When Paul Rudnick was writing the screenplay, Bette Midler (who was attached to star at the time) suggested he go to a real-life convent to do research. He went to stay in the Regina Laudis Abbey in Bethlehem, Connecticut. The Prioress, Mother Dolores Hart, O.S.B., had been an actress, singer, and dancer, appearing in movies including King Creole (1958) and Where the Boys Are (1960). Mother Hart is still the only known nun to be a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and she and her fellow nuns enjoy watching her Academy screeners every year.
The Rolling Stone Magazine cover shown during the closing credits is real.
Whoopi Goldberg hired Carrie Fisher to re-write her dialogue, which led to many arguments with Disney executives. Fisher later told Goldberg, "You're getting into a pissing contest with people who have actual dicks."
This movie was later turned into a stage musical. Whoopi Goldberg appeared in a limited run of the London performance, this time playing Mother Superior.
An opening scene shows Deloris as a young girl, played by Isis Carmen Jones. Later the same year, Jones played a "de-aged" version of Goldberg's character Guinan, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) episode Rascals (1992).