Shock as Oprah Winfrey reveals her real birth name

By Tolulope Oke

American media mogul Oprah Winfrey has revealed that the name written on her birth certificate is not “Oprah” but Orpah Gail Winfrey.

The billionaire television personality made the disclosure during the July 21 episode of Keke Palmer’s podcast, Baby, This Is Keke Palmer.

Winfrey explained that Orpah was chosen from the Bible, but her family and others around her struggled to spell and pronounce it correctly when she was a child.

She said people repeatedly switched the positions of the letters “P” and “R,” transforming Orpah into Oprah.

The mistake eventually became permanent.

Winfrey told Palmer that she did not personally decide to change the name because she was too young when people began calling her Oprah.

“It turned out, on my birth certificate, it’s Orpah,” she said, explaining that once people became accustomed to Oprah, the new version simply remained.

The television icon disclosed that she was about 20 years old when she realised the name used by her family, friends and the wider public was different from the one recorded on her birth certificate.

Her full birth name is Orpah Gail Winfrey, according to People.

Winfrey said her Aunt Ida selected the name from the Book of Ruth, specifically the first chapter and 14th verse.

In the biblical account, Ruth and Orpah were the widowed daughters-in-law of Naomi. While Ruth chose to remain with Naomi, Orpah returned to her people.

Winfrey jokingly summarised the difference between the two women, saying Ruth agreed to continue the journey with Naomi while Orpah decided the road ahead was too long and turned back.

Palmer appeared surprised by the revelation but found a connection in their experiences because Keke is also not the name written first on her birth certificate.

The actress and podcast host’s full name is Lauren Keyana Palmer.

Winfrey told Palmer that she was pleased the actress already knew about the unusual history behind her name, while Palmer expressed excitement that the television veteran knew her own birth name.

The spelling error did not prevent Winfrey from turning her adopted name into one of the world’s most recognisable media brands.

Her production company, Harpo Productions, is named after “Oprah” spelled backwards.

Winfrey founded the company in 1986, the same year The Oprah Winfrey Show entered national syndication.

She previously discussed the origin of her name during a 2005 episode of her talk show.

At the time, Winfrey dismissed suggestions that her family had intended to name her after Harpo Marx, a member of the Marx Brothers comedy group.

She explained that her family did not own a television for several years and had no particular interest in the comedian.

Winfrey again credited Aunt Ida with selecting Orpah from the Bible but said spelling difficulties within her family caused Oprah to take over.

The revelation was not the only part of Winfrey’s conversation with Palmer that attracted widespread attention.

The media personality also triggered an online debate after arguing that young people should not expect to enjoy work-life balance at the beginning of their careers.

Palmer had asked Winfrey to describe what “living your best life” meant to her.

Winfrey answered that it meant freedom and the ability to make decisions based on what a person genuinely wanted rather than what circumstances forced them to do.

She said she often advised young women leaving university and beginning their first jobs that they were “not supposed to have” work-life balance at 22.

According to Winfrey, the early stages of a career should be devoted to putting in the necessary work to create greater freedom later in life.

She said she had reached a stage where she could choose only the projects she genuinely wanted because she had spent many years doing what was necessary to build her career.

Winfrey argued that people must first do what they have to do before earning the freedom to do what they want.

Her comments divided social media users, with some accusing the billionaire of being disconnected from the financial and personal realities confronting ordinary workers.

One critic argued that people should not take career advice from billionaires who had enjoyed decades of financial freedom and could no longer relate to everyday struggles.

Others said constant overworking should not be presented as the only route to success, while some warned that people were not guaranteed to live long enough to enjoy the rewards they postponed.

However, Winfrey’s supporters defended her position, saying success often required sacrifice, discipline and sustained hard work, particularly during the early stages of a career.

The debate also drew support from commentators who argued that work-life balance did not mean dividing time equally between work and leisure when attempting to build a successful career.

Winfrey began working in the media at 17 and became the host of The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986. The programme ran for 25 seasons and transformed her into one of the most influential figures in global television.

She became a millionaire in 1989 and reached billionaire status by 2000, becoming widely recognised as the first Black female billionaire.

Forbes currently estimates her fortune at $3.4 billion and ranks her among America’s richest self-made women much of her wealth to her television career, media businesses and investments.

Winfrey later expanded her media empire by launching the Oprah Winfrey Network, widely known as OWN, in 2011.