Born Orpah Gail Winfrey in Kosciusko, MS; educated at Tennessee State University. Queen of the afternoon talk shows whose lively, aggressive intelligence, streetwise common sense and empathetic, engaging personality have not only won her top ratings and numerous TV awards, but a production empire as well. Working her way up from local TV reporter to morning talk show host, Winfrey has created a successful formula of intense, often frank, social issue-oriented discussions with a strong emotional undercurrent. While her extremes of weight loss and re-gain and her romance with former basketball player Steadman Graham have made Winfrey a tabloid celebrity, she has expanded her career into acting -- she was nominated for an Academy Award for her screen debut as Sofia in THE COLOR PURPLE (1985) -- and production, via her Harpo Productions company. After winning 13 Daytime Emmys® for Outstanding Talk Show and Outstanding Talk Show Host, Winfrey withdrew her show from further Emmy consideration after receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in 1998, saying, "After you've achieved it for a lifetime, what else is there?" Winfrey also has a Chicago-based movie studio and TV production complex, which made the highly-acclaimed TV drama and subsequent series "The Women of Brewster Place" (1989), in which she starred. Executive producing mainly for television with projects such as "Nine" (1992), "The Wedding" (1998), "Tuesdays with Morrie" (1999) and "Their Eyes Were Watching God" (2005), her feature film producer credits include BELOVED (1998), in which she also starred, and THE GREAT DEBATERS (2007). She ranked #1 in Entertainment Weekly's 1998 list of the most powerful people in industry, but dropped to #6 in 1999 list. Still, the only performer ranked that high, as well as the only woman, and certainly the only African-American. Other notable acting credits include NATIVE SON (1986), THROW MOMMA FROM THE TRAIN (1987, cameo as herself), CHARLOTTE'S WEB (2006, voice) and BEE MOVIE (2007, voice). According to Forbes magazine, her 2005 net worth was $1.3 billion. In 2003, she was the first African-American woman to make the list of billionaires. Appearing on the annual "Time 100" list, Time's ranking of the 100 most influential people in the world, in 2007 again, Winfrey is the only person who has been on that list five times (May 2007).  Nominated for Supporting Actress 1985: THE COLOR PURPLE 1 nomination