Whoopi Goldberg Was Born Caryn Elaine Johnson In The Chelsea Section Of Manhattan On November 13, 1955. Her Mother, Emma (Harris), Was A Teacher And A Nurse, And Her Father, Robert James Johnson, Jr., Was A Clergyman. She Worked In A Funeral Parlor And As A Bricklayer While Taking Small Parts On Broadway. She Moved To California And Worked With Improv Groups, Including Spontaneous Combustion, And Developed Her Skills As A Stand-Up Comedienne. Goldberg Came To Prominence Doing An Hbo Special And A One-Woman Show As Moms Mabley. She Has Been Known In Her Prosperous Career As A Unique And Socially Conscious Talent With Articulately Liberal Views.

Goldberg Had Her First Big Film Starring Role In The Color Purple (1985). She Received Much Critical Acclaim, And An Oscar Nomination For Her Role And Became A Major Star As A Result. Subsequent Efforts In The Late 1980S Were, At Best, Marginal Hits. These Movies Mostly Were Off-Beat To Formulaic Comedies Like Burglar (1987), The Telephone (1988) And Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986). She Made Her Mark As A Household Name And A Mainstay In Hollywood For Her Oscar-Winning Role In The Box Office Smash Ghost (1990). Whoopi Goldberg Was At Her Most Famous In The Early 1990S, Making Regular Appearances On Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). She Admitted To Being A Huge Fan Of The Original Star Trek: The Original Series (1966) Series And Jumped At The Opportunity To Star In “Star Trek: The Next Generation”.

Goldberg Received Another Smash Hit Role In Sister Act (1992). Her Fish-Out-Of-Water With Some Flash Seemed To Resonate With Audiences And It Was A Box Office Smash. Whoopi Starred In Some Highly Publicized And Moderately Successful Comedies Of This Time, Including Made In America (1993) And Soapdish (1991). Goldberg Followed Up To Her Success With Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit (1993), Which Was Well-Received But Did Not Seem To Match Up To The First.

As The Late 1990S Approached, Goldberg Seemed To Alternate Between Lead Roles In Straight Comedies Such As Eddie (1996) And The Associate (1996), And Took Supporting Parts In More Independent Minded Movies, Such As The Deep End Of The Ocean (1999) And How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998). Goldberg Never Forgot Where She Came From, Hosting Many Tributes To Other Legendary Entertainment Figures. Her Most Recent Movies Include Rat Race (2001) And The Quietly Received Kingdom Come (2001). Goldberg Contributes Her Voice To Many Cartoons, Including The Pagemaster (1994) And Captain Planet And The Planeteers (1990), As Gaia, The Voice Of The Earth. Alternating Between Big-Budget Movies, Independent Movies, Tributes, Documentaries, And Even Television Movies (Including Theodore Rex (1995)).

Whoopi Is Accredited As A Truly Unique And Visible Talent In Hollywood. Perhaps She Will Always Be Remembered As Well For Comic Relief, Playing An Integral Part In Almost Every Benefit Concert They Had. Whoopi Is Also The Center Square In Hollywood Squares (1998), Sometimes Hosts The Academy Awards, And Is An Author, With The Book “Book.”

YASMEEN SHABSOUGH
A 24 year old professional football player from Jordan

Yasmeen grew up in a loving family where she was the only girl, surrounded everyday by boys playing the beautiful game. Her daily mission: to prove she was equally talented and up to the challenge, fulfilling her rightful spot on the pitch. Throughout her childhood and well into her young adult life, this mission was a continuous learning tool helping her to continue to fight for equality and break down barriers in a male dominant region.

Yasmeen joined her country’s national team in 2009 when she was 13 years old and with hard work and determination worked her way up into the senior’s team. Yasmeen has now been playing football for 13 years now and is aiming for at least 13 more!

Throughout her journey, Yasmeen faced various levels of discrimination and inequality. It was clear from the start that the path she was on was a very unequal playing field. However, her dedication and family support inspired her to battle on and learn from these gross inequalities and fight for an equal playing field for all. The lack of female leaders and representation of women in sports organisations made her more determined to become one of those women and help open more doors for others.

In 2016 Yasmeen was part of the Local Organizing Committee for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup held in Jordan. In 2017 (to this day), she has immersed herself in understanding the power of sport to educate in schools and communities, to tackle societal challenges and give opportunities to girls (and boys) in rural areas and refugee camps. At the same time Yasmeen started to volunteer with the grassroots non-profit, Equal Playing Field (EPF), to challenge gender inequality in sport and to promote sports development for girls and women globally. With Equal Playing Field, she broke four Guinness World Records promoting gender equality in sports. In 2020 Yasmeen worked with the local organising committee of the Jordan Olympic Committee for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Asia/Oceania Road to Tokyo 2020 Boxing Qualifiers.

KARMEN ROYAL
A 30 year old professional photographer from London

Karmen Royal joined a charity called Wembley to Soweto team in 2016 at the age of 26. She was one of eight students to receive training on the first course the charity ran in partnership with Arsenal In the Community. As a student who loves football and who supported Arsenal FC, she not only quickly developed a love of photography but found herself in what she describes as the best educational environment – where she was learning ‘on the job’ – photographing the action and atmosphere inside the Emirates and capturing her team in action but also documenting the outreach that Arsenal in the Community do and telling stories, with her camera, of events that affect those in the community in which she lives.

Over the last two years, the charity has continued to support and work with Karmen by offering her a diverse range of further opportunities. She has also been able to use her skills and experience to be a mentor to other students but more recently, to work alongside John Cole (a professional photographer and main teacher) as assistant teacher on courses run in partnership with The Premier League and the PFA.

Karmen has taken portraits of Sachin Tendulkar, photographed the Candoco Dance Company, Eurostar, the Arsenal and Man City first team as well as Arsenal Legends, Team GB cycling at The Velodrome, the action at Sussex Cricket Club and Brighton Race course and her photographs capturing the energy at Elthorne Boxing Gym were shortlisted for the MTV Brakes EMA competition and of recent the onset photographer for a short film called “Drawn Out” which was created by youths on the Elthorne estate in Islington.

Karmen has given a number of media interviews on both BBC local and national radio as well as on TV and pitch side at the Emirates and Stamford bridge, discussing the work of the charity and the difference it has made to her life as she continues to be an ambassador for all the charity does.

Commenting on turning around her life, Karmen said “Before joining the course I was not in a great place. I was homeless and suffering ill-health but because of the skills I learnt and the support I have received, I’ve been able to pursue a career in photography as well as help others learn also, this has really helped me too. I now have a place to live and I’ve had experience in so many aspects of photography; I can’t thank those that have helped me along the way enough for their continuous help and support, when just one believes in you, it is amazing what you can achieve.”