Oprah saw herself in Precious

2009-09-14 11:25

Toronto - US talk show host Oprah Winfrey saw herself in the lead character of the film Precious about an overweight, illiterate and abused Harlem teen determined to improve her life, she said on Sunday.

Winfrey is co-executive producer of the film adapted from the 1996 Sapphire novel Push, showing this week at the Toronto film festival.

"I recognised myself in that character and most of all, I recognised that I have seen the Precious girls of the world and they have been invisible to me," Winfrey told a festival press conference.

"None of us who see the movie can walk through the world and allow the Preciouses to be invisible again," she said.

Set in Harlem in 1987, the film was a smash hit when it first screened at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

It stars Mariah Carey as a social worker and Gabourey Sidibe as Claireece "Precious" Jones, a young woman determined to better herself despite overwhelming obstacles, including twice being impregnated by her father.

Winfrey, who has often opened up about her own challenges growing up an impoverished, abused teen in Mississippi, said she will continue to promote the film on her television show and in her magazine ahead of its fall release.

- SAPA