Live Blog: Oprah's Last Show

"This hour is really about saying thank you," Oprah said Wednesday. "This is my love letter to you."

This is it. The last "Oprah Show."

Since Oprah Winfrey announced she would end her top-rated talk show after 25 years, speculation grew about the final episode. But Chicago's Queen of Talk gave nothing away. Winfrey produced the show and even kept segments secret from crew.

How will she wrap it? Here's what aired Wednesday morning.

9:57 a.m.: Turns back to the audience for one last round of applause. "We did it!" she yells back stage to her staff.

9:56 a.m.: Says she won't say goodbye. Instead: "Until we meet again. To God be the glory." Walks off the stage hugging people and shaking hands.

9:54 a.m.: Is ending the show bittersweet? "All sweet, no bitter," she says and talks about gratitude.

9:51 a.m.: Tears up while talking about her childhood and end of the last show.

9:50 a.m.: Gives her post- show personal email account: oprah@oprah.com. She asks viewers to write her, saying, "I want you to know that what you have to say matters to me."

9:48 a.m.: A sentimental Oprah thanks the audience again. Introduces her fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Duncan, in the audience. Oprah thanks Duncan and says the teacher was her first liberator. 

9:44 a.m.: Does Oprah have regrets? Mostly no but says she regrets not bringing more stories to the show of sexual seduction, rape and abuse of children. Cuts to a clip of a past all-male audience holding photos of themselves at the age they were abused.

9:40 a.m.: Oprah remains the only person on stage. She talks about spirituality, saying, "I have felt the presence of God all my life even when I didn't have a word for it."

9:36 a.m.: She thanks the Harpo family. What is the secret to success? "I non-jokingly say my team and Jesus. Because nothing but the hand of God has made this possible for me."

9:32 a.m.: Says she talked to nearly 30,000 people while hosting "The Oprah Show." They all had the same thing in common, she said. "They all wanted validation."

9:29 a.m.: Oprah looks back on riding into the studio on a "pooping elephant," scaling a wall at Marine boot camp and swinging from a rope. "The only thing i haven't done is jump from a plane," she laughs.

9:23 a.m.: Remembers early show about alcoholism and people on the show saying "things they wouldn't say to their own family." Shows montage of people coming out, admitting to disease and talking about abuse.

9:17 a.m.: Features a show clip with Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, author of "My Stroke of Insight," and the sign Taylor gave Oprah that reads, "Please take responsibility for the energy you bring into this space."

9:16 a.m.: Was Oprah surprised by the "spectacular" last week at The United Center? "Did you see my face?" she laughs. She thanks Facebook posters, Tweeters and emailers for kind farewell messages.

9:12 a.m.: More advice: "Start embracing the life that is calling you and use your calling to serve the world."

9:08 a.m.: Oprah advice: Take from this show the ability  "to live from the heart of yourself." "It has been a privilege for me," she says, to do the show.

9:06 a.m.: Winfrey says there will be no makeovers, giveaways or surprises. "This hour is really about saying thank you. This is my love letter to you."

9:05 a.m.: She laughs about past photos of her with large hair and "earrings the size of napkins."
She said she always wanted to be a teacher.

9:02 a.m.: Clip from "A.M. Chicago." Winfrey was about to turn 30 years old at the time and had two football players on the show. "I just wanted to do a good job and cause no harm," she said. "From day one, Chicago, you hooked me in."

9 a.m.: Montage of past "Oprah Show" moments precedes a standing ovation and tears from the audience. "Thank you America, thank you so much," Winfrey says. "There are no words to match this moment. ... How truly amazing it is, this journey you and I have shared together." This is Winfrey's 4,561st day spent on the show, she says. 

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