Oprah's Most Memorable Moments

There are certain people who perfectly reflect the cultural zeitgeist. In Oprah Winfrey's case, she has consistently defined it over the last 24 years with her women-empowering talk show, must-read magazine and incredible philanthropy. No doubt, as she launches her own television channel, she'll break even more barriers and yet again redefine herself.

Oprah has completely changed what it means to be a daytime TV host. Every time she gives back, she inspires others to, as well. Look at the success of her Angel Network. Her cultural impact is as big as her philanthropic--she made reading cool again and brought to life some important works, like The Color Purple and Beloved. She gets behind those she believes in. Oprah is also honest--sometimes brutally--about her own personal struggles. It's this kind of realness that draws in her fans.

It's also her sense of humor and her willingness to poke fun at herself (who knew Oprah couldn't pump gas?). There are also her big holiday giveaways. Every season, fans wait to see what will be on Oprah's Favorite Things--we're thrilled that this year she chose our gray flannel Reva ballerina flats and Tory Tote. The last 24 years have also given TV some of its most entertaining moments. Here, in no particular order, a few of our favorite moments from Oprah's first 25 seasons....

1. The Black Eyed Peas and 20,000+ singing "I Gotta Feeling" for Oprah's Farewell Season opener.

2. Tina Turner surprise serenade to Oprah on her 50th birthday.

3. Oprah in South Africa for the Christmas Kindness 2002 initiative, giving 50,000 orphans and school children gifts.

3. Oprah's big audience give-aways, like Pontiacs in 2004 or this season's trips to Australia.

4. Oprah and David Letterman's Superbowl of love commercial.

5. Not technically from the Oprah Show, but we love that she grants Ellen's wish: The cover of O.

 

Comments

[Athirson]

08:20 PM on 12/26/2010

My favorite Oprah moment was when Tom Cruise jumped her couch. In so doing, he simultaneously jumped the shark

[PJsThreeDogLife]

07:40 AM on 11/22/2010

She is a Woman. She is Black. She is obese. And even with those three strikes against her, she became the most successful TV personality in America. We women need to celebrate her, 'cause if she can do it...so can we!

[VanessaFas]

05:58 PM on 11/21/2010

Sorry, but I'm still not impressed by her. You don't need to be smart or upright to be popular, and that is mostly what she is, popular. She can give away millions of dollars and hundreds of gifts, but how much of herself has she given? How close has she gotten to those who need real help, and helped them personally? I think I'm not alone here in saying that she could have done more, helped more people, made a bigger difference, if she had worked as a social worker in a big city, or as a reporter covering human crises all over America. Call me crazy, but I'm not impressed by a woman who says she needs cashmere socks and bracelets of her dogs' photos. I'm impressed by the women who have no time to watch her show, because they are helping at church or the soup kitchen.

[pinkeyelemonade]

09:41 AM on 11/22/2010

She funded a school for girls in Africa.

[cherieamour]

03:55 AM on 11/23/2010

...get over it...

[toron]

10:34 PM on 11/20/2010

o should pay more tax and give more money; how many billions does she need

[InfinteShibumi]

11:00 PM on 11/20/2010

Do you even know how much she pays in taxes?

[toron]

11:56 PM on 11/20/2010

not enough

[Dustee]

09:14 AM on 11/21/2010

You should tell that to those billionaires that are affiliated with the Republican party, counting every nickel and dime and pretending not be Scrooge.

[Dustee]

05:27 PM on 11/20/2010

I watched Oprah's 'Favorite things' show this past Friday, and I found myself grinning so hard that you would've thought I was getting all of those things.

Of course those are the shows that Oprah gives to those that are 'always' giving to others. I can't wait for part two of her 'most favorite things' on Monday.

[InfinteShibumi]

11:04 PM on 11/20/2010

Me too! Actually, I cried. It was a wonderful thing to watch Oprah give the specially selected humanitarians in the audience those terrific gifts. No doubt they deserved them all...

[Dustee]

09:10 AM on 11/21/2010

ITA! It's always a pleasure to watch when those surprising moments happen.

And I grin and cry especially when our soldiers come home to surprise relatives that don't know that they're home yet. I'm just a s uck.er for those kinds of things. :)

[smoothsmitty]

11:25 AM on 11/20/2010

Oprah is intoxicating,I remember when me an my dogs were taking a break moving furniture out the house and Oprah was on tv, and the show was about a homeless family and she gave them a house with some sweet home designer laying it out. I swear there wasn't a dry eye for those of us watching! We refer to those kind of teary scenarios as a "Oprah moment" We tried to avoid watching her show to much, after all "Oprah ' and the "Dog Pound" is a strange mix of brew.

[NuMexMama]

11:11 AM on 11/20/2010

My all time 'Ah Ha Moment" was Oprah's "Poop Show." We found out that you must look at your poop, critique its color, shape, and sound as it hits the toilet bowl. Of course, Oprah proclaimed that her Poop is Perfect. Of course. Would we expect anything less coming from Oprah?

[Charlie Dark]

06:35 AM on 11/20/2010

Say Oprah, I, Margie have a lot of favorite things too!!!! I love your show but you know there are so
many people out there who have dreams that can't come true. I guess it takes money to do what
a person wants to do. My husband is going to be layed off again. Do you know what that is like?
I may lose my job too. So I have favorite things too but if we are not working how are we to make
our dreams come true?

[Honora]

10:22 AM on 11/20/2010

You deserve a fan just for watching that ghastly giveaway show. Too much greed for me..

[nik101]

11:31 PM on 11/19/2010

Today she had her Favorite Things. The audience was off the chart hilarious. They had Paramedics on hand incase someone had a heart attack from excitement.

[doctorj2u]

09:55 PM on 11/19/2010

I love watching Oprah. I think she is a good person. The turning point for me was when, after Katrina, her help was to build homes for New Orleanians IN TEXAS! She is a very good person but she doesn't et New Orleans or New Orleanians. She is an American. I am not. I am a New Orleanian. She is a great person that does not consider New Orleans part of her country, like a lot of Americans.

[BrotherOrchid]

04:56 PM on 11/20/2010

good one !!!!. . .
(and under the radar too)

[ZimboChick]

07:31 PM on 11/19/2010

lol i loved the Ellen wish come true too! I have too many moments from the Oprah show to put down on paper....she is just in a league of her OWN! (lol no pun intended)

[Beebee50]

07:16 PM on 11/19/2010

My all-time favorite Oprah moment came when she had a wine taster as a guest and the woman spit the wine taste into a bucket. We could watch Oprah's face from astonishment to being just tickled and she laughed and laughed. It was great because it was so spontaneous and her guard was down.

[PresidentRobertBooth]

06:26 PM on 11/19/2010

The greatest Oprah moment was the interview with Michael Jackson.

[RealistBC]

06:25 PM on 11/19/2010

Sadly, Oprah jumped the shark when she abandoned intelligent television for mass market crapola.

[MomWithTwoHeads]

08:55 PM on 11/19/2010

When did this happen? As I recall, she abandoned the mass market crapola like Maury and Springer, and moved towards self-help, community activism, and health awareness. She has her negatives, but by your comment, I doubt you watch her.

[blueplano]

06:08 AM on 11/20/2010

What does jumping the shark mean?

[RhiannonRings]

10:45 AM on 11/20/2010

"Jumping the shark is an idiom used to denote the point in a television program's history where the plot spins off into absurd storylines or unlikely characterizations."

that's the Wiki definition.