Oprah Winfrey will host “An Oprah Winfrey Special: The Menopause Revolution” on March 31. The former journalist and longtime TV producer discusses women’s health alongside a string of special guests, expert physicians and more.
“When I was around 48 years old, I thought I was dying and went from doctor to doctor trying to understand why my heart was racing, and did not receive any answers until I picked up a book and read how heart palpitations can be a symptom indicating a change is coming to your body,” Winfrey said in a statement.
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“This show starts the revolution of answers for millions of women throughout this country. We discuss what you need to know to best advocate for yourself when it comes to mental health, sleep, weight, sex and your brain so we can ultimately see how freeing menopause can be in your life, with the best yet to come.”
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Ahead, WWD breaks down all the details behind the forthcoming TV special.
What Is ‘An Oprah Winfrey Special: The Menopause Revolution’ About?
Winfrey’s “The Menopause Revolution” brings together influential and famous public figures as well as experts before a live studio audience to discuss menopause. Traditionally a culturally taboo topic, the TV host and her selected panelists will dispel myths and disclose their own lived experiences through menopause and perimenopause. Experts on menopause and doctors will also feature, discussing the physical and neurological changes women experience at this juncture in life.
How Can I Watch ‘An Oprah Winfrey Special: The Menopause Revolution’?
“An Oprah Winfrey Special: The Menopause Revolution” will air live on ABC at 10 p.m. ET on Monday, March 31. The TV special will be available to stream on Hulu and Disney+ the next day, Tuesday, April 1.
Who Will Appear on ‘The Menopause Revolution’ TV Special?
Along with such expert panelists as Dr. Mary Claire Haver — a board-certified obstetrics and gynecology specialist, a certified Menopause Practitioner from The Menopause Society (formerly the North American Menopause Society, or NAMS) and the founder of The Pause Life — Winfrey brings together a string of public figures, artists and activists who will discuss their own idiosyncratic, personal experiences with menopause and perimenopause.
Halle Berry
Over the course of the last few years, Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry used her platform to advocate for further research into and the destigmatization of menopause and perimenopause. “I realized that my own doctor didn’t really understand what was happening with my menopausal body,” Berry said at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in Laguna Niguel, Calif., in October 2024.
“I realized that the reason I didn’t know is because doctors only have a chapter in medical school of education; only 13 percent of doctors are NAMS certified or understand the menopausal body … and I started to go, ‘There’s a problem here,’” Berry said.
Along with her vocal advocacy, Berry launched her Respin Health brand in February to identify modern menopause care. In May 2024, Berry went to Washington D.C. to champion bipartisan legislation to increase federal research on menopause and women’s midlife health. In March 2024, Berry attended A Day of Unreasonable Conversation alongside then-First Lady of the United States Jill Biden to candidly share her experience with perimenopause and menopause.
Naomi Watts
Like Berry, Oscar-nominated actress Naomi Watts also uses her platform as a way to end the cultural stigma surrounding menopause. The “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans” star’s brand Stripes Beauty announced the inauguration of National Hot Flash Day in September 2024.
Watts’ memoir, “Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I’d Known About Menopause,” also gave readers a detailed understanding of the actress’ experience.
“My doctor told me right when I was trying to start a family that I was on the brink of menopause,” Watts said during her appearance on the “Today” show last January. “That just put panic in me and I didn’t know what to do. I felt very lonely, ashamed, like everything was over and that’s another reason I wanted to write the book because I want people to understand that it is not the end. There’s still much life ahead of us and plenty to do.”
Maria Shriver
Former first lady of California, Maria Shriver continues to use her platform as a way to relay information and dispel myths and assumptions about menopause. Shriver previously spoke with Winfrey about her experience. And in 2023, the author shared a post to her personal Instagram account on World Menopause Day in October.
“Menopause is still vastly under-researched, under-talked about, under-studied, as well as being fully understood! But what we do know is that menopause change the brain. Menopause is not just about our reproductive system,” Shriver wrote in the caption to her October 2023 post.
“In fact, the research being conducted now shows that menopause has a significant impact on the brain’s function and structure. All of the hormonal changes in women do — from puberty to pregnancy to perimenopause to menopause,” she said.