By Sharon Coolidge
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Star Jones talks with Chris Sholos Tuesday during a cocktail party at the Aronoff Center. (Meggan Booker photo)

Star Jones walked onto the stage at the Aronoff Center for the Arts Tuesday night and was instantly the best friend of the hundreds of women - and the handful of men - who filled the audience.

"Before we start, I'll answer a burning question: Yes, they are," she said, pointing to her feet, on which she wore an $18.99 pair of shoes from Payless, a store for which she is the spokeswoman.

Jones came to Cincinnati in between a Tuesday morning taping of her ABC talk show, The View, and another taping this morning as part of the Fifth Third Smart Talk Women's Lecture Series. Priscilla Presley spoke last month and in the next few months, Mariane Pearl, Suze Orman and Goldie Hawn are scheduled.

Though part of her persona is her love of shoes, Jones, a lawyer and former prosecutor, delivered a serious message with humor.

"You can't have it all," she said, ticking off things like marriage, career, a healthy family life, a great circle of friends and spiritual well being.

"No matter how you slice it, it's a pretty tall order, yet many of us are bent on serving it up," Jones said. "We need a formula that does not buy into the notion of the 20th-century Renaissance woman."

She urged women to make choices. Children first, she said. And a healthy marriage.

And, of course, good friends must be part of the mix, she said.

"A woman without good friends is a sad woman indeed," Jones said.

Most important of all, she said, women should listen to their own needs.

"Be true to yourself," she said. "I'm priority No. 1 and I invite anyone having trouble juggling it all, to join me."

Bettye Torrey Oldham, 68, of North Avondale, called Jones a fabulous role model.

"She's a happy person and that comes across clearly," Oldham said. "She is an inspiration to other women.

"It's good for working women downtown," she said. "They can meet friends after work for a nice ladies' night out."

The series is presented by The Cincinnati Enquirer.

E-mail scoolidge@enquirer.com