- Title: SHORT PROFILE: TV mogul, former chat show host Oprah Winfrey turns 70 on Jan. 29
- Date: 26th January 2024
- Summary: BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - FEBRUARY 21, 2013) (REUTERS ) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** OPRAH WINFREY POSING FOR PHOTOS AT ESSENCE MAGAZINE'S BLACK WOMEN IN HOLLYWOOD LUNCHEON SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - FEBRUARY 5, 2014) (REUTERS) OPRAH WINFREY DANCING THEN GREETING FANS AND POSING FOR PHOTOS AS SHE ARRIVES TO BE HONOR
- Embargoed: 9th February 2024 12:41
- Keywords: Al Gore Nelson Mandela Oprah Winfrey Stella McCartney Steven Spielberg The Color Purple The Oprah Winfrey show artist Shawn Michael Warren director Blitz Bazawuke former talk show host television mogul
- Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS
- Country: US
- Topics: Celebrities,Arts/Culture/Entertainment,North America
- Reuters ID: LVA008347218012024RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: American talk show host Oprah Winfrey turns 70 on Monday (January 29).
Born Oprah Gail Winfrey in rural Mississippi on January 29, 1954, Winfrey is considered a major opinion-maker in the United States and in 2009 was No. 45 on Forbes magazine's list of the world's most powerful people. In a list compiled by the British magazine New Statesman in September 2010, she was voted 38th in the list of "The World's 50 Most Influential Figures 2010".
She is best known for her talk show "The Oprah Winfrey Show", where she interviewed a wide variety of public figures. The popular host promoted U.S. President Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign and her programme became a platform for Republican 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to launch her book, "Going Rogue."
Actor Tom Cruise, the late Michael Jackson and singer Whitney Houston are among the other celebrities to have sat on, jumped on and poured out their hearts on her couch since the programme began in 1986. Cruise had been on the show 12 times since 1988.
Determined to make the most of her final season, which concluded in the show's 25th year in 2011, Winfrey brought 302 audience members on a trip to Australia in December 2010. Winfrey's audience members were shocked when their surprise trip was announced during the "Oprah" show's 25th season premiere on September 13, 2010.
Billed as "Oprah's Ultimate Australian Adventure", a four-part television event aired in the U.S. from January 18 to January 21, 2011, and in Australia on January 19 to January 21 and on January 23 on Network TEN. Australians were treated to a taste of Oprah magic when she hosted a show from outside the world famous Sydney Opera House.
Highlights from the show included Oprah and her friend Gayle King's encounter with a pair of frisky koala bears. Oprah also marveled at the Great Barrier Reef as she flew above it with her camera crew.
In 2021, Winfrey sat down with Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan in an explosive interview about their departure from the royal family. The interview caused international controversy as the pair hinted to Winfrey that a senior member of the royal family had made racist remarks in conversations about the couple's first child.
Winfrey received a Kennedy Center Honor award in recognition of the hours dedicated to her work in December 2010.
The American talk-show queen opened a 40 million USD school for disadvantaged South African girls which she paid for out of her own pocket in January 2007. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls was inspired by her own humble beginnings, struggling to survive with no electricity or running water, and as a former victim of physical and sexual abuse. Winfrey said that she hoped a better education would shield South African girls from contracting the HIV virus.
Winfrey was also a producer on the hit Broadway production of "The Color Purple" -- which opened successfully on December 2005 -- and received Tony Award nominations for best original score. The show was drawn from Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and Steven Spielberg's epic film -- which starred Danny Glover and Winfrey.
In 2023, "The Color Purple" was brought to the big screen in a movie directed by Blitz Bazawule and starring Fantasia Barrino and Danielle Brooks.
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