sindydoll
21-11-2009, 06:36
Oprah Winfrey has announced her daytime television show will end in 2011, after 25 years on the air.
The talk show queen delivered the news on Friday's episode of her programme from Chicago, saying her decision came "after much prayer and careful thought".
Winfrey held back tears as she thanked viewers for their support and said when the show started in 1986 she was nervous but could never have imagined the "yellow brick road of blessings" down the years.
Once a local Chicago morning programme, the Oprah Winfrey Show evolved into American television's top-rated talk show for more than two decades.
It aired in 145 countries worldwide and has been watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the US alone.
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who has her own chat show, paid tribute to Oprah: "I don't think I could be here without her. She blazed a trail.
"She will always be the queen of daytime television."
Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University, said: "Oprah Winfrey is in a category of her own.
"This is a great American story and like any great American story it's super-sized."
Powered by the show's staggering success, Winfrey built a media empire.
Harpo Studios produces shows hosted by Dr Phil McGraw and celebrity chef Rachael Ray.
The Oprah Magazine, O, was America's seventh most popular magazine in the first half of 2009.
Earlier this year, Forbes estimated Winfrey's net worth at $2.7bn (£1.6bn).
"I came from nothing," Winfrey wrote in her 1998 book Journey To Beloved.
"No power. No money. Not even my thoughts were my own. I had no free will. No voice.
"Now, I have the freedom, power, and will to speak to millions every day - having come from nowhere."
Winfrey is widely expected to start up a new talk show on her own cable channel OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network in 2011.
The talk show queen delivered the news on Friday's episode of her programme from Chicago, saying her decision came "after much prayer and careful thought".
Winfrey held back tears as she thanked viewers for their support and said when the show started in 1986 she was nervous but could never have imagined the "yellow brick road of blessings" down the years.
Once a local Chicago morning programme, the Oprah Winfrey Show evolved into American television's top-rated talk show for more than two decades.
It aired in 145 countries worldwide and has been watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the US alone.
Comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who has her own chat show, paid tribute to Oprah: "I don't think I could be here without her. She blazed a trail.
"She will always be the queen of daytime television."
Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University, said: "Oprah Winfrey is in a category of her own.
"This is a great American story and like any great American story it's super-sized."
Powered by the show's staggering success, Winfrey built a media empire.
Harpo Studios produces shows hosted by Dr Phil McGraw and celebrity chef Rachael Ray.
The Oprah Magazine, O, was America's seventh most popular magazine in the first half of 2009.
Earlier this year, Forbes estimated Winfrey's net worth at $2.7bn (£1.6bn).
"I came from nothing," Winfrey wrote in her 1998 book Journey To Beloved.
"No power. No money. Not even my thoughts were my own. I had no free will. No voice.
"Now, I have the freedom, power, and will to speak to millions every day - having come from nowhere."
Winfrey is widely expected to start up a new talk show on her own cable channel OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network in 2011.