Oprah Winfrey Gushes Over ESSENCE Cover Star Ava DuVernay: 'She Reminds Me Of Myself'

ESSENCE cover girl Ava DuVernay has worked with some big names and serious talent and is fortunate enough to call Oprah Winfrey a friend and mentor. We spoke to Winfrey for our March issue to discuss the 13th director’s incredible skill and grace. 

“It feels like…home,” Winfrey says of working with DuVernay, adding that her sets are full of “comfort, support, guidance, compassion, warmth, caring, and love.”

“I saw Ava on the set of Selma, out in 104 degree weather, finding knee pads for some of the older women who needed them,” continued Oprah. “She’s walking around handing out kneepads: ‘Ma’am, here. Put this on your knees. Ma’am, I think you should have some water.’ And she’s got a whole thing of waters. She, the director, comes from behind the camera and she’s passing out water.”

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And, it’s not just her kindness that Winfrey finds so awesome about DuVernay: “She reminds me of myself in the throes of the daily show. So many things going on….I know what it’s like to ride that wave. I know what it’s like to be in the vortex of the very center of your creativity and to be able to express that to the world. And it makes me so proud to witness it.”

The March issue of ESSENCE is available now on newsstands everywhere.