Oprah knows what it's like to grow up in hard conditions. Born to a poor single teenage mother, she grew up in the inner-city of Milwaukee.

Starting at age nine, she was molested by relatives and eventually gave birth to her uncle's child at age fourteen. Her baby died during infancy.

She was sent to live with the man she calls her father in Tennessee, where she launched her media career. While still in high school, she landed a job at a local radio station, won Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant, and began co-anchoring the evening news by nineteen. Ten years later, she was hosting The Oprah Winfrey Show.

She really pulled herself up by the bootstraps and proved to the world that nothing can hold you back if you're determined. Since she gained fame, wealth and notoriety, she has become a philanthropist - starting a girl's school in Africa, as well as raising awareness for and donating to many causes.

Oprah was tired of not feeling a connection to the charities that she wrote cheque after cheque for, so she opened up the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, an all-expenses paid boarding school.

Though it seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime to the handpicked girls, many parents are complaining that the school is too strict. Girls are allowed only a 2-hour visit with four family members once a month. Many of the girls have families much larger than typical American families, so many don't even get to see all of her brothers and sisters. Candy and junk food is also prohibited on campus.

Less than a year after the school opened, there were allegations from the students that they had been sexually abused by the faculty. Oprah said she "wept" when she found out, and she would be "cleaning house" of the faculty.

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Oprah has tackled many topics on her shows, including how to get your life together (via Dr Phil), spirituality, abuse, poverty, and women's health. She is devoted to making the world a better place, using her Oprah's Book Club to promote nationwide literacy, O! Magazine to promote self-esteem and her show to bring awareness to issues like homophobia.

"She is the top alpha female in this country. She has more credibility than the president. Other successful women, such as Hillary Clinton and Martha Stewart, had to be publicly slapped down before they could move forward. Even Condi has had to play the protegé with Bush. None of this happened to Oprah - she is a straight ahead success story." ~ Maureen Down, columnist

She is much loved by people from all walks of life, and her 49-million strong American fan base will almost certainly vote for Obama if Oprah is on the ticket.

With her advocacy and awareness campaigns for nearly every issue of modern times, from opposing the war in Iraq to a episode almost entirely comprised of audience members coming out as gay, she has the power to motivate people to action.

No one can deny that an Obama/Oprah ticket would be one of the most charismatic in history. The only question is, can she win over the youth of the country to fully tip the scales?