Oprah Winfrey (born Orpah Gail Winfrey on January 29, 1954) is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011.[2] She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century,[3] the greatest black philanthropist in American history,and was for a time the world's only black billionaire.She is also, according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world.