Oprah Winfrey was honoured by Diane von Furstenberg, her longtime friend, as she took to the stage to accept a “Lifetime Leadership” award at the third annual DVF awards and pop crooner Seal is set to hit Australia to perform at the 2012 Logies.
Designer and huminatarian Diane Von Furstenberg said of close friend Oprah Winfrey at the DVF Awards at the United Nations,
“She is the most formidable person I have ever met in my life. What is extraordinary about Oprah is that she has done so much and yet she is still a little girl. She is still very pure and you can make her cry and laugh so quickly.”
The DVF awards honor women who are courageous and fight for justice. Artist Panmela Castro, who battles against domestic violence; Chouchou Namegabe, who fights for women’s issues in her native Congo; and Layli Miller-Muro who founded the Tahirih Justice Center, which protects women from human rights abuses, were also honored. The awards were part of the festivities surrounding the Women In the World conference.
Upon accepting the award, Winfrey praised another honoree, Jaycee Dugard, who was abducted when she was 11 years old and held in captivity for 18 years by Phillip and Nancy Garrido.
Winfrey also thanked Diane Sawyer, who was also in attendance, and praised the television special she did with Dugard. “Jaycee Dugard, I am so proud of you, your courage, your ability to press onward toward the future and toward a more victorious life for yourself and for using your courage your strength and your power to show the world that you care,” Winfrey said.
Earlier in the evening, presenter Jessica Alba showed off an acorn necklace she was given by Dugard. The necklace represents Dugard’s charity.
With 2012 Logies nominees to be announced in a week’s time at the Park Hyatt, Logie performers have also begun to hit the rumour mill.
Seal, who not long ago divorced from legendary Supermodel and Project Runway host, Heidi Klum, is set the perform on the night. The ‘Kissed by a Rose’ hit maker will already be in town for his Australian tour as well as for the new show to find Australia’s best singing talent- The Voice.
British-Irish tween sansations, One Direction are also expected to perform on Australian TV’s night of nights. The actual awards themselves have had a revamp in recent years with unexpected nominees, such as The Circle’s Chrissie Swan, lifting tension from the industry-voted categories and leaving it the Australian public.
Who will you be voting for this year?
