<Tr> <Th> Budget </Th> <Td> $15 million </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $142 million </Td> </Tr> <P> The Color Purple is a 1985 American period drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Menno Meyjes, based on the Pulitzer Prize - winning novel of the same name by Alice Walker . It was Spielberg's eighth film as a director, and was a change from the summer blockbusters for which he had become famous . The film was also the first feature - length film directed by Spielberg for which John Williams did not compose the music . The film starred Danny Glover, Desreta Jackson, Margaret Avery, Oprah Winfrey (in her film debut), Adolph Caesar, Rae Dawn Chong, and featured Whoopi Goldberg (also in her film debut) as Celie Harris - Johnson . </P> <P> Filmed in Anson and Union counties in North Carolina, the film tells the story of a young African American girl named Celie Harris and shows the problems African American women faced during the early 20th century, including domestic violence, incest, pedophilia, poverty, racism, and sexism . Celie is transformed as she finds her self - worth through the help of two strong female companions . </P>

Who played miss celie in the color purple