Oprah Winfrey

Oprah has been in the news a lot lately. No, even more than usual.

Welcoming First Lady Michelle Obama to her show, introducing her half-sister and preparing to OWN us all, 2011 has been a banner year for her so far.

Today, however, Winfrey is only in the news because it's January 29th - also Adam Lambert's birthday. Here's wishing the talk show queen a happy 57th!

Oprah. One of few stars famous enough to go by first name only.

Leave a comment with your birthday greetings for this entertainment icon and follow the jump to relive her emotional introduction of her long-lost relative:

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Oprah's half-sister made major headlines this week, but today, the host sheds light on a family secret of a different sort. One that often goes unrecognized.

First Lady Michelle Obama visits the Oprah Winfrey Show today along with Tom Brokaw and Bob Woodward. The topic? The Bravest Families in America.

Oprah, Michelle and the famed journalists have joined forces to shed light on the sacrifice military families make when their loved ones go into battle.

The Bravest Families in America

Asked what moves her about our armed services, Michelle said, "Their strength. Their pride. Their courage. Their willingness to sacrifice without complaint."

"That's what moves me every time. Whenever I'm feeling bad, or feeling sorry for myself, I suck it up because of these families."

As for why Michelle is speaking up, she says it's because someone has to.

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Oprah Winfrey is not exactly known for quiet or subtle gesture.

But the talk show host says she and half-sister Patricia are taking their relationship "slow," having only been in each other's lives for two months.

"I think it's about building a relationship one conversation – one experience – at a time," Oprah told her BFF on yesterday's episode of The Gayle King Show.

Winfrey and Patricia have a mother in common, of course, Vernita Lee. She's not well, and that has given the newly united sisters a cause to focus on together.

"Everybody who's dealing with an ailing parent understands that process of getting care for them. And we're speaking regularly about that," said Oprah.

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We're not entirely sure if Oprah Winfrey being united with her half-sister really qualifies as the "miracle of miracles," as the talk show host hyped over the weekend.

But there is something truly remarkable about the discovery made by Oprah just prior to Thanksgiving: Patricia, the woman who spent years tracking down her birth mother and who learned in 2007 that she was related to one of the richest people on the planet, had multiple opportunities to sell this story to the tabloids.

She refused.

Oprah Winfrey, Half-Sister

"All Patricia wanted was the truth," an insider tells Pop Eater "She wasn't interested in selling her story, even for a million dollars. She just wanted to know who she was, where she came from and if she had any brothers or sisters. She had no idea when she started this search she would end up being Oprah Winfrey's half-sister."

Sources say the "starting point" for an interview with Patricia would be one million dollars. But the woman who, appropriately, first met Oprah on Thanksgiving Day, is showing no signs that she's interested. Concludes this insider:

"No one knows what the future holds for the family. Patricia doesn't want a dime from Oprah and certainly wasn't going to take money from a tabloid whose offers are now pouring in.

"For the most part my life has been an open book. I thought nothing could surprise me, but I was wrong."

So said Oprah Winfrey to kick off the latest edition of her talk show, which was taped this morning in Chicago. The episode had been hyped for days by Oprah, who teased viewers by saying she'd reveal a family secret that shook her to the core.

That secret? A half-sister named Patricia who was given by for adoption by Oprah's mother in 1963. In the following clips, Winfrey tells her audience about Patricia and then sits down with her relative, about whom Oprah says:

"What is so extraordinary is they have known this secret since 2007... She never once thought to go to the press. She never once thought to sell this story."

Oprah Winfrey Secret

Oprah Winfrey, Half-Sister

On her talk show later today, Oprah Winfrey will reveal a family secret that she has quietly hyped as "the miracle of all miracles."

What is the news that has "literally shaken" the television goddess to her "core?"

According to Kitty Kelley, who penned "Oprah: A Biography," Winfrey will present a half-sister who was given up for adoption as a baby.

Citing an “inside family source” to The Chicago Tribune, Kelley claims Winfrey’s mother gave birth to a girl, Bunny, who she then “gave away shortly after she was born because she couldn’t afford to take care of her.” Bunny will appear with the host on today’s show.

Kelley has made an infamous name for herself in Hollywood by writing unauthorized biographies of celebrities, relying on third-person and anonymous quotes to reveal supposedly shocking secrets on stars from Oprah to Frank Sinatra.

UPDATE: Oprah taped today's show earlier this morning and confirmed this story; she introduced Patricia to the world, a woman who was given up for adoption in 1963 and who currently resides in Milwaukee.

Oprah Winfrey is just a messenger, folks. But she has an anxious world awaiting that next message.

In a new commercial for the next edition of her talk show, Winfrey says: "I was given some news that literally shook me to my core. This time, I'm the one being reunited. I was keeping a family secret for months, and on Monday you're going to hear it straight from me."

Oprah Winfrey Commercial

What could the secret be? There are many possibilities, as Winfrey was born to unwed teens, had a baby who passed away and was raised by various family members.

"I thought I'd seen it all," Winfrey teases. "But this, my friends, is the miracle of all miracles."

During her discussion with reporters at yesterday's Television Critics Association press tour talked about the launching of OWN. At length.

The host went off about her role in the world and how she doesn't let herself watch TV. For what reason? Read for yourself...

Oprah Winfrey Interview

What is she all about?
The evolving of consciousness is really what I’m about, but I’m not telling people that’s what it is. All of us are here to become more of who we are, of who you really were born to be. Every single one of us in this room has that. That is how we are all equal, because I was born to be who the creator intended, whether you believe in the creator or not.

Whatever you believe put you here, you were born to perform the highest expression of that coming. That is my goal as my personal self and it is also my goal to help other people see that in themselves. I fully understand that this platform that I have been given is a gift.

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Sarah Palin fans may not tune in, but Oprah Winfrey takes the next significant step in her career on Saturday when she launches OWN.

The self-titled cable network is expected to reach nearly 80 million homes and, according to the goddess herself, will connect "you to your best self and to the world." Talk about a lofty goal!

Oprah says she always knew she would be a "light carrier" and that her 25-year run as a talk show host would simply be a starting point for her "next thing."

She'll appear on OWN for at least 70 hours/year, starting Saturday night with a behind-the-scenes special. Other programs will feature Oprah favorites such as Cristina Ferrare's Big Bowl of Love, In the Bedroom with Dr. Laura Berman and The Gayle King Show.

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From one influential to woman to another, Oprah Winfrey has a message for Sarah Palin: best of luck with that 2012 Presidential campaign... you'll need it!

In the latest issue of Parade, the talk show host refers to the reality star as "charming and likable." But can she foresee Palin as President of the United States? No.

"It does not scare me because I believe in the intelligence of the American public," Oprah said.

Winfrey also admits she's "succumbed" to the notion that she's a "brand," while explaining how Michael Jackson influenced her decision to branch off with her own network.

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