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Oprah reveals the shockingly low paycheck she received for ‘The Color Purple’

By
Social Links for Jack Hobbs
Published Oct. 19, 2023, 1:56 p.m. ET

She did not see the color green.

Media tycoon Oprah Winfrey said that her salary for the 1985 film “The Color Purple” was the “best $35,000 I ever made.”

Speaking with Essence magazine, Winfrey, 69, revealed she “wanted nothing more in my life than to be in ‘The Color Purple'” when it was announced that Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book would hit the silver screen.

“They were only offering $35,000 to be in this film,” Winfrey told the outlet for their cover story on the upcoming movie adaptation of the Broadway musical. “And it is the best $35,000 I ever earned.”

The story follows a teen named Celie as she tries to live her life as an African American in the South during the early- to mid-1900s.

In 2016, Entertainment Weekly reported that Winfrey wanted to be in the film so badly that she told producers she “didn’t need a speaking role” and “was willing to carry the script, help people with the water.”

It was revealed during a 2014 interview with the Huff Post (formerly Huffington Post) that music director Quincy Jones also wanted Winfrey for the film.

Winfrey, 69, admitted she “wanted nothing more in my life than to be in 'The Color Purple'" when it was announced that Alice Walker's Pulitzer prize-winning book would hit the silver screen.
Winfrey, 69, admitted she “wanted nothing more in my life than to be in ‘The Color Purple'” when it was announced that Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel would hit the silver screen. Everett Collection / Everett Col
“They were only offering $35,000 to be in this film,” Winfrey told the outlet for their May cover story. “And it is the best $35,000 I ever earned.”
“They were only offering $35,000 to be in this film,” Winfrey told Essence. “And it is the best $35,000 I ever earned.” Getty Images

“I saw this lady [hosting talk show ‘A.M. Chicago’] and said, ‘If she can act, that’s Sofia,'” Jones, now 90, said.

According to the former talk show host, playing the character in the original film “changed everything and taught me so much. It is God moving through my life.”

Directed by the legendary Steven Spielberg, the film had several high-profile stars including Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover.
Directed by the legendary Steven Spielberg, the film had several high-profile stars including Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover. ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection
In 2016, it was reported by Entertainment Weekly that Winfrey wanted to be in the film so badly that she "didn’t need a speaking role. I was willing to carry the script, help people with the water,"
In 2016, it was reported by Entertainment Weekly that Winfrey wanted to be in the film so badly that she told producers she “didn’t need a speaking role. I was willing to carry the script, help people with the water.” ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

Directed by the legendary Steven Spielberg, the film had several high-profile stars including Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover.

Spielberg’s film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actress for Goldberg, plus two Best Supporting Actress nods, for Winfrey and Margaret Avery.

Despite not winning any awards that year, the movie spawned a 2005 Broadway musical of the same name starring LaChanze as Celie, Brandon Victor Dixon as Harpo, Felicia P. Fields as Sofia and Renée Elise Goldsberry as Nettie.

The show ran for three years before closing in 2008, and its 2015 remake won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.

A-listers such as Jennifer Hudson, Michelle Williams, Jennifer Holliday, Heather Headley, Elisabeth Withers, Angela Robinson, Tony winner Cynthia Erivo and Nicola Hughes have acted in the musical at various occasions onstage.

A film version of the musical starring Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks, Taraji P. Henson and H.E.R. is coming out this Christmas Day.

“West Side Story” director Spielberg produced the project under his company, Amblin Entertainment, alongside Winfrey, while Scott Sanders and Quincy Jones — who also produced the Broadway shows with Winfrey — are also on board.