The Color Purple Lost All 11 Of Its Oscars Nominations. Here's Who Won Them

May 2024 · 1 minute read

Of the 11 Oscar losses "The Color Purple" suffered in 1986, one of the most surprising was when Whoopi Goldberg lost Best Actress. As noted by the British Film Institute, Goldberg's performance in the film is "remarkable" — and doubly so because it was her film debut as an actor. Goldberg was, as Yahoo! Entertainment notes, just a working comic in San Francisco at the time. Author Alice Walker happened to catch one of her comedy acts, and recommended that Steven Spielberg audition her for the role of Celie in the film.

As to why Goldberg didn't win despite her incredible performance, which did garner a Golden Globe in the same category, there are two main theories: One is the possibility that the outspoken Goldberg offended the academy voters. As noted by The Washington Post, Goldberg called the Academy "a small bunch of people with small minds," and the insult may have swayed votes away from her.

But some people believe the decision had more to do with the winner, Geraldine Page, who had been nominated seven times before but never won, per the Los Angeles Times. Page herself tacitly acknowledge this, saying that she hoped she'd won because she "did the best job" and not because of her many losses.

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