Oprah Winfrey talks life and love.
As Oprah Winfrey stepped onto the red carpet with her long-time love Stedman Graham for the Tyler Perry Studios grand opening gala on October 5, the talk-show host was undeniably glowing. But in a recent interview with People magazine, the star admitted she’d been hiding a dark secret: for many years. Oprah lived in fear of turning 56, because she was sure that’s when she was going to die.
“I used to have this dream that I was going to be dead at 56, so the year that I turned 56 I was filled with dread,” explained the TV mogul, now aged 65.
“When I got to 57, it was like, ‘Why did all my life I think it was going to be 56?’” she continued. “At the time I started having this vision of 56, it was when I was in Milwaukee and I was trapped in a world where I could see how dire it was.”
The fear, she went on, was sparked by her early years spent with her mum in Milwaukee.
As a teenager, Oprah lived in Nashville, Tennessee, with her father. She remains convinced that had she not managed to get out of Milwaukee, she would have ended up weighing 200 kilograms, suffering from diabetes and high blood pressure.
“I would have suffocated knowing that things could have been different,” she said.
The grim date has long since passed, with the star celebrating her 65th birthday in January this year aboard a $445 million superyacht in St Barts in the Caribbean with her best friend Gayle King.
Aside from the milestone birthday, it’s already been a big year for the billionaire businesswoman, who recently opened up about why she decided to partner with Apple to be the digital home of her famous Book Club – and it’s all about sharing her own personal love of reading with as many people as possible.
“For me, the only thing more thrilling than being captivated by a brilliant book is being able to share it. Thus, our goal of building the most stimulating book club on the planet,” she explained on The Oprah Magazine website.
“My partnership with Apple gives me a chance to take one of my most joyful experiences and spread the word. I know for sure you’ll appreciate the community that results when people engage with stories that enhance their lives.”
And in true Oprah style, there’s a charitable element to the collaboration, too, with Apple donating a portion of the sales of the latest Book Club selection – The Water Dancer
– to the American Library Association.
It’s just one of Oprah’s many recent philanthropic gestures, with the star wowing fans once again as she donated an additional $19 million to continue her scholarship program at the historically black, all-male Morehouse College on October 7.
“I was really surprised to learn that it’s been 30 years since I made that $12 million [$A17.8 million] donation to Morehouse, so today I would like to add $13 million (USD) to that,” she announced – making it the largest donation the school has ever received.
Though the star never had children, she says she has no regrets, with another facet of her incredible generosity being able to fulfil her motherly instincts.
“[I] believe that part of the reason why I don’t have regrets is because I got to fulfil it in the way that was best for me: the Oprah
“I USED TO HAVE THIS DREAM THAT I WAS GOING TO BE DEAD AT 56 ... I WAS FILLED WITH DREAD”
Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa,” she told People.
“Those girls fill that maternal fold that I perhaps would have had. In fact, they overfill – I’m overflowed with maternal.”
Oprah and Stedman’s partnership had been going strong for over 30 years, and although their family currently includes three dogs, according to The Oprah Magazine, “the couple chose not to have children.”
THE STAR OPENS UP ABOUT THE DAY SHE THOUGHT IT WOULD ALL END