Whoopi says laughter is best tonic

Goldberg is the fourth winner of the Mark Twain prize

Comedian Whoopi Goldberg has picked up the honour of the Mark Twain Prize for humour, the first woman in its four-year history.

Friends from the world of comedy and film joined the Oscar-winning actress at a ceremony held at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts.

Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Chris Rock were among the stars paying tribute to Goldberg.

Accepting her award, she said she was not sure the event would go ahead, saying it "almost didn't happen" after the atrocities of 11 September.

But she added: "We must pick ourselves up by our bootstrings and laugh - we have to."

She kept the audience entertained as she presented the Oscars

Actor and comedian Williams took to the stage wearing a gas mask in an attempt to ease the tension in American about anthrax outbreaks.

But Chris Rock summed up the mood of the evening by telling Goldberg: "You are a legend and you know it."

The Kennedy Center established the Mark Twain Prize to recognise those who create humour from their uniquely American experiences.

Broadway hit

Born and raised in New York City, Whoopi Goldberg (real name Caryn Johnson) started performing in San Diego, California.

Working with the Lake Street Hawkeyes Theatre Group, she created the characters who became The Spook Show, a one-woman act. The show went on to become a Broadway hit in 1984.

Goldberg went on to star in many films, including Jumpin' Jack Flash, Sister Act, How Stella Got Her Groove Back and The Color Purple, for which she won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination.

Goldberg was initially unsure whether the ceremony was appropriate

In 1991, she was rewarded with an Academy Award for best supporting actress for her role in the movie Ghost. She also hosted the awards in 1999.

She has written two books - Alice, for children, and another simply titled Book.

The proceeds of the event go towards helping young American comedians in the form of grants from the Kennedy Center Education Department.

The prize was awarded for the first time in 1988, to actor Richard Pryor, and the following year to Jonathan Winters, a veteran American comedian who appeared on the Steve Allen Show and the Tonight Show and starred in The Flintstones and The Rockie and Bullwinkle Movie.

Carl Reiner, the creator of The Dick van Dyke show and famed for his collaborations with fellow comic Mel Brooks, won the award in 2000.