Oprah Winfrey reveals small paycheck she received for Oscar-nominated performance in The Color Purple
Oprah Winfrey has revealed the pay she was offered for her Oscar-nominated role in 1985’s The Color Purple.
The 69-year-old media mogul starred in the original film adaptation of Alice Walker’s epistolary novel of the same name alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover.
Ahead of the forthcoming screen adaptation of The Color Purple musical, which Winfrey produces, she reflected on the “full-circle moment” in an interview with Essence magazine.
“I can’t even begin to tell you what it means to me – a person who wanted nothing more in my life than to be in The Color Purple,” the TV host said of the life-changing opportunity. “God taught me to surrender – that was the big lesson for me.”
She said she was offered just $35,000 [£28,800] to be in the film, but remembered it as “the best $35,000 I ever earned.”
“It changed everything and taught me so much. It is God moving through my life,” Winfrey added.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film went on to land several Oscar nominations at the 1986 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Sydney Pollack’s drama romance Out of Africa ended up taking the top prize that year, though.
Winfrey, meanwhile, lost the Supporting Actress category to Anjelica Huston for her role in the drama romance Prizzi's Honor.
The Color Purple follows the epic life of an African-American woman who survives incredible abuse and bigotry in the South in the early 1900s. The only thing that keeps her going is her hope of one day reuniting with her sister in Africa.
Twenty years after the film’s smashing success, it was turned into a Broadway musical that opened in 2005.
15 years after its run ended in 2008, the musical is being adapted into a movie starring Danielle Brooks as Winfrey’s original character, Sofia.
Addressing Winfrey in the Essence interview, Brooks said: “I just want to thank you, Ms Oprah, for surrendering to God and his plan for your life.
“You have shown me how to do that. Thank you for laying the blueprint for Sofia – because I know that she’s changed your life, and I can feel that mine is about to shift, too,” she added.
“Thank you for leaving space for me but also being there, to hold my hand and answer that phone call when I needed you. You have been such a light, such a beautiful soul.”
Halle Bailey, Fantasia Barrino, Colman Domingo, Taraji P Henson and singer HER also feature in the musical film, which is scheduled to be released in cinemas on 25 December.
