Self-made star Oprah poses during show finale in Chicago. (Photo courtesy Oprah Winfrey Web site)Life will continue after Oprah Winfrey's final sw airs on May 25, but whoever is selected to fill the 60-minute void she leaves behind will have some big shoes to fill.
As the 57-year-old talk show titan winds down a career that has spanned more than two decades, she said in one of several farewell countdown videos on her Web site, that from among "thousands of stories" Erin Kramp had been her all-time favorite guest.
Kramp, a mother dying of breast cancer, appeared on the show 13 years ago. Oprah said Kramp – who passed away months later at age 36 – changed the way people think about dying because of a series of tapes she left behind for her daughter Peyton. The tapes were made to mark milestones in the daughter’s life as she grew up.
"[Kramp] absolutely embodies every story, every moment of perseverance, believing, gratitude – you name it – her story defines it," Oprah said.
In other videos, the self-made star reflects on interviews earlier this month with fashion icon Ralph Lauren at his California ranch and author James Frey. Oprah said the interview with Frey enabled her to come full circle with him in the aftermath of controversy that surrounded his 2006 appearance on her show.
The last of Oprah’s two-part finale titled, "Surprise Oprah! A Farerwell Spectacular," aired on May 24. Taped a week before in Chicago, the event attracted 13,000 people – including several celebrities and friends like Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, Beyonce, Patti LaBelle and Michael Jordan.
Oprah has said that in leaving the show, she will concentrate on her cable channel, The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), which launched in January.