Whereas Oprah Winfrey is thought for her penchant for throwing extravagant celebrations, the media mogul is taking a unique method with regards to her seventieth birthday.
A rep for the previous daytime speak present host tells ET that Winfrey won’t be internet hosting any massive events to have a good time her milestone birthday, a call that she delves into additional in an essay shared on Oprah Every day Monday.
“I had such pressure from all my friends to do something big, something special; to have a dinner, a party or luncheon — or to go somewhere like a spa, a hike, a resort, or to meditate in Nepal,” Winfrey admits within the essay. “I thought about it all, took in all their suggestions, and finally did what one friend, Wintley, recommended. He said, ‘You’re too blessed to stress. Savor the fragrances of your extraordinary life.’ It reminded me of the last line of ‘Love After Love,’ one of my favorite poems by Derek Walcott: ‘Sit. Feast on your life.'”
“So that’s what I’ve been doing — going through old journals, photos, memory boxes, feasting, savoring, and marveling at the discovery, pain, joy, and wonder of 70 years of growing into the woman I am,” she provides.
The Shade Purple producer shares her mindset as she ushers in a brand new 12 months, telling readers that she is reflecting on the “poignancy of time passing.”
She writes, “What I celebrate this birthday (and beyond) is knowing that the person I know myself to be and the work that has come straight from being has mattered. At my age, you recognize the poignancy of time passing. Seventy resonates, letting you know for sure that there are not as many years remaining as you’ve already consumed. I take great satisfaction in accepting that regardless of how many more suns are left — the rising each time has been worth it.”
Whereas Winfrey is not seeking to increase a whole lot of fanfare on her special occasion, others are more than pleased to have a good time her loudly and proudly.
Sherri Shepherd took the time to present Winfrey a shout-out on Monday’s episode of her eponymous speak present, sharing love for her mentor on her birthday.
“I got to tell you, at 70, Oprah is looking the best that she has ever looked,” Shepherd instructed her viewers. “This is a woman that is living her best life all right! Oprah recently said that she is not slowing down at 70; she said, ‘I will never be done until my last breath is done.’ You better go! It’s just getting better for Oprah.”
Shepherd has beforehand shared that Winfrey reached out and provided her a wealth of knowledge earlier than she debuted her speak present, preaching necessary classes on sustaining a constructive power along with her viewers and never being too centered on the present’s numbers. She displays on their relationship throughout her birthday shout-out, telling her viewers that she “still can’t get over” having the mogul’s “stamp of approval.”
“We over here, the entire cast and crew, we still in an Oprah High,” Shepherd provides earlier than signing off with a cheerful birthday message to Winfrey.
Danielle Brooks additionally paid tribute to her predecessor, posting an Instagram video of her with Winfrey on the Shade Purple set, by which she reprised her portrayal of Sofia, which she initially performed on Broadway throughout the 2015 revival manufacturing. Her portrayal is presently within the operating for an Academy Awards.
“Happy 70th birthday @oprah 🤸♂️🎊🥂Love ya like a fat kid loves cake or even better, love ya like you love bread,” Brooks captioned the submit. “Sending you so much love. ❤️ 💜❤️”
When ET spoke with Winfrey on the star-studded premiere of The Shade Purple on the Academy Museum of Movement Photos in Los Angeles in December, she mirrored on her time as Sofia within the 1985 epic — which additionally earned her an Academy Award nomination — and passing on the position to Brooks.
“I believe that there’s something really divine about The Color Purple. I believe that there’s something special that, whenever Alice Walker wrote this in 1982 when it was first released, it put something into the world that was deeply meaningful, powerful, resilient, hopeful, and I think that that message of forgiveness and joy is always needed,” she famous.
“[Sofia] had the power back in the 1920s. Not many women had that or had the agency, as we now refer to, to be able to do that for themselves, but I loved playing that character,” Winfrey added. “Playing that character changed me, and one of the great joys for me was to be on set watching Danielle Brooks take it on and make it her own. So, you know, when you get to be where I am, a woman of a certain age, one of the great, deep joys of your life is the satisfaction of being able to pass it on to someone else.”
Joyful birthday, Oprah!
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