70 years old Oprah Winfrey She made a name for herself and is best known for her popular talk show ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’. The show ran for 25 years and became one of the highest-rated TV shows of all time.
In addition to her highly successful talk show, Oprah has donated millions of dollars to various causes and founded the Oprah Winfrey Foundation to support education, advocacy, and empowerment initiatives around the world.
Looking back on her incredible career, she is filled with love and gratitude for her fans.
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Oprah Winfrey says 'Gratitude is truly my religion'
“Gratitude is really my religion,” Oprah told PEOPLE for its 50th anniversary cover story.
“When you are grateful for what you have, you will realize that you have more than you can imagine,” she told the magazine.
She continued, “Start by just breathing. Realize what an incredible miracle it is that your heart is still beating. It's a revelation to me every day. Thank you for everything.”
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Oprah Winfrey said her first paycheck was going to go toward an apartment, but she changed her mind.
When she first got into the business, Oprah lived in an apartment in Chicago, and her first big paycheck would initially provide her living space.
“I was trying to get my first apartment in Chicago and I went to Crate & Barrel,” she recalled. “There was a $49.95 dinnerware set. I didn’t buy it because I didn’t think I made enough money to buy a set of six yet.”
“Years later, I was in a store and someone was debating whether or not to buy some silverware, and I remember feeling like I couldn’t afford it, so I went up to the counter and paid for it,” she added. “I love doing it.”
Oprah founded the Oprah Winfrey Foundation to support those in need.
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What Oprah Winfrey would like to tell her younger self
“Hold on a second, catch yourself.” She would give advice to her younger self.
“The most important thing is to stay centered, so your identity isn’t tied to what the world is saying, whether you’re on the cover of PEOPLE or not,” she told the magazine. “Not to be confused by what the outside says about your inner self is the most important thing for anyone seeking fame.”
She went on to explain that one of the reasons she was “so centered for so many years” was because “I had already been working for a very long time when it happened to me.”
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“I’ve been on TV since I was 19, and by 1987 I was already 33, and I grew up around the church and had a solid foundation of who I was,” she said. “So I was happy to share myself and my talents and the show with the audience, but I didn’t really try to figure out who I was.”
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Oprah Winfrey thanks Maya Angelou for keeping her grounded
Looking back on his early days, the entrepreneur, now 70, credits Maya Angelou for keeping him grounded and centered.
“I’ve never been to a therapist because there’s so much on the show, but downloading what happened that day with Gail was real therapy. [King] Every night, not a day went by that we missed some sort of phone call where we talked about what was going on in our day. I realized years later, talking to a specialist about something else, that it was my therapy and my liberation. That was how I regulated myself every day. “I’ve had the best friendships anyone could ever have.”
She concluded, “So there's Maya, there's Gail, there's Sidney Poitier before he passed away… those are the people that kept me grounded.”
Oprah Winfrey's Advice for People Nearing 70
Now that Oprah is 70, she offers advice for those approaching age and struggling.
“The biggest concern for anyone approaching this stage in life is their health,” she advised. “I do not live with the fear of death, but with the conscious acknowledgment that it is possible at any time… I would say that is one of the reasons why I am able to sit in wisdom now. There is wisdom and I make no apologies for it, because I Because you’re paying attention and really being fully aware.”
“I’ve been interested in it for a very long time,” he added.