Who Is Whoopi Goldberg's Daughter? All About Alex Martin

Whoopi Goldberg and her daughter, Alexandrea “Alex” Martin Dean, have lived many lives together.

View the presenter welcomed her only child with her first husband, Alvin Martin, on May 9, 1973. Although Goldberg and Martin’s marriage later dissolved in 1979, the actress’ relationship with Alex grew stronger.

Now she bestows the title of “grandma” on Alexa’s three children — daughters Amara and Jerzey and son Mason — who she shares with her husband, Bernard Dean. While Goldberg loves playing grandma, she was quick to admit to PEOPLE that her foul mouth can get the best of her sometimes.

“I’m a bad influence,” Goldberg said, referring to the time she taught her then-2-year-old grandson how to pronounce the F word. “My daughter said, ‘Where did he get that?’ And I said, ‘Well, it sounds like you taught him that.’ She didn’t talk to me for a week.”

From their shared love of acting and entertainment to their beautiful mother-daughter bond, here’s everything you need to know about Whoopa Goldberg’s daughter, Alexandra “Alex” Martin Dean.

They had financial difficulties when she was a child

Whoopi Goldberg and Alex Martin at the Nickelodeon 19th Annual Kids Choice Awards.

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In an interview with TheGrio.com, Alex recalled the early beginnings of her mother’s acting and stand-up career. She opened up about what it was like before Goldberg made it big in Hollywood with his one-man show on Broadway followed by a film role Purple.

“I know what it’s like with food stamps, because my mom is on them [Welfare] framed cards,” she told the newspaper. “Seriously…I remember that. I remember we shared a room and slept in a bed together.”

Alex continued: “I remember when we wanted to travel we used to drive across the country in broken down bugs. We had no money to go to the cinema. I found friends, I walked down the street, I climbed trees, I went camping.”

Although she faced hardships, Alex said it helped shape her into the person she has become.

Goldberg also spoke about the difficulties of raising Alex as a single mother, telling her View co-host in June 2023 that, like her own mother before her, she “did what she had to do” to make ends meet.

“When I was on welfare, because I was a welfare mother, they paid us $27 a week,” she said. – All I wanted to do was work.

She recorded episodic roles in Goldberg’s films

Whoopi Goldberg and Alex Martin at the 90th Academy Awards.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

In the 90s, Alex began to make a name for herself in Hollywood. She acted in a satirical film in 1999 American intellectuals and joined the cast Call me Mraz and Strange as angels in 2001 and 2003. Alex also made minor appearances in two of her mother’s most legendary films, Purple in 1985 and Sister, Act Two: Back to the Habit in 1993.

In addition to appearing in the film, Alex was also Miss Golden Globe at the 1994 Golden Globe Awards.

Whoopi Goldberg’s most famous film and TV roles over the years

She starred in her own reality TV show

Whoopi Goldberg and Alex Martin at the 2014 Oscars.

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In 2015, the mother-daughter duo joined forces to create their own reality TV show called, According to Alex. Goldberg served as an executive producer while the six-episode series mostly focused on Alex, her family, friends and business ventures.

“You’re going to see everything,” Alex told MadameNoire while promoting the show. “You’re going to see all these different relationships and how they relate to each other. It kind of is Modern family-esque because there are a lot of different moving variable things.”

The series gave an inside look at Alex’s young adulthood and family life. In the trailer, fans learn how Alex and her husband met, that she went to culinary school and was once part of a rap group. The camera also caught the start of her and BFF Leisa Rachal’s pampering job, Nail Buzz.

She married her husband three times

Whoopi Goldberg and Alex Martin at the 2015 BET Upfronts.

Johnny Nunez/WireImage

In a conversation with MadameNoire, Alex revealed that she had married her husband Bernard a total of three times. “It’s about love, it’s about growing up, it’s about coming full circle,” she explained. “It’s about destiny and fate and being where you’re supposed to be.”

“I’d do it again,” Alex added before joking, “The diamond gets bigger.”

in According to Alex trailer, Bernard shared that he first met Alex at the pool and immediately fell in love. The couple married and divorced twice before remarrying for the last time in 2011.

Goldberg considers Alex “one of my best, best, best friends”

Whoopi Goldberg and Alex Martin at the 2019 Tyler Perry Studio Grand Opening.

Paras Griffin/Getty

Alex and her mom are two peas in a pod. “I’m proud to call her my best friend,” Goldberg said of her daughter while introducing her as a guest on View. “She is one of the most reliable and loyal people I know.”

Goldberg went on to say that her daughter is also quite the comedian. “She’s someone who makes me laugh, like a ‘bwuah’ laugh,” she continued. “We can talk to each other anytime during the day or night. I just really like it.”

In May 2024, Goldberg told PEOPLE that Alex taught her to “pick your battles.”

“Pick your battles and fight them,” she said. “You don’t have to fight every battle, because you can’t win every one. But choose the ones you think have merit. I learned that from my little girl.”

She is the mother of three children — and a grandmother!

Alex Martin on PaleyLive NY: According to Alex with Whoopi Goldberg 2015

Ryan Liu/Getty

In addition to being a mother of three children – daughters Amara and Jerzey and son Mason – Alex is a proud grandmother. Her oldest child, Amara, welcomed her own daughter named Charli Rose Burr-Reynaud on March 15, 2014, making Alex a first-time grandmother and Goldberg a great-grandmother.

Just like her mother, Amara has a very close relationship with Goldberg. While competing on ABC Claim to fame reality series, Amara explained that her famous grandmother gave her her blessing to appear on the show – and shared some key advice: “Be a strong k—– and come back happy.”

Amara also revealed how the nickname “Whoopi” came about.

“My grandmother got her name because she likes to fart a lot. So, pads, fart. That’s how Caryn Johnson became Whoopi Goldberg,” she said on the show.

Goldberg was a fun grandmother to Alex’s children when they were young

Whoopi Goldberg and Alex Martin at the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.

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Although Goldberg is very close to her grandchildren, she established some boundaries while they were growing up. “I don’t cook and everyone knows it. I mean, I don’t even cook for my grandchildren,” she told Parade in November 2007.

However, when it comes to planning exciting outings for Amara, Jerzey and Mason, Goldberg has always had it. “For her children, I am just a grandmother. They are looking for adventure in me,” she joked.

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Source: HIS Education