--- description: Oprah Winfrey is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Oprah Winfrey: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31c621c5e3ce70f0/698a0ae9656a3f1652bd9beb/social-2004_Oprah-Winfrey.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 2004: Oprah Winfrey ## Video: FIRSTS Oprah Winfrey [Watch (HLS stream): FIRSTS Oprah Winfrey](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yqK6LSUr.m3u8) (2:49)  _Published 2017-09-02. Oprah Winfrey is the FIRST woman in history to own and produce her own talk show._ Mar 5, 2020 11:41 AM CUT  Buy the cover art→ Buy the cover art→Illustration by Amanda Lenz for TIME by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:41 AM CUT By the time [Oprah Winfrey](https://time.com/collection/most-influential-people-2018/5217575/oprah-winfrey/ "undefined") became the first black woman to make it onto the _Forbes_ billionaire list, in 2003, she was already the most successful talk-show host in TV history and a producer, media mogul, actor, author and philanthropist of unparalleled cultural clout. But it wasn’t until the following year, when she gave away Pontiacs to her entire studio audience, that she ascended to something like secular-saint status—despite facing some backlash over the hefty gift taxes recipients had to pay. “You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!” became shorthand for any modern miracle. That [Oprah magic](https://time.com/collection/firsts/4898535/oprah-winfrey-firsts/ "undefined") has only grown since 2004\. A recipient of accolades, from a Peabody to a Kennedy Center Honor, she gave a crucial early endorsement to Barack Obama. In 2011, she wrapped her 26-year-old talk show and launched cable network OWN; last fall saw the revival of her powerhouse book club as part of a multiyear Apple TV+ deal. She may never heed the call of pundits who wish she’d run for President. Yet when political discourse and pop culture so often cater to the lowest common denominator, Oprah’s signature fusion of entertainment, education and social conscience remains a vital appeal to our best selves. _—Judy Berman_ [**Buy the cover art→**](https://fineartamerica.com/featured/oprah-winfrey-2004-time.html "undefined") --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5793767/oprah-winfrey-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5793767/oprah-winfrey-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"2004: Oprah Winfrey","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:41:58.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:21:55.434Z","description":"Oprah Winfrey is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5793767/oprah-winfrey-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31c621c5e3ce70f0/698a0ae9656a3f1652bd9beb/social-2004_Oprah-Winfrey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31c621c5e3ce70f0/698a0ae9656a3f1652bd9beb/social-2004_Oprah-Winfrey.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 2004 Oprah-Winfrey","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5793767/oprah-winfrey-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"2004: Oprah Winfrey"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"FIRSTS Oprah Winfrey","description":"Oprah Winfrey is the FIRST woman in history to own and produce her own talk show.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/yqK6LSUr/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-09-02T02:40:39.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yqK6LSUr.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5793767/oprah-winfrey-100-women-of-the-year/","duration":"PT2M49S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5793767/oprah-winfrey-100-women-of-the-year/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```