think about.”
Goldberg explained that her father and grandfather approved of the “experimental” treatment.
Being Dyslexic
Goldberg wrote about having dyslexia — and hiding her struggles in school.
“Nobody in the 1960s was talking about dyslexia,” she shared. “I never even knew there was a diagnosis for what my brain did to the alphabet. I only knew I had to make it look like I didn’t have a problem.”
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Goldberg further explained that she used memorization skills while reading in class. “I locked it in my brain and then acted like I was reading it off the page,” she wrote.
How Goldberg Got Her Name
Born Caryn Johnson, the actress has her mother to thank for the name Whoopi Goldberg. She got her stage name “Whoopi” after Goldberg “would sometimes let loose with a fart,” she admitted. “I added ‘Cushione’ to it — with a French pronunciation.”
Once the stage name gained traction, Goldberg fielded a call from her mom — who offered a suggestion.
“I explained to her the whole farting thing. ‘Well, if you’re going to change your name and want people to take you seriously, you need a more substantial name,’ my mother advised me,” Goldberg recalled. “I said, ‘Oh, really, great namer of the stars? What do you think it should be?’ She said, ‘Well, you should take one of the names from the family tree. How about Goldberg? That has a nice ring to it.’ That became my name.”
Her Addiction Struggles
Goldberg revealed that she became “dependent” on drugs at 16 years old. But was able to shake the habit after “hanging out at a youth center” nightly.
“During the day, it was offices for drug rehab counselors,” she wrote. “In the evening, it was a place where young people could come together and keep themselves from falling into bad things. I had already fallen in and out of bad things. But I’d show up and listen to people talking about why they did what they did and how they got free of it.”
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In the 1980s, Goldberg fell into drugs again after being invited to parties with Quaaludes and “lines of cocaine” — which became her vice.
“I thought I could handle the cocaine thing. It didn’t seem dangerous. Everybody seemed to have access to it, even on TV and movie sets,” Goldberg wrote, referring to herself as “a very high-functioning addict.”
The “cocaine started to kick my ass” and her work was impacted, she explained. “Finally, I had one of those slap-in-the-face moments that make you see pretty f–king clearly that you’ve hit bottom.”
Becoming a Mother
Goldberg welcomed her daughter, Alex Martin, in 1973 with her first husband, Alvin Martin. Goldberg said the pain she experienced during childbirth was enough to make her not want to do it again.
Further discussing motherhood, Goldberg admitted that Alex was going to be “really angry” at her for being “away” all the time. Elsewhere in the book, Goldberg noted that she would “never” win a motherhood award.
“She gets it now. But as a kid, you’re not thinking about financial independence, security, or having some backup in the bank account,” Goldberg wrote. “When you’re 8 or 9, you just want your mom around.”
How Patrick Swayze Pushed For Her Role in ‘Ghost’
After reading the script for the 1990 film Ghost, Goldberg knew she wanted to play Oda Mae. “My agent told me that they weren’t going to consider me for the role,” she said. But that was until the late Patrick Swayze became Goldberg’s “advocate” for the part, which she eventually got.
“It turned out that Patrick and I had a really good connection in the scenes. We had fun together,” Goldberg recalled. “Patrick gave me a gift I never got to repay and never could. Because of him, I got my second Oscar nomination.”
Goldberg won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her Ghost role in 1991.
A Friendship With Elizabeth Taylor
Goldberg met the late Elizabeth Taylor — whom she called “an inspiration” — at a fundraiser, and they began a years-long friendship.
“She took many slings and arrows from people about her weight, her marriages, and her illnesses, even her name. She did not like it when people called her Liz. She never let that crap get in the way,” Goldberg wrote. “She was the best example of what fame could do to help people.”
Meeting Marlon Brando
In one hilarious moment, Goldberg wrote that she and the late Marlon Brando became friends after he — more or less — broke into her house and played the piano. When Brando died in 2004, he left Goldberg “a parcel of land on his Fiji island,” which the actress said threw her “for a loop.”
After a call with Brando’s family, Goldberg eventually gave her share of the island back to his family.
Her Mother’s Death
Harris died in 2010, while Goldberg was “performing in the stage version of Sister Act” in London’s the West End. Dame Maggie Smith was at the show when Goldberg received a call from her brother that their mother had died. (Both Goldberg and Smith starred in the 1992 movie Sister Act.)
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Goldberg wrote that Smith went from being her “backstage company” to staying with her for the rest of the evening. “A flight was arranged for me to leave early the next morning. For the next five hours, Maggie sat with me and let me talk her ear off, telling stories about my mom, my growing-up years, and my brother. We laughed a lot,” Goldberg wrote.
Because of that, Goldberg wrote that she “would do anything” for Smith.
Scattering Her Mother’s Ashes
Apparently, scattering a loved one’s ashes in Disneyland is prohibited — and Goldberg learned that the hard way. She scattered her mother’s ashes on the “It’s a Small World” ride, telling an employee years later.
“I’ve been told it’s a HEPA cleanup issue,” she wrote. “You might find yourself escorted to the parking lot pretty quick. Don’t do what I did.”
