Winfrey has the ear of presidents - Obama is the fifth One of the most-watched programmes in US history, The Oprah Winfrey Show, is ending after 25 years. The impact of its hostess goes far beyond television.
Her first show, entitled How to Marry the Man/Woman of your Choice, suggested this was to be a daytime show like any other. Continue reading the main story
The show in numbers
- 62m: Viewers for Michael Jackson interview
- 27: Appearances by singer Celine Dion
- 5: US presidents on the sofa
- $30m: Sales of her Book Club selections
- 48: Number of Emmys
But some 4,560 episodes later, the likes of Madonna, Beyonce and Tom Hanks have been lining up to appear at her farewell show, which is broadcast on Wednesday.
During those 25 years, Winfrey has become a household name, a cultural phenomenon and one of the richest people on the planet. As she signs off to continue work on her own cable channel, her ability to get the newsworthy guests appears undiminished.
This month, President Obama talked about why he felt the need to publicly produce his own birth certificate. And Sarah Ferguson spoke about not being invited to the royal wedding.
So how has Winfrey been such a success? Ten moments sum up her influence.
MAKES HER SEXUAL ABUSE CLAIM, 1986
In the kind of confession that later became her show's modus operandi, Oprah said to her audience that she was raped when a child.
The show was about sexual abuse and Winfrey spoke candidly Author Bonnie Greer, who left her hometown of Chicago in the year that Oprah began her ascendance in the city, says: "She has made mainstream that warm but tell-it-like-it-is persona of the African American woman.
"It has always been there in American culture, but Oprah brought it onto TV in the afternoon. She pioneered 'victim' culture in the good and the bad sense. Continued
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