Post date: Mar 15, 2013 9:21:4 PM
Oprah Winfrey is named most influential celebrity by Forbes magazine for the second year in a row.
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (REUTERS) - Oprah Winfrey was crowned America's most influential celebrity for a second straight year on Friday (March 15), despite having dropped off daily television in 2011.
Forbes magazine ranked Winfrey, 59, ahead of Hollywood titans Steven Spielbergand Clint Eastwood and towering over other TV figures such as journalist Barbara Walters and financial guru Suze Orman.Forbes said that 48 percent of people surveyed rated Winfrey as influential, down just one point from last year.
Winfrey ended her daily "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in May 2011 after 25 years to launch the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), which features lifestyle programming aimed at women.
After struggling in the ratings since its launch, OWN has seen audiences rise recently, thanks to Winfrey's January world exclusive with cyclist Lance Armstrongadmitting to years of doping, and her wide-ranging interview with R&B singer Beyonce.
Film directing seems to be the profession most associated with influence, as four directors, including Ron Howard and Martin Scorsese, crowded into the Top 10.
Reflecting on Spielberg's runner-up ranking, Philpott said "To this day, ask anyone what they think about before going in the ocean," referring to the filmmaker's 1975 blockbuster "Jaws."