Ms. Oprah Winfrey, aged 71, has disclosed that the late Ms. Barbara Walters was a contributing influence in her decision not to have biological children.
This statement is reportedly included in the forthcoming Hulu documentary entitled Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything, as cited by The Daily Beast.
Ms. Walters, who passed away in 2022 at the age of 93, became an adoptive mother in 1968 to a daughter, Jacqueline, during her marriage to her second husband, Mr. Lee Guber.
It is of public record that Ms. Barbara Walters experienced a tumultuous relationship with her adoptive daughter, Jacqueline. At one juncture during Jacqueline’s adolescence, she absconded from the family residence and remained missing for approximately one month.
In commentary provided for the forthcoming Hulu documentary Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything, Ms. Oprah Winfrey recalled an exchange in which Ms. Walters expressed strong encouragement for Ms. Winfrey to consider motherhood.
According to Ms. Winfrey:
“I remember her telling me once that there’s nothing more fulfilling than having children, and, ‘You should really think about it.’”
Ms. Winfrey reportedly responded internally to that counsel by observing:
“Okay, but I’m looking at you, so, no.”
Ms. Oprah Winfrey has further characterized the relationship between the late Ms. Barbara Walters and her adoptive daughter, Jacqueline, as both “complex” and “charged,” expressly citing it as “one of the reasons why I never had children.”
Ms. Walters was widely recognized for her pioneering contributions to broadcast journalism, having commenced her career in the 1960s as a staff member of NBC’s Today show. In 1974, she achieved a historic milestone by becoming the program’s first female co-host, thereby becoming the first woman in the United States to co-anchor a national news program.
Over the course of her distinguished career, Ms. Walters conducted high-profile interviews with numerous public figures and global leaders, including former U.S. Presidents, Fidel Castro, Monica Lewinsky, Katharine Hepburn, and Barbra Streisand, among others.
Ms. Winfrey stated that she deeply identified with Ms. Walters’ unwavering professional ambition and acknowledged the inherent tension between pursuing a groundbreaking career and fulfilling the responsibilities of parenthood. She elaborated as follows:
“You are a pioneer in your field and you are trying to break the mold—for yourself and for women who are going to follow you. Something’s going to have to give for that.”
She continued:
“And that is why I did not have children. I knew I could not do both well. Both are sacrifices—sacrifice to do the work, and it’s also a sacrifice to be the mother and to say, ‘No, let somebody else have that.’”
Ms. Winfrey concluded by emphasizing her perception of Ms. Walters’ professional priorities:
“At no time have I ever heard a story, read a story, and based on what I know of Barbara Walters—at no time has Barbara Walters ever said, ‘No, let someone else take that story.’”#newsafro_
