Oprah Winfrey is considered one of the most influential figures in America and the whole world. Dubbed as "Queen of All Media," she successfully made her widely popular television show, which ran for more than two decades, into a media business empire.
OWN, Winfrey's cable channel, debuted in 2011. Her 25.5 percent stake in the network is valued at around $65 million.
But with her success as a media personality and a businesswoman, one may wonder how she spends a massive amount of money. Does Oprah Winfrey have kids?
The answer: She decided not to have kids.
No Regrets for Oprah Winfrey
In a past interview with People magazine, the billionaire media mogul shared the reason behind why she did not want to become a mom.
When she became engaged with her longtime partner Stedman Graham, they discussed having kids at one point after buying an apartment in Chicago. But being busy with The Oprah Winfrey Show at that time, she realized the "depth" of the sacrifice and responsibility that is expected from a mother.
Oprah sees parenthood as a serious job after interviewing hundreds of people whose lives got messed up due to bad parenting.
The media icon admitted that she could not "compartmentalize" the way other women do. That is why she salutes women who choose to take care of their children at home. "Nobody gives women the credit they deserve," she said.
She had no regrets about it. Her reason is that she gets to fulfill motherhood duties through her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, which offers education to AIDS orphans.
Forbes reported that she had donated over $100 million to the charity institution, in addition to the $425 million she granted to various humanitarian organizations throughout her stellar career.
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Oprah's Tragic Pregnancy
Oprah's passion for taking care of underprivileged girls is most like driven by empathy because she knows how it feels to be disadvantaged.
She was born on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi, to young parents: Her mom Vernita Lee, was 18, and her father, Vernon Winfrey, was 20 at that time. Her parents were not together, so she was raised by her grandmother Hattie Mae Lee.
The summer after the third grade, Oprah decided to stay with her mom and two siblings in Milwaukee. But what was supposed to be a happy situation for the 9-year-old girl turned into a nightmare. Oprah was raped by her 19-year-old cousin while babysitting her younger siblings.
A family friend and an uncle began to abuse the vulnerable little girl as time passed on. Oprah subsequently became pregnant as well as traumatized.
She stayed quiet about the events and began misbehaving. The teenage girl kept her pregnancy hidden from her family for seven months. Then she informed her father of her pregnancy and went into labor the next day. Two weeks later, her baby boy died.
In an article she wrote in O Magazine in 2007, she confessed that she "was so ashamed" during her pregnancy.
"I hid the pregnancy until my swollen ankles and belly gave me away. The baby died in the hospital weeks later," she stated.
Years had passed by until one day, Oprah had an interview in Australia in 2015, wherein she opened up about her tragic pregnancy. As per The List, the reporter suggested that she should name the departed baby boy. She named him Canaan.
"I did have a son. And I named him Canaan because Canaan means new land, new life."
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