Oprah Winfrey

"Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness."

Born January 29, 1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi
Talk show host, television producer, media entrepreneur, actor and philanthropist
Personality traits: passionate, intimate, loud, outspoken, enthusiastic, lovable, down to earth
Known for: Considered the world's most influential woman

Why Oprah?
Most women constantly struggle with the feeling of not being good enough, smart enough, or pretty enough. Then Oprah came along and said, “We are.” Oprah Winfrey had to fight hard to believe this about herself, and she has held on to it—she has spoken about things that no one else has spoken about before her, and she has done so with courageous empathy. By giving voice to the moral authority of African-American women, she has made that authority valid and universal for all women.
But Oprah didn’t just talk – she built a media empire. She built girls’ schools in Africa. She is an actress, producer and mentor, and one of the few women in history who doesn’t need a last name. She has shown that adversity can be an opportunity, and that typically “feminine” qualities like intimacy and compassion can be the building blocks of an empire – founded on the simple idea that women can own their own stories, identities and self-images, no matter how different or diverse they are. That there is dignity and self-respect in the very act of being a woman.
Oprah is a champion of growth and self-reliance, and I particularly admire her choice of literature as a vehicle for development and empowerment. By immersing ourselves in the fates and stories of others, she suggests, we can grow and flourish ourselves.