Gisele Bundchen placed 60th inForbes' list of the most powerful women. (Flynet Pictures)Lady Gaga is the most powerful female celebrity according to a new list compiled by Forbes magazine of "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women." The pop star placed 11th on the list, edging out Oprah Winfrey and Beyonce Knowles, who also landed in the top 20.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel was placed at the top of the list, which was filled mostly with political and business figures, but peppered with celebrities throughout. Angelina Jolie was listed at 29th, Ellen DeGeneres at 55th and supermodel Gisele Bundchen was dubbed the 60th most powerful woman in the world.

While Gaga is a notoriously prolific Twitter user, she had yet to comment on the list on Thursday. The singer has been busy promoting her new single, "Yoü And I," and preparing for her opening slot at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday.

We've listed the top 20 from the Forbes list below. The full list is posted here.

1. Angela Merkel
2. Hillary Clinton
3. Dilma Rousseff
4. Indra Nooyi
5. Sheryl Sandberg
6. Melinda Gates
7. Sonia Gandhi
8. Michelle Obama
9. Christine Lagarde
10. Irene Rosenfeld
11. Lady Gaga
12. Jill Abramson
13. Kathleen Sebelius
14. Oprah Winfrey
15. Janet Napolitano
16. Susan Wojcicki
17. Cristina Fernandez
18. Beyoncé Knowles
19. Georgina Rinehart
20. Cher Wang

Oprah Winfrey (Getty)Oprah Winfrey has landed some major scoops in her day, but she still has one interview she dreams of carrying out. 

At the National Cable & Telecommunications convention this week, Winfrey confessed she has a "dream of O.J. Simpson confessing to me" on her new network, OWN TV.

In 1995, former NFL great Simpson was found not guilty of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, despite circumstantial evidence that suggested his involvement in their deaths.

WInfrey seems determined to score Simpson's confession, too, saying: "I am going to make that happen, people. I don't just want the interview. I want the interview on the condition that you are ready, Mr. Simpson."

It's hard to imagine what circumstances would possibly compel Simpson to admit to murder. He is currently serving a 33-year prison sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping.

While sitting at a keyboard perched on a giant golden high heel stand designed by her sister Natalie, Lady Gaga belted out a slowed-down version of her smash “Born This Way” on the Oprah Winfrey Show today before launching into “You And I,” a track from her upcoming album. (You may have caught American Idol contestant Haley Reinhart crooning the rock ballad last night). We admit, we got a little misty when Gaga began serenading Oprah, who only has 14 more shows to go before her long-running daytime show leaves the air. Watch below!

After Gaga’s performance, she stepped down from her giant piano stool and spoke with O.

“I appreciate that we’ve all had someone like Oprah — such a strong woman — to lead us for so long, who continues to lead us,” the “Judas” singer gushed as the audience cheered. “Thank you for inspiring me and thank you for inspiring the world.”

But by far, one of the highlights of Gaga’s appearance was the facial expressions of both Oprah and Johnny Depp, who watched from the audience while Mother Monster tore through “You And I.”

When stylist Andre Walker reached out to Oprah Winfrey in 1985, he knew he had to be bold. So the Chicago salon owner sent the up-and-coming talk show hostess a note, simply stating, “I’m dying to get my hands on your hair.” His honesty worked: she hired him, and he’s kept her hair looking healthy ever since. “I’m happiest with the [looks] that she’s been happiest with,” Walker shares in the April issue of O, The Oprah Magazine. “For her 50th birthday, we did a short, choppy look with a bit of a flip. She often looks back and says, ‘I really love that hairstyle.’ ” However, there have been some not-so-happy hair moments in Winfrey’s past. “She also reminds me of the styles that weren’t so great,” Walker admits. “But in my defense: It was the ’80s!” To keep Winfrey’s locks lush on a regular basis, Walker avoids using blow dryers or irons on her hair more than three times per week. “Lately, I’ve been doing ponytails to stretch the time between blow dries,” he shares. “With a little height on the top, a pony can look very polished.” And his cardinal hair care rule? “Condition. Condition. Condition,” he says. “Whether you think you need it or not, use a conditioner every time you shampoo, and slather on a thick hair mask once a week. Restoring moisture to the hair is really important to help repair dry ends and add shine.” For more on Winfrey’s hair, check out the April issue of O, on newsstands March 15 or go to oprah.com.

Forty-seven years ago, when Oprah Winfrey was 9 years old and living with her father in Tennessee, her mother became pregnant with a daughter who was given up for adoption. Winfrey had known nothing about it.

On The Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday, the talk show host revealed the family secret she had been hyping since last week, introducing her half-sister, Patricia, from Milwaukee.

