Whoopi Goldberg recalls applauding Geraldine Page over Oscar win

Whoopi Goldberg has recently confessed she was not disappointed to lose an Oscar to Geraldine Page.

In her new memoir, Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me, the Sister Act actress recalled she was nominated against a star-studded lineup of past and future Oscar winners: Anne Bancroft, Jessica Lange, Meryl Streep, and eventual winner, Geraldine Page.

“When I got my first Oscar nomination for The Color Purple, I didn’t know how I felt about it. I knew I was good in the movie and that it was worthy of a nomination, but I didn’t expect one,” said the 68-year-old.

After Geraldine’s name was announced back in 1986, Whoopi could be seen “applauding like crazy”.

“As she was walking to the stage, the actor sitting next to me said, ‘Why did you applaud so much when she beat you?’ I said, ‘What do you mean? That’s Geraldine Page. You know, she’s Geraldine Page,’” explained Whoopi.

Reflecting on Geraldine success, the host stated, “This was her win, and in a way mine too because I was also a New York/ actor. I was thinking, 'She’s a New York actor. I’m a New York actor. And that was good enough for me.”

Speaking of Geraldine, The View’s host mentioned, “I never had the money to see her when I was a kid, but I’d read about her shows in the newspaper.”

Whoopi noted, “I also knew she had been nominated for an Oscar many times and had never won one. To me, she is one of those be-all and end-all actors.”

“At the time, the actress and host wrote in her memoir, “I knew it was Geraldine Page for her performance in A Trip to Bountiful. And I was thinking, 'You’re not the only one who feels that way about her.’”