Veteran actress and “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg shows no signs of slowing down.
Since her Hollywood debut in 1985’s “The Color Purple,” Goldberg has built a career in film and television that fans can’t stop following—and after her recent interview explaining why retirement isn’t on the table, attention has shifted more to her love life than her career.
Goldberg, 69, returned to the set of “The View” for the ABC daytime talk show’s season 29 premiere on Monday, Sept. 8. But her recent interview with “Entertainment Tonight” backstage gave viewers some insight about why the “Sister Act” star has no plans to retire.
“I’ve gotten older and now I’m kind of proud that I actually got this far,” the EGOT winner said, approaching her 70th birthday on Nov. 13.
After being asked if she had considered slowing down in her career, Goldberg responded, “Yeah, but who can afford to do that? Who can afford to stop?”
The thrice-married movie star then tapped into her comical side by adding, “You know, if you don’t marry well, you’ve got to keep working.”
When the reporter suggested Goldberg should afford to retire at this point, the first Black woman to host the Academy Awards took a more serious turn by saying, “No, not by now. Not yet.”
“I gotta keep paying those bills, baby,” she added with a smile on her face near the end of the on-set video interview with ET.
Goldberg’s tongue-in-cheek remarks, implying she needed a wealthy husband to secure her financial future, made headlines across the internet.
Some people may have missed the sarcastic tone of her comments, and as a result, blasted the New York City native, who reportedly has a net worth of around $30 million.
One Yahoo reader took Whoopi seriously and commented, “If she can’t retire ‘cause she didn’t marry right, she has big issues. What about all the other people who did marry right and still can’t retire? Just to eat and pay the outrageous electric and water bills? She needs to seek help.”
Another commenter wrote, “Three marriages and missed the rich guy? Sounds like my mom, who sat on her stern propeller her whole life dreaming of marrying her ‘millionaire’ when the most middle-class guys did not want her.”
“I think she may be playing down her wealth. I think the truth is that she enjoys what she does and doesn’t want to retire. I’m no fan of hers or of ‘The View,’ but I’m at the age where many people my age are retired, I see them sitting around with no purpose, so I understand not wanting to retire,” suggested a more sympathetic responder.
Goldberg rose to prominence in the 1980s with a breakout role in the 1985 film “The Color Purple.” Her portrayal as Celie Johnson in Steven Spielberg-directed drama earned Whoopi her first Academy Award nomination.
Five years later, Goldberg took home the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in 1991’s “Ghost.” Her accolades include two Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award.
“The View” recruited Whoopi as a panelist in 2007. She returned for the latest season alongside Joy Behar, Sara Haines, Ana Navarro, Sunny Hostin, and Alyssa Farah Griffin.
Behar is not contemplating walking away from the entertainment business she has worked in for over three decades, either. The outspoken stand-up comic told ET, “Creative people don’t really retire.”
While Goldberg’s professional career appears to be thriving and far from over, her private life has been an up-and-down experience since the 1970s.
The “Bits and Pieces” book author was married three times. Her initial marriage to drug counselor Alvin Martin lasted from 1973 to 1979.
Seven years after her first divorce, Goldberg wed “The Rosa Parks Story” cinematographer David Claessen in 1986. They lasted two years before divorcing in 1988.
Whoopi’s final marriage also lasted only two years. She tied the knot with union organizer Lyle Trachtenberg in 1994 and they divorced the following year.
