Oprah Winfrey, a media mogul, revealed that her paycheck for “The Color Purple” was the best she’s ever earned.
The media mogul portrayed Sofia in the 1985 original Steven Spielberg movie. Her role happened to be her feature film debut and earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, which she tells Essence in a new interview “changed everything.”
In the 1985 movie, Oprah Winfrey played Sofia, and her outstanding performance garnered her a nomination for an Academy Award. Steven Spielberg directed the film, which is based on Alice Walker’s 1982 novel of the same name. It follows Celie (Whoopi Goldberg) as she endures abuse, discrimination, and hardship from her father and then her husband, Albert “Mister” Johnson (Danny Glover), while she lives in Georgia. Celie is greatly affected when Johnson also sends her sister Nettie (Akosua Busia) away.
When Celie eventually gets back in touch with her sister after over 30 years, the story has a happy conclusion.
The New York Times reports that Celie’s stepdaughter-in-law is Sofia, played by Oprah Winfrey.
At a pivotal point in the movie, Winfrey’s character gives a stirring monologue in which she says, “I had to fight my entire life.” My dad and I had to argue. It was my uncle against me. I had to put up with my siblings. A girl child isn’t safe in a household of men, but I never imagined that I would have to battle at home. God knows that I adore Harpo. But if I allow him to beat me, I’ll murder him.
Starring in “The Color Purple” was important to Winfrey. Despite the $35,000 offer for the role, she asserts that these are the most significant dollars she has ever earned.
“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.’ And God taught me to surrender—that was the big lesson for me. They were only offering $35,000 to be in this film, and it is the best $35,000 I ever earned. It changed everything and taught me so much. It is God moving through my life,” Winfrey told ESSENCE.
“The Color Purple” has secured its place as a classic in cinematic history. What’s more, the spirit of the film will be making its way to theatres on December 25, 2023, thanks to Winfrey, Spielberg, Quincy Jones, and Scott Sanders, according to Oprah Daily. However, the adaptation will not replicate the 1985 film but rather the Broadway musical, per ESSENCE.
The cast includes Fantasia Barrino (Celie), Danielle Brooks (Sofia), Taraji P. Henson (Shug), H.E.R. (Squeak), Colman Domingo (Mister), Halle Bailey (Young Nettie), Corey Hawkins (Harpo), and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor (Mama).
“To have all of you beautiful Black women bear witness to the story as the story moves forward means so much,” Winfrey expressed to ESSENCE. “I believe that what Fantasia has said is true: Everybody who comes to see our film is going to be touched. They will be moved. And they will be healed. So thank you for the blessing.”
