Whoopi Goldberg Honoured By Casting Society of America

Whoopi Goldberg reunited with the director who gave her her big break on Monday (26Sep11) as he presented the actress with a top honour at the Casting Society of America's 2011 Artios Awards ceremony.

The Graduate filmmaker Mike Nichols spotted Goldberg's talent when she appeared in ensemble piece Citizen I'm Not Losing My Mind, I'm Giving It Away in the early 1980s and helped to transfer the show to Broadway, where the actress caught Steven Spielberg's eye and he cast her as the lead in his 1985 drama The Color Purple.

That role won Goldberg critical acclaim and put her on the path to Hollywood.

She has since become one of only a few stars to earn an Emmy, a Grammy,an Oscar and a Tony Award - and her career achievements were celebrated at the Artios Awards in New York, where she was honoured with the CastingSociety's New York Apple Award.

The event was also attended by Daniel Radcliffe, Alan Cumming, Justin Bartha and Lucy Liu.