Skip to main content

NBC’s Saturday Night Live has launched the careers of some of today’s hottest talent, including Maya Rudolph, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Leslie Jones, and Jimmy Fallon.

This SNL alum recently revealed to Oprah Winfrey that she decided to change her eating habits when she landed a steady spot on the landmark show.

“Saturday Night Live’s” Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Tina Fey | Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

Oprah on tour

On January 4, media mogul Oprah Winfrey spearheaded her highly-anticipated “2020 Vision: Your Life In Focus” wellness tour,” in partnership with WW (formerly Weight Watchers). Her cross-country journey will stop in nine cities, and the Queen of Talk is not traveling alone. According to O, The Oprah Magazine, some of her special guests include Lady Gaga, former First Lady Michelle Obama, Jennifer Lopez, and bestie Gayle King.

“I have learned to live from my spiritual core, and I’ve learned to set the vision, and live with intention, and allow everything I do to move me in the direction of that, and that is what I want from you,” Winfrey said during her St. Paul, Minneapolis visit, as reported by Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. “I’m at the stage of my life where I don’t need any more money or any more shoes. I really don’t. I just want to take what I know and offer it in kindness, in grace, and in blessings, so that it can help others.”

Talking with Tina

Actress/director/writer Tina Fey sat down with Winfrey in St. Paul and shared that she joined the WW program after moving to New York in 1997 to become a writer for SNL. The demanding position meant long hours which turned into unhealthy eating habits. “I was a size 12 when I came to the show, and then I was really dealing with my stress with Krispy Kremes,” Fey told People in 2004. 

Fey became head writer in 1999 and decided to make a change. She joined WW in 2000 and lost 30 pounds by the time she became a fixture on the show’s infamous news sketch “Weekend Update” alongside Jimmy Fallon.

The 30 Rock star still gives herself ‘lifetime member’ status with the weight-loss program, though she doesn’t track points anymore. These days, Fey keeps a close eye on her sugar intake, creating alternative healthy sweet treats to satisfy any cravings. “I take a banana and strawberry, and put frozen Cool Whip on it with a chocolate drizzle, and tell myself it’s a banana split,” she told Winfrey, according to Prevention.

Next phase of life

Set to turn 50 years old in May, Fey shared her excitement with Winfrey on what lies ahead. “I feel like I am at an age where all the things I’ve ever thought I wanted to do, I did them. I always wanted to work at Saturday Night Live, I always wanted to have a show, I always wanted to have children…” the SNL alum said. “And I did that. So I feel like I’m trying to be quiet, and take things in. And listen. I’m waiting for something inside me to tell me what the next thing is I want to do.”

Winfrey, who is now 65, revealed that she was hesitant about a particular birthday. “I’ll tell you, the only number that actually gave me pause was 60,” she told Fey. “But when I turned 50, my dear friend, Maya Angelou was still alive, and Maya said to me, ‘Babe, the fifties are everything you’ve been meaning to be. It’s everything you thought you might do. This is it. It’s coming in. You’re not even there yet.'”

Oprah’s 2020 Vision Tour ends March 7.