Oprah Winfrey has revealed that when times are tough she turns to the past.
It may be hard to believe that the media mogul has bad days, but don’t we all? On the first episode of Goop’s new podcast, Winfrey dished that she turns to slavery documents in moments of crisis because “no crisis seems that much of a crisis after you look at the names, the ages, the prices of people who were before you.”
Speaking with host Gwyneth Paltrow, Winfrey said, “I will speak their names out loud. I will speak their names out loud — Douglas, and Jenna, and Carrie, and Sarah and Anna — and their ages, and their prices, and remind myself of how far I have come. And no crisis seems that much of a crisis after you look at the names, the ages, the prices of people who were before you — who made this way possible.”
The Huffington Post adds that another treasured items she turns to is Harry Herman Roseland’s 1906 painting “To the Highest Bidder,” which the mogul revealed was her first major art purchase. Winfrey bought the painting in 1988.
“The most important, though not most expensive [piece of art], in my home is a picture of a slave woman on the auction block with her daughter. When you come in my house, that’s the first thing you see and that is the grounding painting for me. That woman, who I’ve named Anna and her daughter Sarah, I don’t even know their story, but I know their story.”
You can listen to the first episode of The Goop Podcast at goop.com/thepodcast.