Oprah Winfrey has finally named the baby son she had a teenager, who died just hours after birth.
His name is Canaan. Oprah, now 61, said: “I did have a son. And I named him Canaan because Canaan means new land, new life.”
Oprah told a sold-out audience on the opening night of her Australian tour that she decided to name her baby after being asked by The Weekly’s Caroline Overington why she had never done so.
“She (Caroline) said: ‘You should name the baby who died’,” Oprah told the crowd, “So I have named him. I had a little boy named Canaan. I did have a son.”
Caroline interview Oprah in Hollywood in September. One of her questions was: ‘When a baby dies, some people find that part of the process of grieving is being able to hold your baby and name your baby. Did you have any of that?’
“No, no, no, no, I didn’t have any of that,” Oprah said, “I was in a confused whirlwind of denial. Really huge denial … I didn’t even know what a pregnancy was. I literally had to ask girls at school. I had to look up: how long is a pregnancy?”
When the baby was born, and lived for only a short time, “it never occurred to me to name him.”
Caroline said: “You know you have that right? And you should.”
“Yes,” said Oprah.
Grieving for her lost son has been an important part of Oprah’s journey, which she now travels the world, sharing with others.
The Herald Sun says Oprah kicked off her tour in Melbourne with a two-hour talk to a mostly-rapt audience.
She talked about her impoverished childhood, and sexual abuse she suffered as a child, saying: “I was raped at nine years old by a cousin, then again by another family member, and another family member.”
She fell pregnant at 14 and didn’t tell anyone because she felt so much “pain and shame” but the loss of her son gave Oprah all the impetus she needed to make a huge success of her life.
Her tour is about passing on lessons she has picked up along the way.
Oprah will be speaking in Auckland on December 16. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.co.nz
