Oprah Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954) is the multiple Emmy-winning host of the highest rated talk show in television history, an influential book critic, an Oscar nominated actress, and a best-selling magazine publisher.

According to Forbes magazine, Oprah Winfrey was the richest African-American of the 20th century and the world's only Black billionaire by 2004.

Oprah Winfrey currently lives on "The Promised Land", her 42 acre ocean view estate in Montecito, California, outside of Santa Barbara.

Rumors state that Oprah Winfrey was at a party the previous owners were throwing and so fell in love with the estate that she was reported to have purchased it by writing a personal check for $50,000,000 USD, although it was not for sale. Winfrey also owns a house in Lavallette, New Jersey.
 

Ophra often endorses products promoting weight loss and other health problems. For example: Hoodia weight loss products and Genome Anti Wrinkle cream.

Prior to meeting Graham, Winfrey's love life was a lot less stable. A self-described promiscuous teen who was a victim of sexual abuse, Winfrey briefly became a mother at the age of 14 though her son died in infancy. A relationship with a married man led Winfrey to contemplate suicide in her twenties and an ex-lover from that same period tried to write a tell-all book in which he claimed that he and Winfrey smoked crack together.

Her celebrity status notwithstanding, the billionaire Winfrey served in 2004 on a murder-trial jury. The trial was held in Chicago, Illinois, and involved a man accused of murder after an argument over a counterfeit fifty-dollar bill. The jury voted to convict the man of murder.

In June 2005, Winfrey was denied access to the Hermes company's flagship store in Paris, France. Winfrey arrived fifteen minutes after the store's formal closing time, though high end stores routinely extend hours for VIP customers. Winfrey believed she would have been allowed in the store if she were a white celebrity. In September 2005, Hermes USA CEO Robert Chavez was a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show and sincerely apologized for a rude employee.

On December 1, 2005, Oprah appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to promote the new Broadway musical The Color Purple, of which she was a producer, joining the host for the first time in sixteen years. The episode was hailed by some as the "television event of the decade" and helped Letterman attract his largest audience in more than 11 years: 13.45 million viewers. Although a much-rumored feud was said to have been the cause of the rift, both Winfrey and Letterman balked at such talk. "I want you to know, it's really over, whatever you thought was happening," said Winfrey.