Oprah Is Named One of “Time”’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022
We all know that Lady O is a hugely influential woman—and now for the tenth time, she’s been recognized as one of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world. For this year’s version of the annual list, Time selected a group of multitalented, inspiring, and groundbreaking individuals, including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, Issa Rae, Zendaya, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Questlove, and many others.
The honorees were split into categories: artists, innovators, leaders, icons, pioneers, and titans, which is where Oprah appeared. She is joined by a collection of notable names like Tim Cook, Sally Rooney, Kris Jenner, and Michelle Yeoh.
Oprah was named one of 100 influential people of the 20th century in the original Time 100 special, which came out in 1998 and inspired the yearly Time 100 lists. Oprah was listed alongside icons like Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, and The Beatles under the artists and entertainers category. Oprah has since been featured on several yearly Time 100 lists, appearing in this annual roundup from 2004 through 2011, with another inclusion in 2018, while Gayle was also honored in 2019.
But this year is all the more meaningful: Oprah was celebrated with an essay from the one and only Michelle Obama. In Obama’s dedication, she says that Oprah uses her platform to uplift. “When Oprah connects with something—a person, a book, a song, an idea—she makes sure to shine her light on it,” Obama writes. “She validates it. She anoints it.”
Obama also recognizes that Oprah has a special talent for diving deep. “Oprah has always had that uncanny ability to open us up, to hear beyond our words, and to uncover a higher truth, to be vulnerable with us in a way that allows us to be vulnerable back.” From Oprah’s interviews with Adele to her uncovering of health inequities in The Color of Care, Oprah is helping share stories that need to be told–which makes her a perfect honoree for the “titan” category.
As Obama noted, Oprah’s work embodies the life lesson she once shared with a group of college graduates: “She said, ‘The common denominator that I found…is we want to be validated. We want to be understood.’” Yet, Obama concludes that really, Oprah’s success might actually be that she’s the common denominator that unites us after all.
We can all agree that Ms. Winfrey is one of our world’s greatest connectors. Join us in celebrating Oprah’s inclusion in this year’s Time 100 Most Influential People, and discover her fellow honorees here.
You Might Also Like
