Retro Sneaker Icon: Whoopi Goldberg

Before the Reebok Pump party the other night, my friend B saw the Reebok Freestyles I was wearing and made an interesting observation. She told me she was absolutely sure Whoopi Goldberg rocks Freestyles in the 1986 movie, Jumpin' Jack Flash. Of course, I had to investigate.

Turns out B was dead right! Whoopi does wear Reeboks in the movie! Whoopi even wears Reeboks in the promo poster:
I sat down and watched the movie - she wears Frees in loads of different scenes. She even rocks some amazing canary yellow ones!But it doesn't stop there. After scouring the net for info on Whoopi I discovered that back in the day, Whoopi was a bit of a Reebok fiend. The same year Jumpin' Jack Flash was released, Whoopi appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Look closely...
She's rocking Reeboks on the cover of Rolling Stone. What a fiend!
She also won a Golden Globe that year for her role in the film The Color Purple (alongside Oprah Winfrey). And guess what she had on her feet the night she won? See for yourself...
These days she doesn't seem to wear Reeboks quite as much, but she's definitely still into sneakers. As a host on talk show The View, she had her own shoe segment called Whoopi's Favorite Shoes, featuring brands like Jumps.
And she has a pretty epic shoe collection of her own...
In 2008, Whoopi donated this pair of gold Converse to be auctioned for charity. They're not to my taste, but I love that the lady is still rocking kicks more than 20 years on.
Whoopi Goldberg, sneaker fiend - we salute you!