Oprah hit a milestone earlier this year, turning 65, a.k.a the year Americans are eligible for Medicare. Of course, for many Americans, retirement is on their minds around this point. If you ask Oprah, however, you won’t see her stepping away from OWN, acting, or producing work anytime soon. I fact, you better understand that Oprah Winfrey does not believe in retirement. She said:
I don't believe in it. I don't believe in it and the other day somebody said, 'Oh, I see you're now here and 'cause you're retired.' And I go, 'No.' I was in the bookstore, I was buying a book and the woman said, 'Oh so you're doing a lot of reading on your retirement'... and I started to turn around and give a whole lecture. 'I'm not retired.' But I thought, 'OK, just take it.' I said, 'Thank you, don't need a bag.’
It's sort of amazing to hear the types of things that come out of random strangers’ mouths sometimes. Oprah Winfrey took the person’s comments with grace, but the truth is, she isn’t close to being retired. She’s the figurehead of her own network OWN. In 2018 she acted in A Wrinkle In Time and had voice roles in Crow: The Legend and The Handmaid’s Tale. She also produced Love Is and has a producer credit on the upcoming Richard Pryor biopic, among myriad TV projects.
In fact, she produces a ton of the shows on OWN, from Queen Sugar to Oprah’s Master Class. This isn't even counting other TV endeavors. Basically, she keeps really busy and wants to keep working like other veterans in the entertainment industry, including the likes of Clint Eastwood.
However, while Oprah Winfrey has no plans to retire, she told ET she does realize that hitting 65 is a big birthday, even if that really only has to do with getting her Medicare card. She said;
It is a milestone. It's an interesting thing, Gayle was saying, 'Are you feeling some kind of way?' I go, yeah actually, I am feeling some kind of way because it's the number of which the United States government has said you're officially old. You are now going to retire and ... all my friends are sending me, like, 'Did you get your Medicare card? I think you're gonna be OK.’
The Gayle in question is Gayle King, Oprah’s long-time confidante. The two recently did interviews as part of their Girls Getaway Cruise, which is likely why Gayle came up in relation to the retirement question. At 64, King is also getting close to retirement age, and the rumor mill recently stated she might be close to leaving, but she's currently still rolling at CBS.
Previously, Oprah Winfrey has spoken out about knowing when it was the right time to end her talk show. However, as long as the audience is still looking for more Oprah content on places like OWN, it's likely the TV legend will keep working. Clearly, she wouldn't want it any other way.
