“Maggie Smith was a great woman and a brilliant actress. I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with the ‘one-of-a-kind,’” the 68-year-old wrote on Instagram . “My heartfelt condolences go out to the family … RIP.”
Along with her sweet words, Goldberg shared a photo of herself and Smith from the 1992 hit comedy, “Sister Act.”
Maggie Smith and Whoopi Goldberg in “Sister Act.” Buena Vista Pictures Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith in the 1992 hit family comedy movie “Sister Act.”
The film follows Deloris Wilson (Goldberg), a lounge singer put in witness protection after witnessing a violent murder. She poses as Sister Mary Clarence after being relocated to a convent in San Francisco and continuously butts heads with Smith’s Mother Superior.
The actresses reprised their roles in the movie’s 1993 sequel “Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit.” In 2020, Disney announced that the franchise would continue with a third installment of “Sister Act,” which will be released on Disney+.
In the years since, Goldberg and her fellow castmates, including Tanya Trotter, Wendy Makkena and Kathy Najimy, have shared updates on the project with fans.
Whoopi Goldberg shares sweet tribute to the late Maggie Smith. Buena Vista Pictures
Though she wasn’t sure she would be in the third flick, the 47-year-old told Entertainment Tonight at the time that she does “know that the script is done.”
Whoopi Goldberg on “The View.” YouTube/The View Maggie Smith plays the eccentric Aunt Augusta in the MGM film “Travels With My Aunt.” Getty Images
“One of the things that I want to make sure I do while I’m here is I want to let Maggie Smith know that I’m holding the part of Mother Superior for you,” the “View” co-host said as she looked directly into the camera. “Because I just can’t do it with anybody but you.”
Goldberg added that she would do whatever it took to get Smith on board.
“So if you need me to come over here and shoot it and do whatever we have to do, we will do whatever you want us to do,” she continued. “But we don’t want to do it without you, Maggie.”
The pair’s friendship reached far beyond the big screen, as Goldberg noted in her 2024 memoir “Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me.”
In the book, the EGOT winner recalled how, after being devastated by the news of her mother’s death, Smith stayed with her until she was able to get a flight home from London the next morning.
“For the next five hours, Maggie sat with me and let me talk her ear off, telling stories about my mom, my growing-up years and my brother. We laughed a lot,” penned Goldberg. “I don’t know if I was in shock. I had never been in shock before. I don’t think I cried. I didn’t feel anything except a big wave of kindness from Maggie.”
Added the author, “I’ve got to say, she is one of those people for whom I would do anything. Anything Maggie Smith needs, I got her covered.”
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