WHOOPI GOLDBERG (Harriet Franklin) has won numerous awards and considerable acclaim for her work in film, television, recordings and theater. She is equally 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 causes and charities.
Born and raised in New York City, Goldberg worked in theater and improvisation in San Diego and the San Francisco Bay Area, where she performed with the Blake Street Hawkeyes theater troupe. It was there that she created the characters which became "The Spook Show" and evolved into "Whoopi Goldberg: Direct from Broadway," which was performed as a hit Broadway show, Grammy Award-winning album and the HBO special that helped launch her career.
Goldberg made her motion-picture debut in Steven Spielberg's film version of Alice Walker's "The Color Purple," for which she earned an Academy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award. Her performance in "Ghost" earned her the Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has also starred in such films as "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Burglar," "Fatal Beauty," "Clara's Heart," "The Long Walk Home," "Soapdish," "The Player," "Sarafina!," "Sister Act," "Made in America," "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit," "Corrina, Corrina," "Star Trek: Generations," "Boys on the Side," "Moonlight and Valentino" and "Eddie." Her vocal talents were featured in the animated features "The Lion King" and "The Pagemaster." Her upcoming starring roles include "The Associate" and as the widow of Medgar Evers in Rob Reiner's biographical drama about the slain civil-rights leader, "The Ghosts of Mississippi."
On television, Goldberg appeared for five seasons on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," co-starred with Jean Stapleton in "Bagdad Cafe" and hosted her own syndicated late-night talk show, "The Whoopi Goldberg Show." She has appeared on many television specials, including her own HBO specials and the "Comic Relief" telecasts, which she annually co-hosts with Billy Crystal and Robin Williams. She earned an Emmy Award nomination for hosting "The 66th Annual Academy Awards," a role she reprised on this year's telecast to great acclaim.
In addition to the Oscar, the Grammy and two Golden Globe Awards, Goldberg has been honored with multiple NAACP Image Awards, numerous People's Choice Awards and an unprecedented five Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards as "Favorite Movie Actress," as well as various awards and honors for her humanitarian efforts. In 1992, she made her literary debut with her first children's book, "Alice."
Goldberg joined the immortal legends of Hollywood in February, 1995, when she placed prints of her hands, feet and trademark braids in the cement in the forecourt of Mann's Chinese Theater.
Born in the small country town of Chateauroux in central France, GERARD DEPARDIEU (Bogus) is one of the world's most respected and well-known actors. "Bogus" marks his 96th film, with 75 leading roles to his credit.
The third of six children of a poor sheet metal worker, Depardieu left school at age 12 and by the time he turned sixteen, found himself in Paris, where he gravitated toward acting classes at the Theatre Nationale Populaire (TNP). Since then, his work on the stage has included starring roles in over 15 plays, including works by Marguerite Duras, Peter Hanke, David Storey, Israel Horowitz, Moliere and Natalie Sarraute, among many others.
From his motion-picture debut in Roger Leenhart's "Le Beatnik et le Minet" (1965), Depardieu's roles in film, theater and television have grown steadily in prominence, with his 1973 performance as one of a pair of young louts in Bertrand Blier's "Going Places" proving to be his breakthrough role.
Depardieu went on to star in five other films for Blier: "Get Out Your Handkerchiefs," "Buffet Froid," "Menage," "Too Beautiful For You" and "Merci la Vie." For Duras, he appeared in four feature films, including "Nathalie Granger" and "Vera Baxter." Depardieu co-starred opposite Pierre Richard in a trio of successful comedies directed by Francis Veber: "La Chevre," "Les Comperes" and "Les Fugitifs."
He also made three films each for Alain Resnais, Maurice Pialat and Claude Berri. For Resnais, he starred in "Stavisky," "Mon Oncle D'Amerique" and "Je Veux Rentrer a la Maison." His films with Pialat include "Loulou," "Police" and "Sous Le Soleil du Satan," which was awarded the Palme d'Or for Best Film at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival. His collaborations with Berri include the acclaimed "Jean de Florette," "Uranus" and "Germinal," which was based on the work of Emile Zola.
Depardieu's numerous other roles include those in Francois Truffaut's "The Last Metro," for which Depardieu won a French Cesar as Best Actor; Bernardo Bertulucci's "1900"; "The Return of Martin Guerre," directed by Daniel Vigne; "Danton," directed by Andrzej Wajda, for which Depardieu was named Best Actor by the National Society of Film Critics; and Bruno Nuytten's "Camille Claudel," in which he played August Rodin opposite Isabelle Adjani's Camille.
