By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
January 28, 2004
Come Thursday, Oprah Winfrey turns the big 5-0. And if she’s to be believed — and why wouldn’t she be — the world’s most famous talk show host will be embracing her well-earned day. She’ll celebrate with a special birthday show Thursday in Chicago followed by a weekend bash in Santa Barbara for 50 of her closest friends.
“I can’t wait to see what she does in her 50s,” says Olivia Wu, author of Turning 50: Fifty Personal Celebrations (Andrews McMeel, $14.95). “Most of the people I interviewed talked about how they enjoy the wisdom of experience they have at this point in their lives. I’m guessing she’s going to break more frontiers and show that being 50 doesn’t mean you’re ‘old’ and out of touch.”
When she was researching her book, Wu talked to one woman who remembered how her mother cried as she approached 50. She equated that milestone with the end of her life as she knew it.
This isn’t the case with Winfrey. In the October 2003 issue of her magazine, O, Winfrey wrote, “I’m ready to claim this next decade for all it’s worth and take it to the max. I intend to stretch myself out and rock so hard with the 50s that by the time I’m through, everybody I know is going to wish they were 50-something, or at least 49 and waiting to be.”
She added, “Becoming more of yourself is the only route to authentic, lasting power.”
Winfrey has proven herself to be a powerhouse in just about every aspect of her life. On the eve of her birthday, we look back at some of her achievements — as well as the occasional misstep.
Hey. It’s all part of the journey.