"It was one of the greatest surprises of my life," said Winfrey, who found out the news last October. "It left me speechless."

Patricia was born in 1963 in Milwaukee and lived in a series of foster homes until the age of 7. She was then adopted, but said her childhood was "difficult" and she longed to be reunited with her birth mother, Winfrey says.

When Patricia was 17, she had a daughter, Aquarius, and then six years later son, Andre. She was unwed and as a single mom worked two jobs to care for her kids.
A Search for Her Birth Mother

When Patricia, whose last name was not revealed, turned 20, she first tried to find out who her birth mother was but quickly gave up the search. Then a few years ago, she resumed the search and got her adoption records.

Through the adoption agency, Patricia reached out to her birth mother, whose name she still didn't know, but her mother did not want to meet her.

The very day, she happened to catch a TV news story about a woman named Vernita Lee, who was talking about a son, Jeffrey, who died in 1989, and a daughter, Pat, who had died in 2003. The information matched details in her adoption records.

"The hair on the back of my neck stood up," Patricia said. "I said, 'No, that can't be.'"

Her son Andre researched Winfrey's background and quickly realized that dates and locations lined up. Patricia tried to reach Lee numerous times, once even having her church pastor contact Lee's pastor, but Lee was not ready for a meeting, Winfrey said.
A DNA Match

So Patricia went to a Wisconsin restaurant owned by Winfrey's niece, showed her the adoption documents and revealed her suspicion that they were related. Patricia and the niece underwent DNA testing, which proved a positive match.

After that, there were a flurry of emails back and forth between various Winfrey relatives and Winfrey, but none would reveal the secret, saying it was Lee's place. Winfrey asked her mother about giving a child up for adoption, but Lee said it wasn't true.

Then one day in October, 10 minutes before she was walking out to do a show, Winfrey asked her assistant what the truth was and she replied, "You have a sister."

Winfrey confronted her mother with the information and Lee finally admitted the truth. Lee and Patricia met on Oct. 25 for the first time since her birth.

On Thanksgiving Day, Winfrey drove to her mother's home in Milwaukee, where her half-sister sister Patricia was waiting.

"It was a Beloved moment," Winfrey says, referring to the movie in which a daughter comes back from the dead. Home video shows the two embracing for a long moment.

During an interview taped last week with Patricia and their mother, Lee said she had denied the truth for so long because she was ashamed that she had given up a child for adoption.

"I thought it was a terrible thing that I had done," Lee said, adding that she felt she wouldn't be able to take care of another child and get off welfare if she had kept her. Still, she said, "I did think about the baby. I went back looking for her and they told me she had left."

Next on Oprah … a miracle!

The talk show host is sparing no superlatives in hyping her show on Monday, promising to make a blockbuster personal revelation.

"I was given some news that literally shook me to my core," Winfrey, 56, says in a promotional spot. "This time, I'm the one being reunited. I was keeping a family secret for months, and on Monday you're going to hear it straight from me."

While no further details were released, there are many possibilities. Winfrey was born to unwed teens, had a baby who died, and was raised by various family members.

"I thought I'd seen it all," Winfrey continues. "But this, my friends, is the miracle of all miracles."

Jay-Z’s found a friend in Oprah Winfrey. While on U2’s 360° Tour in Sydney, Australia, Hov paid a visit to the Queen of Media to tape a segment for her “Oprah’s in Australia: Wildest Dreams” episode, grabbing a seat next to Winfrey on a stage outside of the iconic Sydney Opera House.

Taking a cue from the hostess, Jay made a surprise visit to the Canterbury Boys High School after a teacher wrote a heartfelt letter. “I just want to say I’m living proof of the possibility [that] anything can happen once you apply yourself, and the fact that you guys are here in this school right here serves as the opportunity. So don’t let that opportunity go to waste,” he told the students, who each received a copy of his memoir Decoded.

Watch Mr. Carter drop in on the unsuspecting students.



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Oprah Winfrey (Getty Images)British journalist Piers Morgan officially takes over Larry King's old show on CNN starting January 17, and he's landed Oprah Winfrey as his first guest.

Morgan says he's delighted to be kicking off the show with such a high-profile guest and believes his interview will be just as good as any other she has previously given.

Piers -- who recorded his interview with Oprah in California earlier this week -- said: “She’s a compelling interview. Everyone has interviewed Oprah over the years. Is my interview as good as the ones that have been done before? She thought so. I guarantee you’ll enjoy this one.”

The former Britain’s Got Talent judge -- who was reportedly handed an $8.4 million deal to front the program -- insisted he only ever had Oprah in mind to be his first guest on the show, which begins on January 17.

