Oprah Winfrey was forced to overcome many early life obstacles, including poverty, rape and the death of an infant son she had at the age of 14. Only five years later, however, she began co-anchoring local TV news broadcasts. After stays in a number of large markets, she finally landed in Chicago, where she turned around a low-rated local talk show that eventually morphed into the highest-rated talk show in television history, The Oprah Winfrey Show.

PerezHilton reported on March 3, 2009, that Winfrey has adopted a new cocker spaniel puppy from a Chicago dog rescue facility. Winfrey lost her cocker spaniel, Sophie, in March of 2008 from kidney failure. http://perezhilton.com/2009-03-03-oprah-adopts-a-puppy-luckiest-dog-in-the-world

PerezHilton reported on March 3, 2009, that Winfrey has adopted a new cocker spaniel puppy from a Chicago dog rescue facility. Winfrey lost her cocker spaniel, Sophie, in March of 2008 from kidney failure. http://perezhilton.com/2009-03-03-oprah-adopts-a-puppy-luckiest-dog-in-the-world

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, who allegedly tried to sell a U.S. senate seat for his personal gain, revealed to Good Morning America on January 26, 2009, that he considered naming Oprah Winfrey for the empty senate seat once occupied by President Obama.Breitbart: Senator Oprah?... (January 29, 2009)

On December 1, 2008, HBO announced that Oprah's production company, Harpo Films, had entered into an exclusive three year deal with the network. Harpo had spent the previous 15 years creating content for ABC.Chicago Tribune: Oprah, HBO to Team on Movie Projects (December 17, 2008)

Actress, producer, publisher and mogul Oprah Winfrey is best known as the host of the massively popular syndicated talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show. She is consistently ranked amongst the most influential and wealthiest African Americans in history, and at one time was considered the world's only black billionaire. Oprah exerts massive influence over American popular culture; selections for her book club and picks for her Favorite Things segments regularly become best-sellers.

Winfrey announced in November of 2009 that her syndicated program would end in 2011. The announcement coincides with the planned 2010 launch date for her OWN cable channel.

On The Oprah Winfrey Show in early March of 2009, Oprah sent a message to domestic abuse victims, specifically the singer Rihanna after her alleged February 8th attack by her boyfriend Chris Brown, stating that "Love doesn't hurt and if a man hits you once he will hit you again." After news of Rihanna and Brown's reconciliation, Oprah urged the couple to "Give it some time, get yourself counseling, take care of yourself and heal yourself first." Being known for her stand against domestic violence, Oprah plans to address the subject in an upcoming show "dedicated to all the Rihannas of the world." Oprah Winfrey urges Rihanna to leave Chris Brownhttp://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/celebritynews/4959591/Oprah-Winfrey-urges-Rihanna-to-leave-Chris-Brown.html

The New York Times reported that Winfrey donated $365,000 to the Ron Clark Academy over the 2008 Christmas season. The Academy educates low income and underprivileged students. Clark and the students from the school have previously appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show.http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/arts/television/02arts-OPRAHGIVESTO_BRF.html

Winfrey warns fans in early April of 2009 to beware of a scam known as the "Oprah Millionaire Contest Show" where scammers are fraudulently informing recipients via e-mail that they have been selected to appear on Oprah's show where a $1 million prize will be awarded. The recipients are then told that they must buy a ticket to Chicago, from the scammer, and must pay to get into the show. Anyone receiving this e-mail is instructed to inform the FBI at the Internet Crime Complaint Center.http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20271331,00.html

Oprah Winfrey's fan mail address ishttp://www.fanmail.biz/1797.html:

Oprah Winfrey PO Box 909715 Chicago, IL 60690 USA

Oprah's Studio address is:

Oprah Winfrey Harpo Studios, Inc. 1058 West Washington Blvd. Chicago, IL 60607 USA

• • • Friday May 7, 2010 - Suze Orman offers financial advice, Dr. Phil McGraw threatens to take it all off, Christian Aguilera as the entertainment.

• • • Tuesday, May 11, 2010 - Justin Bieber on Oprah.

Winfrey, following in the footsteps of several other celebrities, can now be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Oprah. She is depicted with her new cocker spaniel puppy in her profile picture.Twitter: Oprah According to USA Today, a before and after survey used to study the "Oprah Effect" revealed a 43 percent increase in Twitter traffic. Additionally, 37 percent of Twitter traffic on Oprah's first day of tweeting was made up of new users.http://blogs.usatoday.com/technologylive/2009/04/oprah-effect-43-jump-in-twitter-traffic.html

For years, Winfrey has battled to keep her weight "in check." After losing a significant amount of weight in 2006, Winfrey reports in the December 2008 O Magazine that "I'm embarrassed. I can't believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I'm still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, How did I let this happen again?" Winfrey admitted that she again weighed over 200 pounds.http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20245089,00.html