Produce Powerful Presentations (Collection)

77. The Art and Science of Oprah Winfrey: The Secrets of Oprah Winfrey’s Appeal

Oprah Winfrey shares a unique distinction with Lucille Ball, the 1950s television comedienne, and Mary Pickford, the 1920s movie actress: All three attained extraordinary popularity in front of the camera, and all three became powerhouses behind the camera as heads of their own production studios. But Ms. Winfrey differs from the other two women, in that her stardom is based on her own personality rather than on the assumed role of a character in a comedy or drama.

Ms. Ball played Lucy, a scatterbrained housewife, in her television series, and Ms. Pickford, known as “America’s Sweetheart,” portrayed ingenue leads in her films. Ms. Winfrey, on the other hand, from ...