To say that Oprah Winfrey's life is astonishing and inspirational is, for once, not celebrity hyperbole. From a dirt poor, abused child, she's become one of the century's most influential women.
Born to an unwed young mother, raped and sexually abused as a young girl, losing a baby at 14, told she was too fat, too unattractive, too black, Oprah Winfrey has risen above her harsh origins to become one of the most beloved, dynamic, inspiring, determined and flat-out amazing women in the world.
And she's played it all out in public, particularly as the epitome of a yo-yo dieter. In 1988, after enduring a liquid diet for several months, she slimmed down to a size 8, then hauled a wagon loaded with 27kg of fat on the set of her show to prove her point. Yet as soon as she started eating again, the weight piled back on. Oprah confided to viewers about her binges, confessing that she once ate a bag of hot-dog buns slathered in maple syrup. She lost the weight again, ran a marathon, learned how to overcome her emotional eating - and then regained all the weight. Now, finally, at the age of 51, she is slimmer, fitter and more stunning than ever, her skin flawlessly creamy and literally glowing with good health.
Every day, she reaches more than 26 million Americans - and countless viewers in 100 other countries - from the comfortable sofa of her own chat show. Fans have rejoiced that she's just signed a deal to host 140 episodes per year, up until 2010. Her website, www.oprah.com, averages two million visitors a month and receives an astonishing 10,000 emails each week.
Don't miss the story of Oprah. We chart the extraordinary rise and rise of the phenomenon known as Oprah Winfrey from poor, abused child to one of the most powerful women in the world.
Only in the February 2005 issue of The Australian Women's Weekly.
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