In 1988, he reunited with actress Catherine Deneuve in director Francois Dupeyron's "Drole d'Endroit pour une Rencontre," and in the same year made "Deux" with director Claude Zidi.
His role in Jean-Paul Rappeneau's "Cyrano de Bergerac" won Depardieu numerous accolades, including a Cesar as Best Actor, a Best Actor award at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination as Best Actor.
In 1990, he joined Andie McDowell in his first major English-language role in "Green Card." Directed by Peter Weir, Depardieu's performance earned him a Golden Globe as Best Actor in a Comedy. The following year, he starred as Christopher Columbus in Ridley Scott's epic, "1492: Conquest of Paradise." Also in 1991, he starred in "My Father the Hero" and in director Alain Corneau's "Tout Les Matins du Monde," which co-starred Depardieu's son, Guillaume. In 1992, he starred in Jean-Luc Godard's "Helas Pour Moi" and Giuseppe Tornatore's "Une Pure Formalite," with Roman Polanski. He also completed work on "Le Colonel Chabert," based on a book by Balzac and directed by Yves Angelo.
In addition to a prolific film career, Depardieu has recorded several record albums and has been actively involved in the theater since 1968. In 1984, he starred opposite his wife in a stage production of Moliere's "Tartuffe," which he also directed and co-wrote as a film that same year.
Additionally, Depardieu has a penchant, talent and passion for winemaking, so much so that his passport is marked as actor/winemaker.
HALEY JOEL OSMENT (Albert) currently stars as a series regular on "The Jeff Foxworthy Show" after starring opposite Ed Asner in his former series, "Thunder Alley," which marked his television comedy debut.
Osment's additional television credits include the upcoming Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation "The Ransom of Red Chief," with Christopher Lloyd, and the cable film "Last Stand at Saber River," with Tom Selleck. Last year, he was nominated for the Hollywood Reporter's YoungStar Award in the category of Best Young Actor in a Television Series for his work on "Thunder Alley."
In 1995, Osment won the Youth in Film Award for his performance in the featured role of Forrest Gump, Jr., in the critically acclaimed and Oscar-winning Best Picture "Forrest Gump." His other feature-film credits include "Mixed Nuts" and "For Better or Worse."
DENIS MERCIER (Mr. Antoine) won the Best Actor Award at 1994's Montreal World Film Festival for his work in "Le Sexe des Etoiles," an award that was won the previous year by his "Bogus" co-star, Gerard Depardieu. He also starred in the recently acclaimed film "Liste Noire," and his other feature-film credits include "Confession de Nuit" and "Les Bums du Paradis."
In his native Canada, Mercier is a familiar presence on television and on stage. His many television appearances include "Scoop," "L'Heritage," "Passe Partout," "La Maison Deschesnes," "Theodore Remorqueur," "Traboulidon," "Terre Humaine" and "Bof & Compagnie." In the States, he appeared in the CBS movie-of-the-week "For Love Alone." Among his theater credits are starring roles in such classic dramas as "Antigone," "The Misanthrope," "Hamlet," "Henry IV," "The Cyclops" and "Private Lives."
NANCY TRAVIS' (Lorraine) numerous feature-film credits include her recent starring roles in "Fluke" and "Destiny Turns on the Radio."
After making her film debut in the blockbuster comedy "Three Men and A Baby," Travis appeared in "Married to the Mob," "Eight Men Out," "Loose Cannons," "Internal Affairs," "Air America" and "Three Men and A Little Lady." More recently, she was seen in Sir Richard Attenborough's "Chaplin," "The Vanishing," "So I Married An Axe Murderer" and "Greedy."
Travis lived in Baltimore and Boston before returning to her birthplace, New York City, to study drama at New York University. Her first job out of school was with New York's American Jewish Theater. She then joined the national touring company of Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs."
She has maintained a connection to the theater throughout her career. A founding member of the New York-based Off-Broadway theater company Naked Angels, she appeared in their production of Frank Pugliese's play "Aven-U Boys," as well as "King of Connecticut." Travis also performed in the Broadway production of the award-winning play "I'm Not Rappaport," with Judd Hirsch and Cleavon Little. More recently, she appeared in Athol Fugard's "My Children, My Africa," which the author directed at the La Jolla Playhouse.
On television, Travis currently stars in the CBS comedy series "Almost Perfect." She also starred with Peter Gallagher and Isabella Rossellini in the Tom Cruise-directed segment of Showtime's recent anthology series "Fallen Angels," as well as in the HBO film "Body Language," with Tom Berenger.
