I know of at least two black women who are billionaires: Sheila Johnson, who co-founded BET, and Oprah Winfrey. And I know of hundreds of black women whose net worth is over $1 million.
Being asked by Oprah Winfrey to be on her show and do her eyebrows in 2006 - to me, that was like getting an Oscar. It was a stamp of approval from a woman that is incredible. It propelled my career to a different level.
If ever there were a candidate destined to shine on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show,' Sarah Palin would be that woman.
Oprah Winfrey is a big role model for me from a business capacity and a creative capacity. She is an incredible interviewer who cultivated a certain style by inserting her own personhood into a show on national television at a time when no one was talking about empowerment, spirituality, or our inner lives.
I worked for Oprah Winfrey for two years right out of college in 2004. I was a director's assistant on the film 'Their Eyes Were Watching God,' which Oprah produced.
There's a behind-the-scenes show that Oprah is doing that follows the final season of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show.' I find behind-the-scenes stuff fascinating. Like, whenever I watch a DVD, I always watch the special features and listen to the commentary first, before I even watch the movie.
I found out when I did the Oprah Winfrey show that there was a cookie jar of me. So she gave it to me. I had no idea prior to that that it even existed.
I wouldn't buy a book simply because I like the cover. I would pick it up. The jacket can call your attention to it. But in that sense, Oprah Winfrey is worth all the jackets in the world. A jacket is basically trying to do what she does all on her own.
As a novelist, there are three phone calls you never expect to receive in your lifetime because if you waited for them you would grow despairing - one calling from Stockholm with a Swedish accent, one from the NBA, and one from Oprah Winfrey.
The difference between Oprah Winfrey and me is about $200 million.
