Standing in front of a large screen that played highlights from "The Oprah Winfrey Show," she said her far-reaching success could only have been possible with her fans' support.
"It has been a privilege for me to talk to you in this studio, this country, and 150 countries around the world," she told her Chicago audience.
Winfrey arrived in the city in 1984, to join the local morning talk show, "A.M. Chicago." A month later the show had gone from third to first in the ratings, and a year later it was revamped under the banner "The Oprah Winfrey Show."
The rest, as they say, is syndicated history -- each chapter of which has been written in hour-long installments broadcast to audiences eager to spend their afternoons with Winfrey.
It's hard to pin down the secret of her appeal, but fans eagerly point to Winfrey's frank discussion of her own troubles -- from her childhood experience of sexual abuse, her rags-to-riches career trajectory, and even her struggles with weight -- as helping endear her to audiences.
Whatever the secret of her broad appeal, Winfrey's warm, informal style has endured the changes that have swept network television since her debut a quarter century ago.
In fact, Winfrey's popularity flourished to the point where her promotion of anything or anyone in line with her live-your-best-life philosophy was akin to receiving a "Midas touch."
From entertainers to entrepreneurs, authors to advisers and even presidential candidate Barack Obama in the run-up to the 2008 Democratic primary, anyone lucky enough to garner an Oprah endorsement found themselves catapulted to the top of their game.
And Winfrey enjoyed the fruits of her popularity too, as her earnings and influence consistently ranked the now-billionaire among the most powerful figures in the U.S. entertainment industry and even the most influential woman in the world.
So it was a rare treat for approximately 400 fans who descended on Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Studios in Chicago to attend the taping of her highly anticipated finale on Tuesday.
Unlike the star-studded lineups of the shows leading up to her final episode, the last edition of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" featured a stage starkly adorned with a single chair.
Winfrey spent little time in the seat, however, as she regaled her audience with intimate, heartfelt recollections of her years as host of her award-winning, genre-defining show.
"When she came out, her appearance, the way she stepped on stage and the message she brought about finding yourself, your purpose, it was all about Oprah," audience member Wanda Nash told The Associated Press.
Another of the happy few who attended the final taping said Winfrey left with tears in her eyes.
"She said, 'This isn't goodbye. This is until we meet again," Amy Korin told AP, describing the show as filled with, "A lot of crying and hugs, crying and hugs."
Last week, 13,000 of the 154,000 fans who requested tickets were treated to a veritable A-list of Hollywood stars in a double-episode taping at Chicago's United Center.
Billed as "Surprise Oprah! A Farewell Spectacular," the episodes broadcast on Monday and Tuesday featured such musical superstars as Aretha Franklin, Beyonce, Madonna and Stevie Wonder, Hollywood legends Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith and fellow Chicago icon Michael Jordan.
In contrast to the celebrity extravaganza of her penultimate episodes, Winfrey's finale was a much lower-key affair, if no less heart-wrenching for her legions of loyal fans.
Oprah, who had a difficult upbringing in Mississippi and was sexually abused by a relative, said her audience had given her "safe harbour" in her troubled life.
"It is no coincidence that a lonely little girl who felt not a lot of love, even though my parents and grandparents did the best they could, it is no coincidence that I grew up to feel a genuine kindness, affection, trust and validation from millions of you all over the world," he said.
But the finale was not a farewell. Oprah is leaving Chicago for Santa Barbara, California, where she plans to run her eponymous cable channel OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.
While she won't be the face of every show on that network, she has promised to vet every one of its programs to ensure they fit with her wildly popular credo.
And fans disappointed that Oprah will no longer be coming into their living rooms with her unique brand of afternoon conversation won't have to suffer cold turkey. Reruns of the wildly successful 60-minute afternoon talk show are scheduled to air through the summer months.
AP
Here are a few quotes from Oprah and other daytime hosts:
"Oprah": O, I'm in denial. Sorry.
"GMA": From the "GMA must've been fired up to air this piece of tape" department: in her "exit interview" with ABC news in Chicago, Oprah admitted that when she first started out, her main career goal was to parlay her little toddlin' town talk show into a sweet gig subbing for Joan Lunden on.. "GMA"! And I think Oprah and I are both kind of glad this didn't work out. Otherwise, we might have spent all day today talking about Diane Sawyer's 25 amazing years as an influential daytime host, from outside of Enaid Studios! Yeah, this is better...
"Access Hollywood Live": Billy showed an old clip of him taking a make up powder pad out of Oprah's purse when she wasn't looking and then laughing like a little kid. Luckily for him, Oprah took it well and thought it was funny, otherwise he would be have been tackled to the ground in seconds by her security team!
"The Early Show": Hearing Dr. Phil talk about his relationship with Oprah and his career, I realized that if it wasn't for her, we wouldn't have been able to watch him on his own show all these years - and for years to come. So thanks a lot Oprah, I guess. Just kidding, we love you Dr. Phil!
"Wendy": Wendy gave a nice shout out to Oprah and I think it's great that she really looks up to her. But Wendy shouldn't get too upset because she has something that Oprah never did, besides an early exit from "Dancing with the Stars", and that's a really awesome catch phrase! At least we still get many more years of "how you doin'"?!
"The View": Joy and Whoopi had a good laugh about the fact that women will have nothing to do at four o'clock every afternoon now that Oprah is retiring. And I chuckled right along with them until I realized something, what am I going to do ever day at four, seriously?! Dr. Oz just isn't going to cut it!
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