He added in a video interview on the show’s official website: “So I was determined to start my new show with the ultimate bang and for that I needed the biggest star in the world but also somebody who was one of the most powerful people in the world.

“And that narrowed the list down as far I as I was concerned, to one person”

However, 56-year-old Oprah -- who is sitting next to Piers in the clip -- jokingly interrupted his praise to say: “And that person wasn't available... so he got me.”

Oprah Winfrey (Getty Images)Count it! Oprah Winfrey topped the last of celebrity charity givers this year, giving a whopping $40 million to various causes in 2009, according to a report by The Giving Back Fund.

The money was given out primarily thourgh the Oprah Winfrey Foundation, with the media mogul supporting mainly education and programs for women and children.

Novelist Nora Roberts was second in charitable donations, giving $4.45 million to various organizations via her Nora Roberts Foundation, which focuses on literacy in poverty-stricken communities. Next up is actress Meryl Streep, who donated $4 million to the Silver Mountain Foundation for the Arts. 

Oprah is nearly always at the top of the list of celebrity givers. "There are many generous celebrities, but when you can top a list of celebrity philanthropists three out of four years, as Oprah has, that is saying something,” said Marc Pollick, president of The Giving Back Fund, speaking to People magazine.

Oprah Winfrey (Getty Images)Speculation about Oprah Winfrey's close relationship with her pal Gayle King has been alive for ages, but the talk show host says she'd be honest if they were really romantically involved. 

She said: “I’m not even kind of a lesbian. And the reason why the rumor irritates me is because it means that somebody must think I’m lying. That’s number one.

“Number two, why would you want to hide it? That is not the way I run my life.”

However, the 56-year-old, who is one of the richest women in the US, does think of the magazine editor as “the best friend everybody deserves.”

Welling up, she tells Barbara Walters in an upcoming ABC interview: “She is the sister everybody would want. She is the friend that everybody deserves. I don’t know a better person.

“It’s making me cry because I’m thinking about how much I probably have never told her that. I’ve never told her that.”

Oprah Winfrey (Getty Images)Oprah Winfrey was one of five celebrities -- along with Sir Paul McCartney, country singer Merle Haggard, Broadway composer Jerry Herman and dancer Bill T. Jones -- honored at the 33rd Kennedy Center Honors at the White House last night.

Oprah and Paul held hands on stage as President Barack Obama addressed the crowd, saying the recipients had “given the nation the extraordinary gift of the arts.”

He added: “Although the honourees on this stage each possess a staggering amount of talent, the truth is, they aren't being recognized tonight simply because of their careers as great lyricists or songwriters or dancers or entertainers.

“Instead, they're being honored for their unique ability to bring us closer together and to capture something larger about who we are -- not just as Americans, but as human beings.”

No Doubt performed the Beatles’ track "Hello, Goodbye" while stars such as Julia Roberts,Claire Danes, Steven Tyler, Angela Lansbury and Sidney Poitier attended the star-studded evening.

After Oprah received the award at the Kennedy Centre Honors, comedian Chris Rock joked "No one deserves this award more than Oprah Winfrey, but no one needs it less.”

Marie Osmond remembers one of the last conversations she had with her 18-year-old son Michael Bryan.

"When I heard him say to me, I have no friends, it brought back when I went through depression because you really feel so alone," Osmond, 51, says on Thursday's The Oprah Winfrey Show. "I'm not a depressed person, but I understand that place, that darkness.

"I told him … Mike, I'm gonna be there Monday and it's gonna be okay," she continues. "But depression doesn't wait till Monday."

Bryan committed suicide last February by jumping to his death from his apartment in downtown Los Angeles.

"I've been through some tough things in my life," says Osmond, whose 2001 memoir Behind the Smile detailed her own battle with postpartum depression. "This is … probably the hardest thing I've been through."

When Winfrey asks Osmond whether she lives with regrets, Osmond replies, "I think there's always 'what if's.' What if I had just put him on a plane and said come be with me, or gone there? I think if you live in 'what if's,' you stop living."

Osmond also addresses the reasons she chose to head back to work only weeks after his death.

"It was really hard," she says. "It was a calculated decision. I'm unique, I guess. I'm a female in the entertainment business who has been working 48 years consistently. My stage is my safe place. It doesn't scare me, like I guess it scares some people. And I knew that if I didn't get back on stage that I may never get back on stage."

Oprah Winfrey (Getty Images)Surprise, surprise: Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful woman in the biz yet again, according to Forbes. The media mogul beat the likes of Beyonce Knowles, Lady Gaga and Madonna, making $324 million from her media empire, which includes her own chat show and magazine.

