We all know Whoopi Goldberg as an iconic actress with an impressive roster of nostalgic films. The 68-year-old EGOT winner has crossed over from the big to the small screen effortlessly, bringing her magnetic personality to daytime television.
Being a host on The View made her a household name, but few people know of her achievements beyond her actress/talk show persona. On top of her long-spanning career, her real estate portfolio is also pretty impressive — and Whoopi has an eye for old Victorian homes.
She loves antique houses so much that she has acquired a remarkable collection of historic homes, now living in a nearly century-old residence in, fittingly, America’s oldest planned community.
Whoopi Goldberg currently lives in West Orange, New Jersey
Nowadays, Goldberg resides in the gated neighborhood of Llewellyn Park in West Orange, New Jersey, about an hour away from her workplace in New York. Known as “America’s oldest planned community,” this area is known for its grand estates and architectural pedigree, with famous residents and ex-residents including William Colgate, George Merck, and inventor Thomas Edison.
Born and raised in Manhattan, Goldberg has always considered herself a true-blue New Yorker. But even city dwellers need a little peace and quiet sometimes.
“I lived in the city and had no way of sitting outside,” Goldberg said in an interview. “Because every time I go sit outside, 50 people would come and hang out.”
Whoopi purchased her current West Orange home in 2009 for $2.8 million. The 97-year-old colonial-style abode was built in 1927 and has 9,486 square feet of space. It has eight bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a large pool, and a gym.
Design-wise, the vintage home is a mish-mash of everything the actress loves. She loves collecting diverse photos and artwork to display on her walls.
“I am sort of eclectic,” she explained in April 2012. “The periods kind of clash all over the house, which is great for me — it feels like you can hang out. It’s formal … and yet it doesn’t give a s—t.”
She bought her first Victorian in Berkeley, California back in the ’80s
Her love for old homes started in the 1980s, shortly after her big break in The Spook Show.
Goldberg bought her first-ever Victorian-style house for $335,000. It featured New Orleans-style architecture with 1,455 square feet of living space, a large front porch, and vintage columns.
It also had a two-story barn, which was converted into a cottage. She sold this property in 2015 for an impressive $2 million — that’s over $1 million in profit!
Whoopi’s Pacific Palisades vintage home
In 1993, she purchased her second historic home in Pacific Palisades for $2.5 million.
Built in the 1930s, the house was owned by famed writer Vicki Baum. The gorgeous vintage estate boasts over 7,000 square feet of living space and sits on a half-acre lot in a private area.
Lush greenery, tall gates, and thick trees line up its perimeter, keeping the property hidden from prying eyes. Creeping vines decorate the facade, adding an enchanting look to the home.
Indoors, modern elements juxtapose its vintage vibe. Checkered floors, marble fireplaces, and expansive windows add a contemporary touch. Other amenities include a large swimming pool and a separate guest house.
Whoopi kept this home for over two decades and sold it in 2018 for $8.8 million.
Her most remarkable property was a 17th-century house on 745 acres of land
All of Whoopi’s homes have their own unique charm, but the most impressive property she owned was her Vermont farm, which sits on 745 acres of land. While 640 acres are conserved land, which means they can never be developed, the estate is vast and teeming with pasture animals, trees, and crops.
The original colonial house, which dates back to the 1700s, had a two-bedroom bunkhouse. It has been reconstructed several times throughout the years.
In 2004, Whoopi decided to strip down the property to its bare bones and do an extensive renovation. A lot of the original structures were scrapped, but the rustic feel from the original cabin was kept. Whoopi sold the estate — known as the Robinson-Winchester Farm — in 2012 for $1.5 million.
Currently, Whoopi is busy promoting her just-released memoir titled Bits & Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me. The semi-autobiographical book discusses her rise to fame and her relationship with her late mom and brother.
In her exclusive statement to PEOPLE, she said: “This book is dedicated to my mother and my brother and our time together as a small, funny little unit. It’s dedicated to anyone who’s found themselves on a scary path not of their choosing or dealing with loss.”
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