Whoopi Goldberg pays tribute to late ‘Sister Act’ costar Maggie Smith

Whoopi Goldberg is honoring her late Sister Act costar Maggie Smith after the actress died Friday at the age of 89.

Maggie Smith and Whoopi Goldberg in ‘Sister Act’.

Buena Vista Pictures

“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,’” Goldberg wrote on Instagram. “My heartfelt condolences go out to the family…RIP.”

Alongside her tribute, Goldberg included a photo of her and Smith from Sister Act. Released in 1992, the comedy tells the story of Deloris Wilson (Goldberg), a lounge singer who is put in witness protection after witnessing a violent murder. She is then relocated to a convent in San Francisco, where she poses as Sister Mary Clarence and frequently butt heads with Smith’s Mother Superior.

Smith and Goldberg would go on to reprise their roles in the film’s sequel, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, which was released the following year. Then, in 2020, Disney announced that it planned to produce a third installment of the franchise that would be released on Disney+. Goldberg and her fellow castmates have provided updates on the project to fans in the years since, with Tanya Trotter most recently revealing that its script has been completed.

However, Goldberg has stated in the past that she’d only reprise her role in a potential threequel if Smith did, too. While visiting the British talk show Loose Women, Goldberg noted that she’s “holding the part of Mother Superior” for Smith.

“I just can’t do it with anybody but you,” she said at the time. “We don’t want to do it without you, Maggie.”

The pair’s friendship goes beyond the silver screen. In her memoir Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me, Goldberg recalled the devastating moment that she learned her mother had died and how 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,” she wrote. “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.”

Goldberg added, “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.”