Oprah, 56, made more money than the other stars in the top five put together, with Beyonce raking in $89 million, Britney Spears banking $65 million, Lady Gaga earning $64 million and Madonna swelling her purse with $59.9 million.

Newcomers under 30 made a big impression on the top 10, with Gaga beating stalwarts including Sandra Bullock -- the only actress on the list -- and Ellen DeGeneres.

Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift also made the top 10, with TV host Judge Judy rounding off the list.

Earlier this year, Oprah topped the list of the highest earning talk show hosts for her Oprah Winfrey Show, taking home $315 million a year for her program, far more than the rest of the top five, which included David Letterman, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien.
 
Forbes' Top 10 Highest Earning Hollywood Women 2010:
 
1. Oprah Winfrey: $324 million
2. Beyonce Knowles: $89 million
3. Britney Spears: $65 million
4. Lady Gaga: $64 million
5. Madonna: $59.9 million
6. Sandra Bullock: $59.2 million
7. Ellen DeGeneres: $56 million
8. Miley Cyrus: $48 million
9. Taylor Swift: $46 million
10. Judge Judy: $46 million

Relaxed, smiling and playful – that's the image of Michael Jackson's three children captured in a candid photo taken during Oprah Winfrey's visit to the Jacksons' Encino, Calif., home last month.

Prince, 13, and Paris, 12, are seen smiling as Paris reaches out to Blanket, 8, who is curled up in a lawn chair in the backyard of the home, while Winfrey and the children's grandparents, Katherine and Joe Jackson, are seated across the table.

The talk-show host was there to interview Katherine about Michael's childhood, his career, his children and his legacy a year and a half after the pop legend's untimely death at age 50.

That interview is scheduled to air on The Oprah Winfrey Show Monday, Nov. 8.

Lady Gaga (Getty Images)Congratulations to Lady Gaga and Beyonce! The pop stars, who worked together on the single "Telephone," came seventh and ninth respectively in a poll of the Most Powerful Women in the World conducted by Forbes.

First Lady Michelle Obama took the number one spot.

According to Forbes, this year’s index was based more on creative influence and entrepreneurship, leading to the inclusion of Beyonce and Gaga.

Moira Forbes, vice-president and publisher of ForbesWoman, insists the people featured in the top 100 had affected billions of people.

She said: “The women on our list, through their respective realms of power and influence, are shaping many of the agenda setting conversations of our day. They have built companies and brands, sometimes by non-traditional means, and they have broken through gender barriers in areas of commerce, politics, sports and media and cultural zeitgeist, and thereby affecting the lives of millions, sometimes billions of people.”

Other entertainers on the list include talk show hosts Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres, who came third and tenth respectively.
 
2010 Forbes' Most Powerful Women In The World top 10:
 
1.  Michelle Obama, US First Lady
2.  Irene Rosenfeld, chief executive Kraft Foods
3.  Oprah Winfrey, media mogul
4.  Angela Merkel, German Chancellor
5.  Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State
6.  Indra Nooyi, chief executive, Pepsi
7.  Lady Gaga, singer
8.  Gail Kelly, chief executive, Westpac
9.  Beyonce Knowles, singer and fashion designer
10. Ellen DeGeneres, talk show host

One of Oprah’s favorite musicians, John Legend, performed one of her favorite songs, “Wake Up Everybody,” on Monday’s show. Legend uplifted the studio audience, along with his collaborators The Roots, as part of a program dedicated to education reform.

The soul man will release his ’60s and ’70s covers album Wake Up! tomorrow before making an encore appearance on Friday to sing “Shine,” the theme from the documentary Waiting for Superman.

John Travolta is taking 300 members of Oprah's audience to Australia! The talk show host announced the prize on the premiere of the last season of her talk show yesterday, and then announced that on top of getting to go Down Under with her for 8 days, the actor (who's also a pilot) will be flying them all! It's called Oprah’s Ultimate Australian Adventure, and that sounds just about right.

John Travolta (Pacific Coast News)To a shrieking crowd, Oprah announced: “We’re... going... to... Australia!”

The set was then turned into a mini-airport, where the Pulp Fiction actor emerged from a jet to reveal his job in the present.
She added: “This is really my last chance to do something really big. And if you want to do something big, you want to take along your ultimate viewers. I started to think about where would I most want to go. Maybe I should take you with me to the other side of the world. “We’re going to Australia! We are going to Australia! You and you and you and you are going to Australia!”

All audience members were also given a new mobile phone. Oprah announced in November 2009 she would be quitting the show after 25 years to launch her own TV network in 2011. She said: “This show has been my life and I love it enough to know when it’s time to say goodbye.”