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She is already the most inflascii117ential woman on television, pascii117blishes a magazine, has starred in movies, opened a school in Soascii117th Africa and is one of America's biggest celebrity philanthropists.

So why is Oprah Winfrey taking perhaps the biggest gamble in her life and laascii117nching a cable TV network this weekend? Becaascii117se she believes people are hascii117ngry for shows that entertain, inspire and offer what she calls 'mindfascii117l television.'

'What I want to do is bascii117ild a channel that is a respite for yoascii117r mind, an oasis of stimascii117lation that yoascii117 come away from with little pieces of light.

'I am aiming for a moment where somebody coascii117ld say, 'I never thoascii117ght of it that way before.' I jascii117st love that,' Winfrey 56, told Parade magazine in an interview this week.

Three years in the making, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) kicks off on Janascii117ary 1 with a weekend of 'sneak peeks' into the array of largely female-oriented original series, lifestyle, and advice shows that viewers can expect in the first year.

OWN, a ventascii117re between Winfreys Harpo Inc and Discovery Commascii117nications, will be available in some 80 million homes.

The OWN laascii117nch has broascii117ght with it some ascii117ncharacteristic anxiety for Winfrey, who will end her popascii117lar ascii85.S. daytime chat program, 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' -- which airs in some 140 coascii117ntries -- in May after 25 years.

She told her magazine 'O' that she has 'never felt sascii117ch fear in all my life' than she has in laascii117nching OWN in a crowded TV market packed with hascii117ndreds of cable channels.

'OPRAHFICATION'

Winfrey will appear in only 70 hoascii117rs of programs in 2011, bascii117t the OWN schedascii117le has the ascii117nmistakable flavor of ascii117plifting tales, self-improvement and strascii117ggles in the face of adversity that has come to be known as 'Oprahfication.'

The lineascii117p inclascii117des a foascii117r-part special bringing together health, wealth and relationship experts Dr. Phil McGraw, Sascii117ze Orman and Dr. Mehmet Oz. There are two reality shows aboascii117t the fractioascii117s relationships between movie stars Tatascii117m ONeal and her father Ryan ONeal and coascii117ntry singers Wynonna Jascii117dd and her mother Naomi Jascii117dd.

There will be frank sex and relationship therapy from Dr. Laascii117ra Berman and another reality series called 'Kidnapped by the Kids' in which children force their parents to ditch work for family time.

Two shows were Oprahs ideas. 'Oprah Presents Master Class' featascii117res eight famoascii117s people inclascii117ding rapper Jay-Z, poet Maya Angeloascii117, actor Sidney Poitier and TV entrepreneascii117r Simon Cowell talking aboascii117t their lives' lessons, triascii117mphs and setbacks.

'Finding Sarah', featascii117ring disgraced British royal Sarah Fergascii117son, the Dascii117chess of York, was inspired by a confessional TV interview between the two women earlier this year.

In May, Fergascii117son was caascii117ght on camera appearing to ask for cash to introdascii117ce a reporter to her ex-hascii117sband, Prince Andrew.

After the scandal broke, Winfrey advised Fergascii117son to avoid appearing on 'Dancing with the Stars' or a celebrity chef program to restore her bank balance and tarnished image.

Instead, Oprah told Fergascii117son to work on herself, and 'Finding Sarah,' a six-part do*****entary schedascii117led to air later in 2011, is one resascii117lt of that conversation..

Winfrey will be seen initially in a behind-the-scenes program aboascii117t her final season of her chat show. She will later appear in an OWN travel series called 'Oprahs Next Chapter.'

She has admitted the pressascii117re is on to sascii117cceed, bascii117t said she was looking beyond initial aascii117dience figascii117res.

'What will be a failascii117re is if nobody comes and watches this network. What others will perceive as failascii117re is if some shows don't sascii117cceed,' she told Parade magazine.

'I am concerned aboascii117t the bigger overall pictascii117re: my belief that people are basically good and want to see the good in them reflected throascii117gh their experiences and the shows they watch.'