Oprah Winfrey

In May 2008, in order to promote veganism, Oprah became a vegan for a period of 21 days.

Oprah's favorite color is green.

Oprah lost her beloved golden retriever Gracie in May 2007 when she choked on a plastic ball.

In 1984, within a few months of joining AM Chicago, Oprah took the show from last place in the ratings to superseding Donahue, as the highest rating talk show in Chicago.

Oprah was chosen as one of People Magazine's annual 100 Most Beautiful People in the World, in May 2007.

As of 2007, Oprah currently lives on "The Promised Land," a 42 acre ocean and mountain view estate in Montecito, California, outside of Santa Barbara. She bought the property for $50,000,000.

In 2004, Oprah hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert with Tom Cruise.

In 1993, Oprah hosted a prime-time interview with Michael Jackson which became the fourth most watched event in American television history as well as the most watched interview ever, with an audience of one hundred million.

Oprah's mother, Vernita Lee, was a housemaid, and her father, Vernon Winfrey, was a coal miner and a barber before becoming a city councilman.

In December 2006, it was revealed that a class-action lawsuit had been filed against Oprah's magazine, O, after subscribers were double billed.

Oprah has joined hands with Mitch Albom to produce a movie based on Albom's best-selling book For One More Day. The production will begin in the summer and the premiere will be in December 2007. Oprah is going to share producer responsibilities with Kate Forte.

Oprah apparently has fans who play the popular computer game World of Warcraft. Guilds have popped up with the name "Oprah Windfury", which is a name of one of the objects in the game.

Oprah is a partial owner of the Granite Broadcasting Corporation.

In 2006, Oprah signed on with Simon & Schuster to write a book about weight control, reportedly receiving more than $12 million.

At the age of 16, Oprah went to live with her father in Nashville, TN. She became an honor student, joined drama club, and won an oratorical contest.

In 2006, Oprah signed a three-year, $55 million deal, to debut a new XM Satellite Radio channel titled "Oprah & Friends". The channel will air programs related to fitness, health, self-improvement.

Oprah is scared of heights. In February 2007, Oprah revealed she has also had a fear of chewing gum since childhood.

On January 6th 2007, a man was charged with trying to extort money by threatening to injure a Oprah's reputation after saying he had tapes of telephone calls between himself and one of Oprah's employees. He claimed the employee was saying "awful things" about Oprah and that she would be embarrassed if they were leaked to the media.

Oprah is not very fond of shoes. Indeed; she prefers walking barefoot.

Oprah talks with her best friend Gayle King for at least one hour daily.

Oprah asked fashion designer Ralph Lauren to design custom-made cashmere jackets for her dogs, so they can be kept warm in the winter.

In 2006, Oprah officially unveil the "Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls" in South Africa. The facility cost $40 million, and is funded entirely by Oprah's foundation. It includes 28 buildings with classrooms, a dormitory, computer and science laboratories and an auditorium.

In November 2006, Oprah gave all the guests at a screening of her chat show $1300--on the condition they give it away to charity.

Oprah collapsed from heat exhaustion during a recent visit to her hometown of Kosciusko, Mississippi. [October 2006]

Oprah was #3 on the annual Forbes Magazine's Celebrity 100 list in 2006. She was #1 in 2007.

Oprah was a guest at friends Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger's star-studded wedding.

Oprah's 2005 net worth is $1.3 billion, according to Forbes Magazine, which makes her the richest Female Entertainer. She was the first African-American women to make the list of billionaires, in 2003.

Oprah purchased a house at 3330 Radcliffe Avenue, West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This superb 11,000 sq ft waterfront property was on sale for Cdn $18 million, at the time British Columbia's most expensive house, but she paid Cdn $17 million (US$13 million).

Raised in abject poverty, Oprah received her first pair of shoes in 1959 at age 6. She learned to read at age 2½. In fact, when it was time for her to start kindergarten, she wrote a note to her teacher insisting she should be in first grade. The teacher agreed and after finishing that grade she was then skipped to third grade.

Oprah was instrumental in the passage of the Oprah Bill, in the early 1990s. The bill was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, and is aimed at stopping child abuse.

