Actors Who Played the Same Role in 'The Color Purple'

The Color Purple Cast Over the Years — Whoopi Goldberg, Cynthia Erivo, Fantasia Barrino. Photo:
Warner Brothers/Getty; Walter McBride/WireImage; Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The Color Purple was an instant classic the minute it hit theaters back in 1985. Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Alice Walker novel of the same name, the film was directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Whoopi Goldberg, Danny Glover, Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey.

Following the life of Celie (first played by Goldberg) — a soft-spoken woman who has to endure abuse and vitriol from her father and later, husband — the film's harsh themes of pedophilia, race and abuse both resonated and stirred controversy with audiences the world over. Still, Spielberg's adaptation scored 11 Academy Award nominations and five Golden Globe nods (including a win for Goldberg) when it first debuted.

Since then, the coming-of-age drama has seen several iterations on Broadway. The Color Purple play debuted at the Broadway Theatre in N.Y.C. in 2005 and starred LaChanze, Felicia P. Fields, Kingsley Leggs, Elisabeth Withers-Mendes, Brandon Victor Dixon, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Krisha Marcano and more. The show, which ran until 2008, scored LaChanze a best actress in a musical Tony for her powerful performance as Celie. Another critically acclaimed revival came in 2015.

Now, nearly 40 years after the original, The Color Purple is once again hitting the big screen in an adaptation directed by Ghanaian filmmaker Blitz Bazawule, who previously directed The Burial of Kojo (2018) and Beyoncé's Black Is King (2020).

As we gear up for the Dec. 25 premiere of the film, here's a look at some of the actors who've played the same character in The Color Purple from the original movie, the 2015 Broadway revival and now, the new film.

01 of 10

Oprah Winfrey & Danielle Brooks as Sofia

Long before she became the mega media mogul we know her to be today, Oprah Winfrey cut her teeth in the acting world playing Sofia in the Steven Spielberg film.

"Doing the [original] film was the most important thing that had ever happened to me and continues to be a central theme in my life," Winfrey told PEOPLE in her December 2023 cover story. "It's as big a miracle as my whole life has been, because I didn’t know one single soul in the business."

Years later, Danielle Brooks would take on the bold, outspoken character for the 2015 Broadway revival and now, the 2023 film.

Playing Sofia was a major turning point for the Orange Is the New Black alumna, too. Though she got major praise for her portrayal of Sofia, years of rejection in Hollywood continued to gnaw at her even as she found success. But channeling the character helped her break through.

"I was on the stage, doing my thing and God blessed me with a Tony nomination and I was terrified ... and so I got imposter syndrome," she revealed while at the Black Excellence Brunch in Los Angeles on Dec. 3. "I was like, 'I can't do this.' But it was [The Color Purple's] story, it was the music and getting to sing 'Hell No' every night. Getting to say 'hell no,' to my fears, 'hell no' to [thinking] I'm not enough. That I'm not worthy," she said.

"Now, however many years later, getting to star in this, I feel God has prepared me. I'm ready to receive and walk into this [chapter]," she concluded.

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Whoopi Goldberg, Cynthia Erivo & Fantasia Barrino as Celie

Whoopi Goldberg played the role of Celie so well, she snagged her first Oscar nod, getting nominated for Best Actress at the 1986 Academy Awards.

Cynthia Erivo then took over the role in 2015 and also delivered a powerful performance that not only won a Tony, but also trophies for outstanding actress in a musical at the Drama Desk Awards in 2016, as well as outstanding musical performance in a daytime program at the 2017 Daytime Emmy Awards.

Now stepping up is Fantasia Barrino — who previously played Celie on Broadway back in 2007 — whose powerful performance has already generated Oscar buzz and locked in a Golden Globe nomination for 2024.

03 of 10

Margaret Avery, Jennifer Hudson & Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery

Actress Margaret Avery wowed the audience with her enamoring and heartfelt portrayal of Shug Avery — a flamboyant Blues singer, characterized as "loose" in the film. Since then, actresses who've stepped into the role have made it a point to capture her charm, freedom and ambition.

Jennifer Hudson played the role in the 2015 Broadway revival and Taraji P. Henson has equally wowed critics with her portrayal in the upcoming film.

