Whoopi Goldberg, the celebrated host of The View and Oscar-winning actress, shares an incredibly close bond with her only child, daughter Alexandrea Martin Dean. Their journey from humble beginnings to Hollywood fame is a testament to their resilience and enduring connection.
From Humble Beginnings to Stardom
Alexandrea 'Alex' Martin was born in May 1974, making her 51 years old. Her mother, Whoopi Goldberg, was just 18 when she welcomed her with first husband Alvin Martin, whom she married in 1973 before their divorce in 1979.
Life was challenging for the mother-daughter duo before Goldberg's career took off. Martin has openly discussed their early struggles, revealing they relied on food stamps and shared a one-room space sleeping in the same bed. "I know what it's like with the food stamps, because my mom has her [welfare] cards framed," Martin told TheGrio.com.
Goldberg's big break came in the early 1980s when Steven Spielberg discovered her during her Broadway performances. He cast her in the lead role of his critically acclaimed 1985 film, The Color Purple, which launched her into international stardom.
Navigating Motherhood and Fame
As Goldberg's career skyrocketed, Martin became a mother herself at just 16, welcoming daughter Amara Skye Dean in 1989. This made Goldberg a grandmother at 34.
In her memoir, Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother And Me, Goldberg suggested her daughter might have fallen pregnant as a form of revenge for her frequent absences due to her movie career. Goldberg wrote: "Years later, Alex told me that she thinks she got pregnant as a teenager because she wanted one person in her life who didn't know who Whoopi Goldberg was."
Martin reportedly told her mother, "Yes I want to have this baby. And this baby will love me, and she won't know you." Goldberg understood this reaction, explaining how people would often push her daughter aside without realizing it, which understandably frustrated Martin.
Building Their Own Legacy
Martin has carved her own path in the entertainment industry as both an actress and producer. She had a small role in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit in 1993, but emphatically denied any nepotism in landing the part.
When asked on The View about being a "nepo baby," Martin responded: "No, there wasn't! I've heard you guys talk about this nepo baby stuff... I have yet to experience that." She revealed she auditioned "like everybody else" and described the experience as "very interesting," though she realized she wasn't particularly good at auditions.
Beyond Sister Act 2, Martin's acting credits include American Intellectuals (1999), Call Me Claus (2001), and Strange as Angels (2003). She also had an uncredited role in her mother's breakthrough film, The Color Purple. More recently, she worked as an associate producer on the 2024 short film Sensitive Men and previously produced the 2008 short film Descendants.
Martin is now a mother of three. After Amara, she welcomed Jerzey in 1995 and Mason in 1998 with her husband, Bernard Dean. Interestingly, Martin married Dean three times, divorcing twice before remarrying him in 2011.
Goldberg became a great-grandmother in 2014 when Martin's eldest daughter gave birth to Charli Rose Burr-Reynaud.
An Enduring Bond
Despite their early challenges, Goldberg and Martin maintain an incredibly close relationship. They frequently make public appearances together, most recently at the Oscars in March 2024, their first joint Academy Awards red carpet appearance since 1991 when Goldberg won her Oscar for Ghost.
During Martin's 2016 appearance on The View, Goldberg proudly described her daughter as "one of the most trustworthy and loyal people I know." She added: "She is somebody who makes me laugh. We can talk to each other any time during the day or night. I just like her a lot."
Their journey from food stamps to Hollywood success, while navigating the complexities of fame and family, demonstrates the powerful, unbreakable bond between mother and daughter that has endured through decades of change and challenge.