In 1999, Oprah and Stedman Graham are taught "Dynamics of Leadership" class at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Oprah received $130,000,000 for continuing her talk show through the 1999-2000 TV season. [15 September 1997]

Oprah graduated from Tennessee State University, with a bachelor's degree in Speech and Performing Arts.

In addition to being a news anchor on WJZ-TV13 in Baltimore, Maryland, Oprah was co-host with Richard Sher (a reporter) on a local talk show called "People are Talking" on that station.

In September 2006, Oprah began legal action to halt a campaign to get her to become the next president. Her lawyers ordered Patrick Crowe to close his website and phone line urging the public to vote for her.

Oprah launched her own radio show on XM Satellite Radio called, Oprah and Friends.

Oprah's 'Angel Network' received $61,600 toward its Hurricane Katrina and Rita recovery efforts, after Matthew McConaughey auctioned off his 1971 Corvette Stingray on eBay.

Oprah was sued by Texas cattle ranchers who claimed that Oprah defamed beef on her show. The case went to trial. She was found not liable.

In 2006, Oprah landed the biggest ever non-fiction publishing deal for her new book--an exercise and diet book. She has netted more than the record $16 million advance former US President Bill Clinton received for his autobiography.

Oprah entered A Million Little Pieces into her book club in September 2006. It was proven that even though entered as a Auto-Biography much of it was fiction. This caused a great debate. Oprah then brought author James Frey on the show, and forced Frey and his publisher to admit to the partial fictitiousness of the book.

Oprah's favorite book is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

On December 26, 2005. The pilot's window of Oprah's private jet cracked en-route to Maui, while she was aboard. The pilot made an emergency landing in Santa Barbara.

Oprah produced The Color Purple on Broadway in late 2005. Oprah was in a movie of the same work in 1986.

According to Time Magazine, Oprah was just five when she started school and was skipped to third grade at six. She could read at age two.

Oprah co-founded the women's cable television network Oxygen.

Oprah is the president of Harpo Productions (Oprah spelled backwards).

Oprah was born at 7:51 PM eastern standard time.

Oprah was molested as a child by her uncle and cousin and has a keen interest in catching sexual predators. On her show, she has rewarded every person that turns in a sex offender $100,000.

Oprah had a baby boy when she was only 14 years old. However the baby died about two weeks later because he was two months premature.

Oprah's name was supposed to be Orpah, however, it was spelled incorrectly on her birth certificate.

Oprah graduated from East Nashville High School in 1971. She was voted "Most Popular" in her senior year.

One of Oprah's nicknames is "O", which is also the title of her magazine.

Oprah is 5'6.5" (1.69 m) tall.

Oprah announced a donation of $10 million to victims of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Oprah, who is a Protestant Christian, once received a Bentley from John Travolta for her birthday. Like Tom Cruise, Travolta has also talked to Oprah about converting to Scientology, but she has told them both she's not interested.

Among many expensive gifts that she's given to her studio audience, in one episode, Oprah gave each person a car.

Oprah's Awards and Nominations:
1971 Miss Black Tennessee
1985 Promising New Actors of 1985 in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 37
1986 Best Actress in a Supporting Role (nomination), The Color Purple
1994 National Women's Hall of Fame (inducted)
1996 Individual Achievement Award in the George Foster Peabody Awards
1996 Gold Medal Award from the International Radio & Television Society Foundation
1997 People's 50 Most Beautiful People
1997 Most Important Person in Books and Media (Newsweek)
1997 Television Performer of the Year (TV Guide)
1998 #1 World's Most Powerful People in Showbiz by Entertainment Weekly
1998 Lifetime Achievement Award by National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
1998 Daytime Emmy, The Oprah Winfrey Show
1999 #6 World's Most Powerful People in Showbiz by Entertainment Weekly
1999 National Book Award "Influential contribution to reading and books"
2002 Bob Hope Humanitarian Award (Emmy Awards)
2003 #1 Pop Culture Icon on VH1's "200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons"
2003 AAP Honors Award by the Association of American Publishers
2006 Library Lion Award by The New York Public Library
2007 #15 on Entertainment Tonight's "Hot List of 2007"