A tearful Oprah Winfrey on Friday announced that she will take her iconic talk show off the air in 2011 at the end of its 25th season.
"I love this show. This show has been my life and I love it enough to know when it's time to say goodbye," Winfrey told viewers at the end of her live broadcast.
"Twenty five years feels right in my bones and it feels right in my spirit. It's the perfect number, the exact right time."
"The Oprah Winfrey Show," which is currently syndicated in 145 countries, has transformed Winfrey, 55, into a cultural phenomenon.
She is credited with changing the way people talk to each other, having popularized a confessional interview style that has coaxed secrets, revelations and often tears from guests of all stripes.
Known as an almost uniquely influential taste-maker, her recommendation of a book or product has an instantaneous and enormous effect and the show has served as the foundation for an empire that spans books, radio, magazines and the Internet
Born into a life of abuse and poverty in Mississippi, Winfrey is now estimated to be worth 2.7 billion dollars and is regularly ranked among the world's most powerful women, celebrities and media personalities.
"I certainly never could have imagined the yellow brick road of blessing that have led me to this moment with you," Oprah said Friday.
There was speculation that she had decided to focus on her television channel called OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network -- a joint venture between Winfrey and Discovery Communications set to replace the Discovery Health Channel in about 70 million US homes.
Source: AFP Global Edition
