Oprah will be the 2013 recipient of The Hollywood Reporter’s Sherry Lansing Leadership Award, which is given to a woman who is a leader and pioneer in the industry.
To say that Oprah is a pioneer is practically an understatement, the woman is a legend. She spent 25 years as the host of the top rated talk show in the country, created her own television network OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and runs a media empire containing O, The Oprah Magazine and her own SiriusXM channel. She’s recently been receiving rave reviews — and Oscar buzz — for her role as Gloria Gaines in The Butler.
Oprah’s also done lots of philanthropic work through The Oprah Winfrey Foundation. One signature program is The Oprah Winfrey Scholars program, which gives students scholarships who want to use their educations to help their communities both domestically and abroad. In 2007, she opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa and has contributed over $100 million to The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation. In 1998, Oprah created Oprah’s Angel Network which raised over $80 million to fund charitable organizations and causes across the world.
Janice Min, Editorial Director of The Hollywood Reporter, commented on Oprah receiving the award.
Oprah is an inspiration to us all. She has wielded her tremendous influence to empower women both here in Hollywood and around the world, and motivated
countless individuals to contribute to causes that better their communities. She is the embodiment of this award.
Sherry Lansing also commented on Oprah as the upcoming recipient.
When I learned that Oprah had agreed to accept the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award, I was both thrilled and humbled. No one exemplifies leadership and
professional distinction more than Oprah. Her transformative work as a media entrepreneur and as a philanthropist has set the bar extremely high for
generations to come. The Hollywood Reporter could not have chosen to honor a more deserving individual than Oprah.
Diane Keaton received the award last year. Previous recipients have included Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, Halle Berry and Barbara Walters amongst others.
Maria Shriver will present the award at the 22nd annual Women in Entertainment Breakfast held in Los Angeles on December 11th.
