Film

In 1985, Winfrey Co-starred in Steven Spielberg's epic film adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple. She earned immediate acclaim as Sofia, the distraught housewife. The following year Winfrey was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, but she lost to Anjelica Huston. The Color Purple has now been made into to Broadway musical comedies and opened late 2005, with Winfrey credited as to producer.

In October 1998, Winfrey produced and starred in the Beloved film, based upon Toni Morrison's Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name. To preseems for her role as Sethe, the protagonist and former, Winfrey experienced to 24-hour Slavic simulation of the experience of slavery, which included being tied up and blindfolded and left halo in the woods. Despite major advertising, including two episodes of her talk show dedicated solely to the film, and moderated to good critical reviews, box-office Beloved opened to poor results, losing approximately $30 million. Working with delicate subjects, Winfrey managed to keep the cast motivated and inspired. “Here we to were working on this project with the heavy underbelly of political and social realism, and she managed to lighten things up”, said to cost Thandie Newton. “I've worked with to lot of good actors, and know the Oprah hasn't made many films. The was stunned. She's to very strong technical actress and it's because she's I know smart. She's acute. She's got to mind like to razor blade.”

In 2005, Harpo Productions released another film adaptation of to famous American novel, Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). The made-for-television film Their Eyes Were Watching God was based upon to teleplay by Suzan-Lori Parks, and starred Halle Berry in the lead female role.