Oprah Winfrey has done a lot of good in the world from her omnipotent TV talk show platform.
From one-off giveaways to her famous “Favorite Things” episodes, the star has spread cheer and expensive goodies to loyal fans and deserving individuals.
Every time the audience goes beserk, making for great TV while making Oprah a goddess among mortal celebrities.
To celebrate her birthday — she was born Jan. 29, 1954 — here are Oprah’s absolutely most insane giveaways of all time.
Cars for the whole audience
During the premier of season 19 of “The Oprah Show,” what she called “the wildest dream season,” the host made TV history when she gave new Pontiac G6 cars to everyone in her studio audience. After staging an elaborate set-up, making the audience believe she was only giving away a single vehicle, Oprah revealed that there were enough cars to go around. She also gifted the world with the now iconic phrase, “You get a car. You get a car. Everybody gets a car. Everybody gets a car!”
Building houses in New Orleans
After Hurricane Katrina unleashed devastation on New Orleans, Oprah stepped in to house victims of the natural disaster. With a pledge of $10 million of her own money, the beneficent celeb helped provide shelter for 300 families through Oprah's Angel Network and Habitat for Humanity.
A gift and a challenge
In 2006, Oprah gave audience members video cameras and $1,000, but she challenged them all to use the money to pay that gift forward and record the results. One gift became many. It wasn’t the only time Oprah’s guests paid their surprise gifts forward either, with 2010 Volkswagen Beetle recipients doing good work with veterans in Chicago.
A meeting with Mariah
After two superfans of Mariah Carey wrote in to the show to find out when the popstar would next grace Oprah’s stage, the magnanimous host offered to fly the duo out to see Carey perform, meet her backstage, and even spots in the singer’s next music video.
A trip to Australia
Oprah has organized quite a few, last-minute trips for her audience, but none bigger than sweeping her fans away to Australia for a week. For her 25th season she gathered her Ultimate Viewers and whisked them away to the other side of the world.
Free KFC for everyone
Oprah didn't stop at giving away free KFC to her audience, or to everyone on her mailing list. In 2009, Oprah promised to bring a tasty bit of joy to everyone who downloaded a coupon from her website to be redeemed for a free meal at Kentucky Fried Chicken.
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