At the heart of everything Oprah Winfrey does, there is a consistent message - that individuals should take personal responsibility for their lives, and to improve the world.

Winfrey is the first African-American woman to own her own production company; a talented actress nominated for an Academy Award in her first movie; television's highest-paid entertainer; producer and actress in her own television specials; and the successful host of a syndicated television talk show that reaches 15 million people a day. She does all that she can to eradicate child abuse. As a victim herself, Winfrey knows the damage abuse does to young lives, and she was a major force in the drafting, lobbying and passage of the National Child Protection Act, signed into law by President Clinton in 1994. The Act establishes a national registry of child abusers to help employers and those working with children to screen out dangerous people. Winfrey is also a committed philanthropist, providing significant assistance to schools (Morehouse College, Tennessee State University, Chicago Academy of Arts) as well as to the Chicago Public Schools. She also funds battered women's shelters and campaigns to catch child abusers.

Additional Resources:Opra Winfrey: The Soul and Spirit of a Superstar. Triumph Books, 2000.

Adler, Bill, editor. The Uncommon Wisdom of Oprah Winfrey: A Portrait in Her Own Words. Birch Lane Press, 1997.

With Joan Barthel. Opra. Knopf, 1998.

With Jane Lowe. Oprah Winfrey Speaks: Insights from the World's Most Influential Voice.John Wiley & Sons, 2001.

Oprah's website: http://www.oprah.com/.