"I'm back and I'm thrilled, honey," said Goldberg. "Thank you, Quincy." (Quincy Jones is producing this year's Academy Awards telecast.)

Although Whoopi has jaunted around the country in her career climb to stardom, she began in New York City. At the precocious age of eight, Whoopi was performing with the Children's Program at the Hudson Guild and the Helena Rubinstein Children's Theatre.

In 1975, the magic couldn't be stilled and Whoopi joined the wagon train west, ending up in San Diego. While there, she appeared in the San Diego Repertory Theatre's productions of Brecht's Mother Courage and Marsha Norman's Getting Out. Most importantly, her comedic skills were honed with an improvisational group called Spontaneous Combustion.

Later, the proverbial trunks were again packed and then tagged "The Bay or Bust." Once arrived, Whoopi joined the Blake Street Hawkeyes Theatre in Berkeley, partnered with David Schein. Moving shortly into solo performances, Goldberg created The Spook Show which first played San Francisco and then toured the United States and Europe. Glorious dues were quickly being paid off.

It was at a 1983 performance of that show, performed at the Dance Theatre Workshop in New York, that Whoopi caught the discerning eye of producer and director Mike Nichols, who offered to present her in a new Broadway show. An evening of original material, written and created by Whoopi, the show opened at the Lyceum Theatre to thunderous critical acclaim. Hungry audiences unable to feast on the New York show were treated to the HBO special, Whoopi Goldberg: Direct From Broadway. The record album of her Broadway show won a Grammy Award as Best Comedy Recording of the Year in 1985.

Whoopi's Broadway show also turned out to be a winning audition for Steven Spielberg, who was casting his film version of Alice Walker's The Color Purple. Before making her auspicious motion picture debut, Whoopi briefly returned to San Francisco to star as the legendary Moms Mabley in Moms, a one-woman show which she also co-wrote, based on the late comedienne's original material. The distance between the East and West Coast was narrowing as Whoopi's career expanded.

The Color Purple launched Whoopi Goldberg's film career and, in addition to an Oscar nomination, earned her the 1985 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Dramatic Motion Picture, as well as the NAACP's Image Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture.

In addition to The Color Purple, feature credits include Jumpin' Jack Flash, Burglar, Clara's Heart, Fatal Beauty (a second Image Award), The Long Walk Home (a third Image Award), Soapdish and The Player.

Yet, Whoopi still had time for TV's Moonlighting and won an Emmy Award nomination as Best Guest Performer in a Dramatic Series in 1986. For five television seasons, she also managed to navigate her way across the universe as Guinan, on the hit syndicated series, Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Whoopi's superlative performance as Oda Mae Brown in the supernatural Ghost, earned her the Academy Award for Supporting Actress, the Golden Globe Award, the NAACP Image Award (again!), the British Academy Award, an American Comedy Award and the Saturn Award (presented by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films). These awards were turning into a habit as Whoopi boogied and sang her way across the big screen in the 1992 box-office hit, Sister Act, which garnered her yet another Golden Globe Award nomination and the NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, in addition to winning the Image Award for Motion Picture of the Year.

Over the years, Whoopi's calendar may have looked something like this: "Put in an Image Award-nominated performance in Sarafina! and get back into the habit with Sister Act 2. Start Corrina, Corrina and do a cameo in Naked in New York. Grab the kids with my voice in The Lion King and make 'em laugh with a cameo in The Little Rascals. Star in Boys on the Side with Drew and Mary Louise and don't forget Bogus for Warner Brothers." One can only wonder where she puts the many awards and honors which she has earned for her too-numerous-to-name projects. And when did she have time to write her children's book, Alice, which was published by Bantam Books in September, 1992?

Despite the activity which whirls around her like fireflies on a hot summer's night, Whoopi is well known for her tireless humanitarian efforts on behalf of children, the homeless, human rights, substance abuse and the battle against AIDs, as well as many other worthwhile causes and charities. In 1987, Whoopi, Billy Crystal and Robin Williams co-hosted HBO's now-historic Comic Relief benefit for the nation's homeless. Following the equally successful Comic Relief II, the three have hosted Comic Relief III, IV, V, VI and VII which have cumulatively raised more than $30 million. Always there for people in need, Whoopi also participated in the televised Hurricane Relief benefit to aid victims of Hurricane Andrew.

No stranger to hosting, Whoopi has done the honors for the 199234th Annual Grammy Awards and ABC's A Gala For the President at Ford's Theatre in 1993 and in 1994. On March 21, 1994, Whoopi hosted The 66th Annual Academy Awards - the highest rated special of the 1993-1994 television season - for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award.

Whoopi became part of Hollywood history in February, 1995, when prints of her hands, feet and braids were placed in cement in the forecourt of Mann's Chinese Theatre. On March 25, 1996, Whoopi will once more become part of Academy Award history as the beacon of light which guides us through the The 68th Annual Academy Awards.