Meet Whoopi Goldberg's 2 Granddaughters: All About Amarah and Jerzey Dean

Known for iconic roles in films such as The Color Purple, Sister Act and Spirit, Whoopi Goldberg is one of only 18 EGOT winners, who have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards for their work.

Before all that, however, she had a daughter, Alexandra “Alex” Martin Dean, who now has three children: Goldberg’s granddaughters, Amara and Jerzey, and her grandson, Mason.

Goldberg had Alex when she was 18, after marrying her former drug counselor Alvin Martin in 1973. They divorced in 1979, and Goldberg married twice after that.

In May 2024, Goldberg published a book about her family, Pieces: My mother, my brother and me.

“This book is dedicated to everyone who is just trying to figure out the little things as well as the things where you have to be more than you thought you could be and it’s dedicated to love,” Goldberg said in a press release.

Keep reading to learn all about Whoopi Goldberg’s two granddaughters.

Amara Skye Dean, 36

Whoopi Goldberg and Amara Skye Martin at the premiere of ‘Till’ on October 1, 2022.

Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Amara was born on November 13, 1989 in Berkeley, California as the first daughter of Alex Martin and Bernard Dean. She and her grandmother, who was only 34 when Amara was born, share the same birthday.

On March 16, 2014, Amara gave birth to a daughter, Charli Rose Burr-Reynaud. “We are a young family,” Amara said Essence 2023. “I was raised a little by my grandmother’s mother. My grandmother is my daughter’s great-grandmother. That’s how we created that connection. There are only five of us in the family. We are all we have, so we are very close.”

Shortly after Charla’s birth, Goldberg opened up about her new great-granddaughter on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. “I was not your normal grandmother and I will not be your normal great-grandmother,” she said.

When Fallon asked her what Charli would call her, she said, “She better call me Whoopi.”

In 2023, Amara appeared on the show claim to fame, where celebrity relatives try to hide their identity in order to win an award. As she prepared for the show, she received the blessing of her grandmother, who gave her some advice: “Be strong f—– and come back happy,” Amara recalled.

Whoopi Goldberg and Amarah Skye Martin at the Tribeca ESPN Family Festival Street Fair and Sports Day during the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival on May 3, 2008.

Amy Sussman/Getty

Also on the show, Amara revealed another tidbit about Goldberg — how she got the nickname “Whoopi.”

“My grandma got that name because she likes to fart a lot,” she said. “So, pads, fart. That’s how Caryn Johnson became Whoopi Goldberg.”

She went on to reveal that Goldberg once had a “fart war” in an elevator with close friends Billy Crystal and the late Robin Williams. “I wasn’t there, but that was my favorite story that my grandmother told me, about her, Robin Williams, and Billy Crystal standing in the elevator, and Robin Williams just farted his life. I guess they were in a dutch oven each other, just enjoying the ambiance of farting,” she said.

Amara also revealed for Essence that she never thought about acting because it was her grandmother’s thing. “My grandmother and I are very close. She is everything,” she said. “It gets frustrating because it’s like, how am I going to compete with that? But I’m lucky enough to have it.”

Jerzey Kennedy Dean, 28

Whoopi Goldberg and Jerzey Dean at the FENTY PUMA by Rihanna Spring/Summer 2018 Collection on September 10, 2017 in New York City.

Kevin Mazur/Getty

Jerzey was born on February 7, 1996. While she and her siblings were growing up, they were all close to their grandmother, who enjoyed her role as a fun-loving cousin. “I don’t cook and everyone knows it. I mean, I don’t even cook for my grandchildren,” she said Parade in November 2007

“For [Alex’s] children, I’m just a grandmother. They’re asking me for an adventure,” Whoopi added.

Since she was a teenager, Jerzey has appeared in the front rows of top designers’ fashion shows with Goldberg by her side.

Whoopi Goldberg and Jerzey Dean at the Diane von Furstenberg Spring Summer 2015 show on September 7, 2014.

Kristin Callahan/Ace/Shutterstock

Today, Jerzey is a fashion designer with her own label, Jerzey Kennedy Designs. According to the high-end leisure label’s Instagram account, it is based in Los Angeles and New York.

Goldberg went from poverty to A-list status, and she wants to instill the same work ethic in her family. “She wants us to be real people. Things are not given to us just like that. It could be, but it isn’t,” said Amara Essence in 2023

“I just want people to know that I’ve worked really hard for my position and the things that I’ve done. I did a lot without grandma’s help. But the fact that she’s there to help me, you know, I don’t want to bring that up. I want to do what I can,” she added.

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Source: HIS Education