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Oprah Winfrey: Talk Shows
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In October 1998, Winfrey produced and starred in the film Beloved, based upon Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name. To prepare for her role as Sethe, the protagonist and former slave, Winfrey experienced a 24-hour simulation of the experience of slavery, which included being tied up and blindfolded and left alone in the woods. Despite major advertising, including two episodes of her talk show dedicated solely to the film, and moderate to good critical reviews, Beloved opened to poor box-office results, losing approximately $30 million. Working with delicate subjects, Winfrey managed to keep the cast motivated and inspired. "Here we were working on this project with the heavy underbelly of political and social realism, and she managed to lighten things up", said costar Thandie Newton. "I've worked with a lot of good actors, and I know Oprah hasn't made many films.
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Her show was groundbreaking for several reasons, but most of all because Oprah was unafraid to bare her soul and her own past experiences in front of audiences whereas most talk show hosts remained reserved in regard to their personal lives. Though it was difficult, she made public her past abuse, her drug problem during her twenties, and her struggle with obesity. In this latter area, Oprah, took a lot of heat from unkind critics who were unable to cope with the notion that a round woman could possibly be considered attractive, intelligent, and vital. She endured cruel jokes and jibes until she finally decided to lose weight, first with a radical liquid diet -- which only temporarily took off her weight -- and then with a rigorous fat-free diet and exercise regimen that kept her weight off.
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Nonetheless, Winfrey continued to excel. Around 1977 she became a cohost on the Baltimore Is Talking show, which, under her leadership, boasted better ratings than Phil Donahue's talk show. After seven years in Baltimore, Winfrey was hired by the general manager of WLS-TV, ABC's Chicago affiliate, after he saw Winfrey in an audition tape sent in by her producer.
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Winfrey has won numerous awards for her work in television and film. She won the Horatio Alger Award in 1993 and was inducted into the TV Hall of Fame in 1994. At the 1995 Daytime Emmy Awards, the "Oprah Winfrey Show" won its seventh Emmy Award for best talk show and Winfrey won an Emmy as best daytime TV host.
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With Uranus in Cancer, Winfrey is an empathetic person but in her own unique way. Coupled with Mars in Scorpio, shes ... extremely shrewd, which compels her to leverage that empathy for maximum impact. The talk show host is a force to be reckoned with, so anyone thinking about getting in her way had better think twice!
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