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 Ray debuted 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!"
Top 10 Oprah Protégés
The New York Post has reported that Dr. Anne Dranitsaris, a Toronto psychotherapist, could be in line to become Oprah's next media darling. If the tabloid is right, she's just the latest in a long line of professionals whose career has been made (or broken) by the talk-show dynamo