Oprah Winfrey is known as the Queen of Talk but as much as she has a successful career as somewhat of a maternal figure for viewers, the TV legend has not pursued having kids. Being childless, however, has never been one of her regrets.
Winfrey, early on in her life, has made a choice to not have kids yet she is an advocate for children. In 2007, she established the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls. The non-profit supports the education of 172 underprivileged girls.
"I wouldn't have been a good mom for babies," Winfrey said via Good Housekeeping in its April issue. "I don't have the patience. I have the patience for puppies, but that's a quick stage!"
"I was not going to be a person that ever regretted not having them because I feel like I am a mother to the world's children," the 63-year-old said. Winfrey, however, did get pregnant at age 14. The baby died weeks after birth.
It's not the first time the Oscar-nominated actress and billionaire philanthropist talked about not having children. She told Vanity Fair in 2013 that her kids if she did have them, might end up being in therapy or talking about their problems with mom on a talk show. "Something [in my life] would have had to suffer and it would've probably been them," she said.
Aside from choosing not to have kids, Winfrey has also decided to never walk down the aisle. She has a long-time partner, though, in Stedman Graham. They have been together since the '80s.
Winfrey believes she's not a traditional woman, thus getting married and having kids would never work for her. "The very idea of what it means to be a wife and the responsibility and sacrifice that carries - I wouldn't have held that very well," Winfrey said, per Hello.
