Monday, January 24, 2011

On 'Oprah' this week: a Winfrey family secret revealed and first lady Michelle Obama; 'Jersey Shore' fourth season planned; and more

By Melodie Smith

Mary Ann Chastain, AP Michelle Obama, left, and Oprah Winfrey high-five while listening to then-presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois during a stadium rally Dec. 9, 2007, in Columbia, S.C.

Oprah Winfrey has a secret, but not for long.

On today's "Oprah Winfrey Show," the talk-show queen and cable-network empress plans a reunion that will reveal a "family secret" she's kept for months and only a few people close to her know.

"I thought I'd seen it all. But this, my friends, is the miracle of all miracles," Winfrey said in a promo spot last week.

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

She doesn't say with whom she'll be reuniting. You'll have to watch the show for that.

Her company, Harpo Productions, declined to provide further details Friday, an Associated Press story said.

Winfrey was born in Mississippi to unwed teenagers Vernon Winfrey and Vernita Lee, and was raised at various times by a grandmother, her mother, and her father and stepmother in Mississippi, Wisconsin and Tennessee, the AP said.

CNN Piers Morgan interviews Oprah Winfrey on CNN this month.

In 1990, a family member told a tabloid that at age 14, Winfrey gave birth to a baby boy, but the baby died in the hospital. Winfrey, 56, discussed the pregnancy last week on CNN's "Piers Morgan's Tonight."

The AP also noted that in last year's unauthorized biography "Oprah," writer Kitty Kelley alleged that Vernon Winfrey is not Oprah's biological father. In the book, Kelley also said she would keep the father's identity a secret until Winfrey herself learns it.

In other Winfrey news, first lady Michelle Obama returned to her former hometown of Chicago on Friday to tape an appearance on Winfrey's show. It's part of Obama's continuing campaign to draw attention to military families' plight.

In the interview, airing Thursday, Obama will discuss plans to "launch a comprehensive national campaign in the coming months to recognize, honor and provide ways for everyone to step up and answer the call," a White House source told the Chicago Sun-Times . Former NBC newsman Tom Brokaw and Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward will also appear, as well as a military family that will share its story.

"The Oprah Winfrey Show" airs weekdays at 4 p.m. on WEWS Channel 5.

"General Hospital" actress Annie Ilonzeh has been cast in ABC's reboot of " Charlie's Angels ," according to Deadline.com .

The pilot updates the hit 1970s series, which starred Kate Jackson , Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith as L.A. private eyes who work for the wealthy, anonymous "Charlie." (Fawcett quit after the first season and was replaced by Cheryl Ladd .)

The new series is set in Miami. Ilonzeh will play Kate, "a very smart and very athletic ex-cop and a master of martial arts," Deadline said. The other two leads, Abby and Marisa, have not been cast.

Currently, Ilonzeh plays Maya Ward on ABC's "General Hospital." Other credits include HBO's "Entourage" and the "Melrose Place" reboot on the CW.

The new "Charlie's Angels" is being produced in part by Flower Films, Drew Barrymore 's production company.

No air date has been set.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com

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