Rachael Ray

Chances are Rachael Ray would have gone far on her tasty recipes and perky personality alone. But the Oprah bump sure didn’t hurt. In 2005 Winfrey plucked the 30-minute-meal maven from the Food Network and signed her to host a daytime talk show. When Rachael Raydebuted in 2006, Oprah invited the “super cook” onto her own show to woo viewers. It worked: speculation now abounds that Ray might end up the chosen heir to the Queen of Talk’s throne. Upon learning that her mentor would end her show, Ray was typically bubbly. “I am going to enjoy every episode between now and 2011,” she said. “There will only ever be one Oprah!”
Nate Berkus

In 2001, Oprah invited interior designer Nate Berkus onto The Oprah Winfrey Show for a single-room makeover, and hasn’t let him out of her sight since. The Chicago-area designer already had his own firm with a long clientele list, but Berkus’ career was propelled into its own stratosphere when he was named the show’s featured design expert. Since then he’s become a best-selling author and Sirius XM radio talk-show host; most recently he launched a line of products on the Home Shopping Network. In 2008, Berkus was also the host of Harpo Productions’ first shot at a reality series, Oprah’s Big Give, which wasn’t picked up for a second season. Some observers speculate he’s next in line to join the ranks of Dr. Phil and Rachael Ray with his own television show — assuming that hosting misstep doesn’t knock him out of the running.

























