Divine Women of Our Time: Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954) is an American television host, producer, and philanthropist, best known for her self-titled, multi-award winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century and beyond, the greatest black philanthropist in American history and was once the world's only black billionaire. She is also, according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world.

In 1985, Winfrey co-starred in Steven Spielberg's film adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple. She earned immediate acclaim as Sofia, the distraught housewife. The following year Winfrey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The Color Purple went on to become a Broadway musical and opened in late 2005, with Winfrey credited as a producer.

In 1993, Winfrey hosted a rare 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. As well as hosting and appearing on television shows, Winfrey co-founded the women's cable television network Oxygen. She is also the president of Harpo Productions (Oprah spelled backwards). Winfrey publishes two magazines: O, The Oprah Magazine and O at Home. She has co-authored five books;

In 1998, Winfrey began Oprah's Angel Network, a charity aimed at encouraging people around the world to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged others. Accordingly, Oprah's Angel Network supports charitable projects and provides grants to nonprofit organizations around the world that share this vision. To date, Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than $51,000,000. In 2005 she became the first black person listed by Business Week as one of America's top 50 most generous philanthropists, having given an estimated $303 million. Winfrey has also helped 250 African-American men continue or complete their education at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.

In addition to several acting roles she has done voice overs for Charlotte's Web, the 2006 film as Gussie the goose. She is also the voice of Judge Bumbleden in Bee Movie (2007) In 2009, Winfrey provided the voice for the character of Eudora, the mother of Princess Tiana, in Disney's The Princess and the Frog.

In 2008 Winfrey and Discovery Communications announced plans to change Discovery Health Channel into a new channel called OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. OWN will debut at an unspecified time in 2010. It was scheduled to launch in 2009, but has since been delayed. On November 2, 2009, it was announced that Winfrey will narrate Discovery Channel's upcoming documentary series Life, which will air in March 2010. Sorce:Wikipedia
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Divine Women of Our Time is a series to remind us of the rich culture we come from and to celebrate black history month. I will profile strong women that have been apart of building a culture, paving ways for those after them and who have made a memorable impact within their industry. These women were not only leaders, but they were role models for many people at an appointed time. Most of these women are still with us thankfully. Rightfully so, I want to celebrate them while they are here and can understand that there relevance is appreciated as apart of our rich history.