Even Oprah Winfrey once had humble beginnings.
During an appearance at the Ralph Lauren show at New York Fashion Week, Winfrey spoke with “Extra’s” Adam Glassman. She shared hows much she loves the iconic fashion designer’s products.
“I love him because he’s the standard,” Winfrey said. “Not just for dressing but for home life. And for what it meant to have to be surrounded by beauty and excellence.”
She went on to explain that a particular Ralph Lauren item was her first big purchase as she was building her media empire saying: “I’ve been wearing him long before I could afford it.”
“I have so many wonderful Ralph Lauren story memories,” Winfrey noted. “When I first started making enough money to actually be able to pay my rent and have some money left over, my first big splurge was Ralph Lauren towels.
“When Barbara Walters came to my house for the very first Barbara Walters interview, at the end of it, I said, ‘Do you want to see my Ralph Lauren towels?’ and she said, ‘Sure.’”
During this time, a termination from her job led Winfrey to pursue her dreams. On the HBO documentary Seen & Heard, WInfrey shared her life-changing moment.
“I started working in TV when I was 19 years old,” Winfrey recalled. “I was a general assignment reporter, so that means whatever is happening, you’re out there, in general, covering it. And I was not happy being a news reporter. Because I felt that it was exploiting people every day, telling the worst of what was happening, and it didn’t feel good for me.”
Eventyaly, Oprah was fired and placed on talk show.
“After I was fired from the evening news, they didn’t want to pay out my contract, so they put me on the talk show to get rid of me,” she recalled.
In 1986, The Oprah Winfrey Show debuted nationally after the show relocated from Baltimore to Chicago.
Both episodes of Seen & Heard are currently airing on HBO.