Oprah Winfrey has opened up about the major sacrifice she made to land her role as Sofia in The Color Purple. She recalled offering to give up her entire contract vacation so she could take time off to film the 1985 movie while building her talk-show empire.
Oprah Winfrey begged TV bosses for time off, trading away years of vacation just to film The Color Purple
Winfrey spoke about it in a clip from her interview with LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Dan Roth. The 72-year-old talk show host said, “There was this movie called The Color Purple — ever heard of it? And in 1985, when I got the opportunity to be in the movie, which is what I wanted more than anything I’ve ever wanted.”
She recalled that her bosses initially offered her only two weeks off to film the movie. However, Winfrey needed two months away from the talk show. She then proposed what she believed was a fair trade. She said, “I promised them my entire contract’s vacation if you would just let me go shoot this movie. If you just let me do this, I’ll give up all my vacation for all the years of my contract to come. I’ll never ask for a vacation again.”
When the show entered syndication, she said her lawyer told her, “You never want to be in a position where you have to give up all of your vacation. You have to give up yourself for something that is meaningful to do.” Her lawyer then advised her to “take ownership” of her talk show.
She took a major gamble on herself by choosing to forgo a salary. Instead, she trusted that the show would succeed well enough to support her financially. The move required a strong belief in both the show and her own potential. Looking back, Winfrey said she ultimately decided to “bet on” herself. Winfrey spent 25 seasons hosting The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ran from 1986 to 2011.
Originally reported by Meenakshi Sengupta for Reality Tea
