Book says Oprah is all business, no pleasure

Kelley’s new book Oprah: A Biography hits US bookstores on Tuesday and already has disappointed some media watchers who hoped it might end years of speculation that Winfrey may be gay and answer questions about her relationships with fiancee Stedman Graham, and her friend, Gayle King, editor of O, the Oprah Magazine. But after some 850 interviews, Kelley, who has written tell-alls about the Bush family, Frank Sinatra and Nancy Reagan, said she concluded Winfrey, who has been engaged to Graham since 1992, was just not interested in anyone.

“She is 56 years old, she would almost have to be described as ‘asexual’ because she has put all of her sexual energies into her work, into her career, into building her empire and the financial rewards that she has gotten have been enough, really, to sustain her,” Kelley said.
Winfrey refused to be interviewed for Kelley’s book and her spokeswoman said the talk show host had no comment about it or any of the Kelley’s assertions. Yet Oprah: A Biography is one of the most anticipated books in US publishing this year precisely because Kelley has made millions selling gossipy tales. But reaction has been mixed with some critics saying the book does not reveal enough new details about Winfrey or her personal life.
Kelley says contrary to the image of a “warm, embracing, uninhibited, spontaneous woman,” cultivated on her talk show, a behind-the-scenes look tells a different story of Winfrey’s personality. “Off camera she is much more reserved, very, very aloof, she can be icy cold, she is an ace businesswoman, and she now sees herself as a brand really.”