Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey (born 29 January 1954) is an American talk-show host, actress, and entrepreneur.

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• It felt like a new day.
  • After Barack Obama's 2004 speech at the Democratic convention. Man of the Moment2005-01-19

• I understand why people think we're gay. There isn't a definition in our culture for this kind of bond between women. So I get why people have to label it – how can you be this close without it being sexual?
  • About her friend Gayle King. Oprah: Gayle and I Are Not Gay2006-07-16

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• Always continue the climb. It is possible for you to do whatever you choose, if you first get to know who you are and are willing to work with a power that is greater than ourselves to do it.

• As you become more clear about who you really are, you'll be better able to decide what is best for you— the first time around.

• Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough.

• "Become the change you want to see"— those are words I live by.
  • Here she is quoting words attributed to Mahatma Gandhi

• Don't live your life to please other people.

• Everyone wants to ride with you in the limo, but what you need is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.
  • Variant: Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.

• I am a woman in process. I'm just trying like everybody else. I try to take every conflict, every experience, and learn from it. Life is never dull.

• I believe that every single event in life happens in an opportunity to choose love over fear.

• I believe that everyone is the keeper of a dream— and by tuning into one another's secret hopes, we can become better friends, better partners, better parents, and better lovers.

• I define joy as a sustained sense of well-being and internal peace— a connection to what matters.

• I don't believe in failure. It is not failure if you enjoyed the process.

• I don't think of myself as a poor deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good.

• I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become.

• I trust that everything happens for a reason, even when we're not wise enough to see it.

• I was raised to believe that excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism. And that's how I operate my life.

• I'm black, I don't feel burdened by it and I don't think it's a huge responsibility. It's part of who I am. It does not define me.

• If you come to fame not understanding who you are, it will define who you are.

• It isn't until you come to a spiritual understanding of who you are— not necessarily a religious feeling, but deep down, the spirit within— that you can begin to take control.

• Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.

• My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.

• Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not.

• The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you're willing to work.

• The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.

• The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.

• Though I am grateful for the blessings of wealth, it hasn't changed who I am. My feet are still on the ground. I'm just wearing better shoes.

• Turn your wounds into wisdom.

• Understand that the right to choose your own path is a sacred privilege. Use it. Dwell in possiblity.

• Unless you choose to do great things with it, it makes no difference how much you are rewarded, or how much power you have.

• We are each responsible for our own life— no other person is or even can be.

• We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are.

• What I know for sure is that what you give comes back to you.

• What we're all striving for is authenticity, a spirit-to-spirit connection.

• Whatever you fear most has no power— it is your fear that has the power.

• Where there is no struggle, there is no strength.

• With every experience, you alone are painting your own canvas, thought by thought, choice by choice.
  • On the existence of Stephen Colbert

• You are what you are by what you believe!

• You can have it all you just can't have it all at one time.
  • Variant: You can have it all. You just can't have it all at once.
• More than a great star, you are a 20th century political figure. Your good works have touched all of us. - Phil Donahue after Oprah won the Lifetime Achievement Award

Quotes about Oprah Winfrey

• She actually is somebody who has the ability to move mountains and change minds.
  • Dana Bash (CNN congressional correspondent) On Reliable Sources, Cullum claimed questions about where Obama's "religion lies, where his loyalty lies" could "backfire on Oprah" 2007-12-03

• Oprah is different. Oprah has an army out there that really listens. She's one of the great marketing machines in history.
  • Howard Davidowitz Obama and the 'Oprah Effect': can she sway voters? 2007-12-10

• So far, I don't see anything negative on this woman. I think she's a real icon. She's much more complex and complicated than just a talk show host. Maya Angelou has said she sees her as a true missionary. Everybody has a different take on Oprah.
  • Kitty Kelly From 'Jackie Oh!' to Oprah: Tell-All Queen Expands Her Empire 2006-12-14

• She's -- her great strength, if anybody watches the show -- and I think everybody does in Iowa; it's the number one show in Iowa -- she's instructive. She's empowering. Every time you watch an Oprah broadcast, at the end of it, you know more than you started and you feel stronger. That's her strength.
  • Chris Matthews Matthews described Obama as "almost Third World in his sort of presentation" 2007-12-03

• You have to admire Oprah Winfrey. She is the most powerful woman in the country and comes from a very humble background. The woman has succeeded on talent and energy.
  • Bill O'Reilly After repeated whining, O'Reilly -- who won't have "loathsome" "secular-progressives" on his show -- to appear on Oprah2006-10-24