Oprah Winfrey’s breakout role in “The Color Purple” transformed her acting career and inadvertently helped her become one of the most powerful figures in television history. The movie adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel was filmed and released in 1985. At the time, she was the host of “AM Chicago.”
The Missouri native debuted her eponymous daytime talk show in 1986 — the syndicated program ran for 25 seasons and became the most-watched and highest-rated TV show during its two decades on air.
In the premiere episode of the “NXT Chapter with T.D. Jakes” podcast, the mogul reflected on taking on her Oscar-nominated role as Sophia led her to bet on herself at her day job. She recalled, “I only had a two-week vacation period, so I agreed to give up my entire vacation for the rest of my contract in order to be able to do ‘The Color Purple.’”
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When it came time to renegotiate the agreement, the sacrifice resurfaced with unexpected business guidance from her attorney. “He said, ‘You never want to be in the position when there’s something important for you to do where you can’t do it,’” Winfrey said.
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He proposed, “Are you interested in owning yourself?” She said, “Sign me up for that,” despite being warned about the risks of failure and financial instability. “I said, ‘I believe enough in myself to know that somewhere on the other side I will get paid.
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The shrewd businesswoman continued, “I have had the best contract humanly possible in television. I started out with owning 50 percent, and by the end of the show, I owned 93 percent. So every year I would increase it and, because of the ownership, then decide for myself when I take a vacation. Nobody ever again was given the authority to tell me when I could or could not work.”
Fans celebrated her legacy across Internet platforms as clips of her and Jakes’ conversation circulated. Some of the reactions included comments like, “It’s always best to bet on yourself!” Similarly, a supporter exclaimed, “Big flex is to OWN yourself!”
But not everyone was onboard with Winfrey’s abbreviated tale of success. According to one person, “There is sooooooooooooooooooooo much that she is leaving out of this story.” A second critically quipped, “The people this woman surrounds herself with are absolutely EEEEEEVEAL.” A third person declared that she was an “oppressed billionaire.”
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The Emmy-winning show reportedly made more than $300 million annually in its latter seasons. By 2003, Winfrey was declared the first Black woman billionaire. She launched the Oprah Winfrey Network in 2011, solidifying her TV empire. Her net worth is an estimated $3.2 billion.
Elsewhere in the discussion, Winfrey emphasized that part of doing good business requires surrounding one’s self with people who are “aligned in spirit.”
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She admitted, “My biggest mistakes have come from… ‘cause you can’t get it right all the time… when you see somebody who isn’t aligned in spirit, you need to pull it right then… my big mistake has been looking at…hoping things get better.”
The fireside chat about faith and entrepreneurship was taped during a live panel at the Good Soil Forum in June and repurposed for the “NEXT Chapter with T.D. Jakes” podcast.
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