OPRAH bares her SOUL

Oprah’s remarkable career is built on her uncanny ability to get others to open up, but her own inner life has been something of a mystery, says William Langley. Now a marathon US tour and a new mental health documentary series with Prince Harry promise to reveal more about what makes the superstar tick.

- William Langley

Another city, another sold-out show, another salute to the imperishable power of Oprah. The world changes, but its queen of the airwaves only makes adjustments, and after a lifetime on the road, Oprah Winfrey, at 66, believes she can finally see a destination.

“I’ve reached the point where I’m okay with where I am,” Oprah said at the start of her epic new 18,000km Vision 2020 tour of America’s biggest cities. “It’s taken a long time and it’s been really hard… but I think I’m there.” The talk show days are done, and having followed up with success as an actress, entrepreneur, philanthropist, political power-broker, and de facto global godmother, Oprah now intends to take herself directly to the masses.

For all her fame, amassed during one of the most astonishing careers in entertainment history, Oprah remains, in many ways, a mystery. Her core skill has been reaching into the souls and psyches of others, rather than revealing her own. Fame and money, she says, have had the paradoxical effect of adding to her insecurity. “I’m essentially an introvert,” she recently admitted to actress Amy Schumer. “People don’t believe it, but I find it hard to open up. I go to parties where I can’t think of anything to say and have to run to the bathroom.”

Her inner life and closest relationships, particularly with her companion of 34 years, Stedman Graham, and best friend Gayle King, have long been a subject of intrigue and speculation. Biographers who have attempted to penetrate the mystique have gone away defeated.