Interestingly, Henson actually turned down the role for Broadway back in 2007. "I know my vocal cords. I just knew that I couldn't withstand eight shows a week," she said while on The View. "So, I ran, but [Shug] found me. I guess what gave me the courage this time was Blitz because he just believed in me so much," she explained.

04 of 10

Desreta Jackson & Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as Young Celie

Desreta Jackson played Whoopi Goldberg's younger counterpart in The Color Purple in 1985.

In a touching Instagram post shared on Nov. 29, the actress reflected on making the original film, writing, "It has been 40 years since the making of The Color Purple. Wow. I was in Jr. High when I landed the role of 'Young Celie.' "

She went on to detail the arduous process of auditioning for the role, before alluding to the dark parallels that connected her to Celie. "Although I wasn't nervous or excited, I was concerned about not having to return home because home was always full of consequences," she wrote. "Those consequences allowed me to connect, understand and form the methodology of my character, Celie. She was me, and I was her."

Breakout star Phylicia Pearl Mpasi is now taking over the role and bringing new life to the character. “It is joyous, it is fun, it is sad, it's traumatic, it's dramatic, but at the end of the day, it is a story of a Black woman who is the hero and the center of a story,” she told PEOPLE. “And I think people are going to leave feeling triumphant and they can take on any of the problems the world throws at them because Celie can.”

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Akosua Busia & Halle Bailey as Young Nettie

Akosua Busia and Halle Bailey The Color Purple — Akosua Busia and Halle Bailey.
Warner Brothers/Getty Images; Eli Ade/warner bros.

Playing Celie's favored younger sister in the original film was Akosua Busia. Following her role in the Spielberg-directed film, Busia also starred in Beloved, The George McKenna Story, Rosewood and a handful of other films before retreating from the public eye.

In the new adaptation, Halle Bailey takes over the role, showcasing her ever-growing acting skills and polished singing chops as the fiery and devoted younger sister to Celie.

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Joaquina Kalukango & Ciara as Nettie

Joaquina Kalukango and Ciara The Color Purple — Joaquina Kalukango, Ciara.
Walter McBride/WireImage; FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Though the role of young Nettie didn't get a separate actress in the 2015 Broadway revival, Joaquina Washington stepped up and played the older version.

In the 2023 reimagining of the film, Ciara plays the older Nettie, bringing the story of the two sisters full circle.

07 of 10

Danny Glover, Isaiah Johnson & Colman Domingo as Albert 'Mister' Johnson

Many watchers of the original film can still remember being terrified by Danny Glover's performance as Mister, Celie's abusive husband.

The menacing role was then taken over by Isaiah Johnson on Broadway, before Colman Domingo stepped in for the latest version. The Euphoria actor has also generated Oscar buzz for his performance.

08 of 10

Willard E. Pugh, Kyle Scatliffe & Corey Hawkins as Harpo

Playing Mister's son and Sofia's husband, Harpo, in the original film was Willard E. Pugh, who went on to appear in Air Force One and RoboCop 2 after The Color Purple.

Kyle Scatliffe, who has credits in Bull and Chicago P.D. then took over the role on Broadway, before Corey Hawkins of Straight Outta Compton fame stepped in as the conflicted character in Bazawule's film.

09 of 10

Rae Dawn Chong, Patrice Covington & H.E.R. as Squeak/Mary Agnes

Though Squeak is a secondary character, her story in The Color Purple is equally as poignant as she eventually learns to speak up for herself and forge her own identity in a world where she is praised for being a meek woman.

Originated by Rae Dawn Chong in 1985, the role was then adapted by Patrice Covington in the 2015 revival and now by R&B singer H.E.R. in the new film.

10 of 10

Dana Ivey & Elizabeth Marvel as Miss Millie

The condescending, racist and entitled character of Miss Millie was first played by Dana Ivey, who some may recognize from The Addams Family, Home Alone 2, Legally Blonde and a host of other classic films.

Elizabeth Marvel — who's appeared in The Dropout, Love & Death, Law & Order: SVU, among others — plays the antagonistic character in the new release.