Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome to our 30th Annual Women's Conference. Today I am delighted to introduce to you our speaker for this great occasion. Born on January 29, 1954 she was raised by her grandmother on a farm in Mississippi. She graduated from Tennessee State University with a degree in Communications. This actor, TV/radio host, and producer stands as a beacon, not only in the worlds of media and entertainment but also in the larger realm of public discourse. She has won numerous awards for her work in television and film. In 1994 she was inducted into the TV Hall of Fame. At the 1995 Daytime Emmy Awards, her talk show won its seventh Emmy Award for best talk show and she won an Emmy as best daytime TV host. .
At the age of 49, she has a personal fortune estimated at more than half a billion dollars. She owns her own production company, which creates feature films, prime-time TV specials and home videos. An accomplished actress, she won an Academy Award nomination for her role in THE COLOR PURPLE and in her own film BELOVED. She didn't create the talk-show format but the compassion and intimacy she put into it have created a new way for us to talk to one another. Today she will be discussing a law that was signed by President Clinton in 1994 that was designed to protect children from abuse. She makes people care because she cares. That is her gift, and will be her legacy, as the changes she has formed in the talk show industry continue to penetrate our culture and shape our lives. .
Without further due I am honor to present to you our speaker for the evening Ms. Oprah Winfrey discussing the "Oprah Bill" which is a law designed to protect children from abuse. .