Oprah Winfrey to become '60 Minutes' contributor

Oprah Winfrey will join CBS' 60 Minutes as a special contributor starting this fall, it was announced Tuesday.

"There is only one Oprah Winfrey," 60 Minutes executive producer Jeff Fager said Tuesday morning in making the announcement. "She has achieved excellence in everything she has touched. Her body of work is extraordinary, including thousands of interviews with people from all walks of life. She is a remarkable and talented woman with a level of integrity that sets her apart and makes her a perfect fit for 60 Minutes. I am thrilled that she will be bringing her unique and powerful voice to our broadcast."

Winfrey added, "I've been a big admirer of 60 Minutes since my days as a young reporter. I'm so excited and proud to join forces with this historic news program, which for me represents the bastion of journalistic storytelling. At a time when people are so divided, my intention is to bring relevant insight and perspective, to look at what separates us, and help facilitate real conversations between people from different backgrounds."

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The news comes as 60 Minutes has lost some of its talent over the past two years, with the untimely death of Bob Simon in 2015 and the death of Morley Safer last May.

Wynton Marsalis has served in a similar contributor role over the past few years.

In recent years, Winfrey has made regular appearances on CBS This Morning, which is co-hosted by her close friend Gayle King.

Winfrey spent 25 years as host of her eponymous award-winning daytime talk show. She currently serves as chairman and CEO of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, which she founded in 2011 in partnership with Discovery Communications.

The media mogul, who also founded O The Oprah Magazine, continues to act, recently appearing in Ava DuVernay's Selma, Lee Daniels' The Butler and the upcoming HBO movie The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Disney feature A Wrinkle in Time, also helmed by DuVernay.

She also serves on the Weight Watchers board of directors and has been open about how the company's program has helped her lose weight, including starring in numerous ads.

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