The ’70s felt like the start of something, if thethree Black women nominated for Best Actresswere any indication.

Blaxploitation films went out of style.

And Black folks didnt lead blockbuster films…yet.

The Best Blacktresses - collage of Whoopi Goldberg in The Color Purple inside film strip

Whoopi Goldberg in ‘The Color Purple’.Credit:Everett Collection - Design: Alex Sandoval

Murphy became the biggest movie star of the decade, but he was mostly an action-comedy guy.

For a leading actress, there were two roles.

Either she was a romantic interest or the heroine of her own story.

COMING TO AMERICA, Shari Headley, Eddie Murphy, 1988,

Shari Headley and Eddie Murphy in ‘Coming to America’.

See also: Rae Dawn Chong.

Caryn Elaine Johnson was born in Manhattan on Nov. 13, 1955.

And she could do a lot.

American author, poet, and activist Alice Walker, author of the novel ‘The Color Purple’, poses for portrait at home in San Francisco in January, 1985

Alice Walker, c. 1985.

She pulled the car over so that she and her daughter could listen.

And he won her over.

Everett Collection

Goldberg initially couldnt believe that Spielberg actually wanted to see her.

American actress Whoopi Goldberg poses for a portrait sitting in a chair in Los Angeles, California, March 1986

Whoopi Goldberg, c. 1986.Bonnie Schiffman/Getty Images

I always knew I could act,Goldberg said in 2014.

I just never thought I would be doing movies.

who lands in the projects of Oakland, gets stoned, and arrested for drug possession.

THE COLOR PURPLE, Whoopi Goldberg, director Steven Spielberg on set, 1985

Whoopi Goldberg and Steven Spielberg on the set of ‘The Color Purple’.Everett Collection

Spielberg fell out of his seat laughing and Goldberg won the part.

Her Celie is deep and soulful, quiet but possessing an unspoken strength that shines in her eyes.

Then she became the fifth Black woman nominated for Best Actress at the 1986 Oscars.

THE COLOR PURPLE, Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg in ‘The Color Purple’.Everett Collection

The film was nominated for a total of 11 awards and, infamously, lost all of them.

Was race a factor?

Race is always a factor in America.

Actress Whoopi Goldberg attends the nominees luncheon for 58th Annual Academy Awards on March 13, 1986 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California

Whoopi Goldberg at the 58th Academy Awards nominees luncheon.Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

So the movie was damned if it did, damned if it didnt.

Her 80s films afterThe Color Purplewere mostly disappointments, failing to make proper use of her gifts.

Her biggest hit in this period wasPenny Marshalls feature directorial debutJumpin Jack Flash.

Whoopi Goldberg receives an Oscar at the 63Th Academy Awards on March 25, 1991 in Los Angeles, CA.

Whoopi Goldberg winning her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for ‘Ghost’.John Barr/Liaison

Whoopi Goldberg showed what was possible.

And we’ll get into that next week.

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