Whoopi Goldberg on How Maggie Smith Comforted Her When Her Mom Was Dying

Whoopi Goldberg is remembering the late Dame Maggie Smith fondly in the wake of the legendary actor's death at 89.

Goldberg, who shared screen time with Smith in both "Sister Act" (1992) and "Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit" (1993), solemnly remembered her on Instagram Friday, writing, "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'. My heartfelt condolences go out to the family…RIP."

Recently, Goldberg, 68, told People magazine that Smith was there for her in 2010, when Goldberg's mom — Emma Harris — was on life support.

Goldberg was then in London, starring in the hit stage version of "Sister Act," and Smith happened to be visiting the show. According to Whoopi, Maggie spent five hours consoling her, saying, "Listen, my friend, we'll get you through this. We'll get you through this. We'll get you to the hospital so you can get to her. Get you back to Berkeley so you can get home."

Whoopi went on to say, “We were up all night, just laughing and talking about stuff. And she had met my mom a couple of times. Just having somebody who got it, who understood, it's everything.”

The story appears in Goldberg's memoir "Bits and Pieces: My Mother, My Brother, and Me," in which she also wrote, "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.”

Over the years, Disney has confirmed it is working on a third "Sister Act" film. So devoted was Whoopi to Maggie that she has gone on record saying she would only do it if Maggie played Mother Superior.

On the U.K. show "Loose Women" last year, she stated she was "holding the part" for Smith. "I just can't do it with anybody but you," she told Smith to the camera. "We don't want to do it without you, Maggie."

She told ODE in 2023 she was still "optimistic" about a "Sister Act 3" with Maggie on board.

Now that Smith has passed on, the fate of "Sister Act 3" is uncertain. As of June 2024, actor Tanya Trotter revealed a script was complete.