OPRAH WINFREY

AGE: 53
OCCUPATION: Talk show host, actress
NUMBER OF TIME COVERS: 1
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 4

PRO: Hosts the highest-rated talk show in global television history, and is the richest African American of the 20th century. The wealthiest woman in the U.S., she recently opened a $40 million school for girls in South Africa.

CON: Some, including the rapper 50 Cent, have accused Oprah of being an "Oreo," denying her black culture to appeal to middle class white America. Other critics accused her of putting the needs of South Africa ahead of poor areas of the U.S.