Winfrey’s maternal alternative
Oprah Winfrey has no regrets about not starting a family.
Oprah Winfrey has no regrets about not starting a family, said Lacey Rose in The Hollywood Reporter. The media mogul—who grew up in poverty in Mississippi—has always believed in putting her career first, and knew she’d never have enough time for children. “If I had kids, [they’d] hate me,” says Winfrey, 59. “They’d have ended up on the equivalent of the Oprah show talking about me; because something [in my life] would have had to suffer, and it would’ve probably been them.” But Winfrey has found a different outlet for her maternal instincts, by creating a girls’ school in South Africa. She talks daily with the kids—most of whom will become the first members of their poor families to go to college—about everything from boy troubles to handling success. “When you’re the most successful person in your town, everybody thinks you’re the First National Bank,” she says. Winfrey, who is reportedly worth $2.9 billion, learned that people’s needs depended on what they thought she had. “It got to the point where nobody asked me for less than $5,000. I felt pressured for a long time to say yes because I [couldn’t] lie and say I don’t have it. My salary is printed in the paper.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
'The winners and losers of AI may not be where we expect'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judge ends Eric Adams case, Trump leverage
Speed Read Federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams were dismissed, as requested by Trump's Justice Department
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published