Oprah Winfrey bids a tearful farewell

"What we learned on this show is that you are responsible for your life," she said on the final show on Wednesday, standing alone on a stage, speaking to a studio audience in Chicago.

This contrasted sharply to the last two days of the finale farewell episodes where many celebrities including Madonna and Tom Cruise came to pay her a tribute.

"Today, there will be no guest," a tearful Winfrey said on the last show."This last hour is about me saying thank you. It is my love letter to you, I want to leave you all with the lessons that have been the anchor for my life and the ones that I hold most precious," she said.

Dressed in an elegant peach dress, the 57-year-old made the final farewell all about thanking her fans, reported The Washington Post.

"From you whose names I will never know, I learned what love is. You and this show have been the great love of my life," she said.

Winfrey will now turn her attention to boosting her struggling cable network Oprah Own Network (OWN). She has often been described the most powerful woman in the world.
She is estimated to have won one million votes for President Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential race when she backed him over Hillary Clinton.