January 29

Oprah Gail Winfrey's  Birthday
 

Oprah Gail Winfrey, queen of all media, was born on January 29, 1954. Oprah survived a difficult childhood, but quickly rose to prominence as one of the most influential and beloved personalities in television.    

Oprah started in radio while still in high school, and became a local news anchor by nineteen. In September of 1986, Oprah started a nationally-syndicated daytime talk show that would eventually become eponymous – The Oprah Winfrey Show. 

Oprah’s show is credited with revolutionizing the “confessional” talk show pioneered by Phil Donahue and making it a huge success on the national level. Early seasons of Oprah’s show were criticized for exploiting controversial subjects and guests, but in the mid-nineties Oprah gradually shifted her focus to more positive and uplifting material.  

Even more impressive than the content of the show itself is the enormous media empire Oprah has built behind the scenes. Harpo Productions, Oprah’s company (two guesses to the origin of the name), runs not only The Oprah Winfrey Show, but O Magazine, the Oxygen Network, and countless other enterprises. All these assets combined make Oprah one of the most wealthy and influential women around – and she was even once the only black billionaire in the world. Not too shabby for a poor girl from Mississippi who actually originally Christened “Orpah.”

Oprah has a Midas touch. Anything she sells, endorses, mentions or even just glances at is guaranteed to succeed. Oprah’s Book Club selections, whether they are new works of fiction or classics of literature, become instant best sellers when they get her seal of approval. Oprah’s big endorsement of the other Big O – President Obama - unquestionably went a long way toward securing his election as the forty-fourth President of the United States. 

Oprah’s enduring place as America’s most lovable billionaire comes from her frequent forays into philanthropy, whether it be giving every audience member a new car, or Oprah’s Angel Network, which provides monetary grants to charitable projects. In all, Oprah donates more of her revenue than any other individual.

So how to celebrate the queen of all media's birthday?  A toast might be appropriate. And what better way to toast the queen of all media than with a cocktail that Oprah and Rachel Ray concocted on Oprah’s TV show on November 23, 2005 which legions of her fans have tried and praised - Oprah's Pomegranate Martini. Not only is this a delicious drink, but like anything Oprahesque, it is good for you. In an article published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2000, researchers detailed an experiment in which healthy adult men and unhealthy mice consumed pomegranate juice daily. After two weeks, the healthy men experienced increased antioxidant levels, which resulted in a ninety percent drop in LDL cholesterol oxidation. In the mice, "oxidation of LDL by peritoneal macrophages was reduced by up to 90% after pomegranate juice consumption."

This finding has so excited researchers about the beneficial effects of pomegranate juice that by 2010, 23 clinical trials were registered with the National Institutes of Health to examine effects of pomegranate extracts or juice consumption has on a variety of diseases including prostate cancer, diabetes, lymphoma, atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, and infant brain injury. This just goes to prove that whatever Oprah recommends is just like God whispering into your ear.
While licking your lips for another taste of pomegranate, watch  her film debut in The Color Purple (1985) for which she earned an Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
 

Oprah's Pomegranate Martini
 

Serves 2